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Every year, as we unpack our Christmas boxes, stories unfold with each ornament. There’s the lighthouse from our beach trip, the crystal snowflake from a mountain getaway and the tiny clay cabin that somehow made it through another year of storage. Around our tree, we laugh, remember, and say things like, “Mom, do you remember when…” And yes, yes I do – and I’m so glad he does, too.
Our family has collected ornaments from trips across Arkansas and beyond for years. We don’t need another T-shirt or coffee mug; what we truly want are mementos of the places and people that shaped our memories. Some are souvenirs, but others are handmade, little creations made from what we had with us on the road.
Adventuring is one of our family maxims, and being creative together helps us relive those adventures.
Handmade Ornaments to Preserve Travel Memories
Air-Dry Clay or Salt Dough Nature Impressions
A simple project using soft clay or homemade salt dough to press in leaves, shells or pinecones for beautiful, natural textures. It’s a mess-free, kid-friendly craft that captures the feeling of being outdoors on your favorite Arkansas trail or campsite.
What You Need: Air-dry clay or salt dough, leaves, pinecones, shells or small nature items and string
How to Make:
- Roll out the clay or dough and press a leaf, shell, or pinecone into it to leave an impression.
- Cut out a shape with a cookie or biscuit cutter.
- Poke a small hole at the top for hanging.
- Let it air dry completely; paint or leave it natural.
What It Preserves: A tangible keepsake of a hike, campsite, or outdoor adventure without bringing nature home. Each pressed leaf or shell captures the textures and trails of Arkansas’s outdoors, from the mountains to the caves and trails.
Map Shreds Ornament
An easy paper craft where a clear ornament holds rolled strips of maps or travel brochures. It’s a quick way to reuse materials from your trip and create a keepsake that literally shows where you’ve been.
What You Need: Old maps or travel brochures, a clear ornament, scissors, and optional charms or cutouts
How to Make:
- Cut strips from a map or brochure.
- Roll them up around a pencil, or accordion fold and place them inside the clear ornament.
- Add a tag with the year or a note.
- Decorate with vinyl lettering or a ribbon.
What It Preserves: The place itself. You’re recycling your maps and brochures into a keepsake of your journey – a perfect reminder of your Arkansas road trips or National Park adventures.
Map or Travel Scene Collage
Think of this as creating a mini travel scrapbook on an ornament. You’ll cut and glue pictures or map sections from brochures onto a small metal, wooden or ceramic base, then seal it for a polished look.
What You Need: Old maps or brochures, metal, wooden or ceramic ornament, scissors, glue, or Mod Podge
How to Make:
- Cut images or sections from your maps and brochures.
- Layer as a collage or cut one big image to cover the entire ornament surface.
- Let the collage fully dry.
- Seal surface and edges with a final layer of Mod Podge.
- Let it air-dry completely.
What It Preserves: Using images from your favorite routes, add your creative fingerprints on a memory of your travels. Allowing everyone to make their own gives a chance for conversation about memories and lets you see what stood out to each individual.
Peanut Butter Lid Photo Ornament
This project turns an empty jar lid into a picture frame ornament, recycling your trash into a quick and meaningful family keepsake.
What You Need: Peanut butter jar lid (40oz works best), photo, pipe cleaner or ribbon, glue and decorative trim
How to Make:
- Trace the lid onto your photo and cut it out.
- Glue the photo inside the lid.
- Attach a folded pipe cleaner or ribbon as a hanger.
- Add rickrack, beads or trim around the rim.
What It Preserves: a specific moment and the people involved; it’s a sweet way to reuse materials and turn your favorite travel photos into keepsakes.
Tin Punch Ornament
If you’ve ever seen metal lanterns with tiny punched-out designs, this is a simple version of that around a symbol from your memory. And it turns magical as it glows under Christmas lights.
What You Need: Clean can lid, simple shape template, nail, hammer, scrap wood, masking tape, ribbon
How to Make:
- Tape the lid to a sturdy wooden surface of a flat piece of scrap wood.
- Draw a simple outline (tree, star, leaf or tent) on the metal lid.
- Use a nail to punch small holes along the outline, leaving about ¼-inch space between each hole.
- Remove the lid from the wood and check with backlighting.
- Glue a ribbon or pipe cleaner on the back for hanging.
What It Preserves: a symbolic memory with a nod to blacksmithing or historic trades you might have seen in Arkansas museums or state parks. It’s also a creative way to reuse a piece of your campfire chili can!
Notebook Paper Ornament
This piece resembles a sheet of notebook paper transformed into a Christmas ornament. Seeing a special memory or message in your kid’s handwriting is a sentimental way to preserve a memory or phrase from your trip.
What You Need: Clear flat ornament, white craft paint, permanent markers (blue, red, black), ribbon
How to Make:
- Coat the inside of the ornament with white paint and let it dry. You might need to turn the ornament to ensure the paint fully covers the interior.
- Draw blue lines horizontally and a red vertical line to mimic notebook paper.
- Write a favorite memory or quote from your trip using a black marker.
What It Preserves: Your child’s own words, in their own handwriting – the most precious souvenir of all. Their handwriting and perspective will become more meaningful each year you hang it.
9 Christmas Ornaments to Make While You’re Camping
Camping trips are an ideal time for crafting, especially when kids need a creative outlet. Whether you’re spending the weekend at an Arkansas State Park or road-tripping to a new destination, these quick crafts serve as travel activities and keepsakes for the future.
- Travel Brochure Ball Ornament: Cut circles from travel brochures, fold them, and glue them into a 3D globe; a perfect recycled travel memento.
- God’s Eye Weaving: Use sticks and yarn to make a colorful woven pattern by the campfire.
- Origami Stars: Fold maps, receipts, or travel brochures into origami stars as a nightly ritual. (Boys usually like the “ninja star” version!)
- Book Page Ornaments: Use an old travel guide or brochure to fold paper ornaments.
- Shrink Plastic Drawings: Draw your favorite camping moment on shrinky-dink sheets and bake them when you get home.
- Pinecone Ornament: Punch circles from travel brochures or postcards and glue them to a Styrofoam egg to create a layered look that mimics a pinecone.
- Embroidery or Yarn Art: Sit in the quiet of nature and stitch something simple, a design, a cabin scene, or a view from your camping spot.
Special Travel Moments I’m Trying to Remember
This project grew out of my own family’s desire to pause and remember the year. We make a bucket list each Jan., not always fancy or far, just full of Arkansas weekends, quick getaways, and spontaneous road trips that turn out to be our favorite adventures.
This year, our list was full:
- Walking the trails of Tanyard Creek in winter and watching nature shift with the seasons.
- A summer road trip along the Great River Road, learning about Mississippi River boats and the Trail of Tears.
- Summer Sunday evening walks at Coler Trails and Crystal Bridges Art Walk.
- Collecting stories about Mother of Pearl buttons in the Delta.
- Watching cotton bloom and learning more about Mississippi County.
- A day at Gaston’s Resort, tossing rocks and fishing together.
- Discovering lavender coffee, handmade candies, and slow mornings with local tea.
- Touring the Fort Smith National Historic Site and meeting Bass Reeves (the actor version, at least!)
- A fall break trip to New Orleans and the WWII Museum, honoring the grandfathers who served.
- Seeing the northern lights dance in an Arkansas sky.
- Watching the elk and leaves change at the Buffalo River.
These are the moments that make up our 2025 story, small, sacred, and stitched together by time.
Making handmade ornaments might seem simple, but it’s one of the best ways to preserve the spirit of travel, not just souvenirs, but stories. Each creation holds a spark of adventure, a shared laugh, and the memory of a moment you’ll never forget.
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