Welcome back to our 12 Days of Crunchy Christmas Crafts for the whole family! So far, we’ve made: pinecone bird treats, gingerbread nativities, “snowed-in” candle crafts, fruity festoons, and foraged ornaments! And today we’re showing you two super easy and extra indulgent bath products, plus one big bath bomb blunder. With all this crafting, an epic failure had to explode on us sometime. 😆 No matter, we’ll take two out of three today, hold our heads high, and show you the mess.
I’ll tell you friends, after six days of consecutive Christmas crafts, I could really use a hot bath with all the trimmings right about now. In fact, I’m even going to chuck some of those failed bath bombs in there and soak it all up.
Just add “with” . . .
Our kids love to tac the word “with” onto everything we do. Lessons with colored pencils, please. Reading time with hot tea . . . or cocoa! Rest time with an audiobook. Storytime with puppets. Movie night with popcorn. Road trips with Bingo. And bathtime with bubbles . . . or salts! Just adding one little extra to the simple, everyday things; that’s our favorite way to make our kids (and ourselves) feel special, perhaps most of all during the Christmastide.
Let’s not forget, though, that when it comes to kids, the best “withs” in their little worlds are the ones that come before the word “you.”
First up. . .
Bath Salts with “Christmas” Oils!
🎶Snow. I want to wash my hands, my face, and hair with snow.🎵
DIFFICULTY (aka Happiness Meter): Easy-Peasy
MESS METER: minimal, just bath salts
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
- Epsom salts or mineral salts
- essential oils of choice (we used pine, cedar, lavender, orange, and chamomile . . . next batch we want to use peppermint)
- recycled jars (we used jam jars)
- a mixing bowl & spoon
- twine or ribbon
- fabric scissors
TIME NEEDED: ten minutes tops
KID RATING: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5 stars; easy but not so thrilling)
PARENT RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars; talk about quick results and a lovely finished product, albeit more geared for adult tastes)
1.) Assemble supplies.
2.) Mix salts & essential oils together.
Per cup of epsom/mineral salts, add about ten drops of oil depending on how fragrant you want the salts and how potent the fragrance is of the oil you choose.
*Essential oils we recommend for festive salts: peppermint, cinnamon, nutmeg, pine, orange, or cedar. If you want to blend oils together to create a custom scent, we recommend experimenting with a spoonful of salts at a time.
3.) When satisfied with the scented salts, spoon into jars.
*You may also add things like dried flowers or lavender which are a beautiful addition to salts. However, when we’ve used these in the past we have found the clean up after bathtime just not worth it.
4.) Add a festive twine bow and give to someone you love along with a holiday hand cream (next)!
Next up. . .
Homesteader Holiday Hand Cream!
“Ooooh. This one feels good. It’s not greasy or sticky.” -The Captain, age 9
DIFFICULTY (aka Happiness Meter): Easy-Peasy (why aren’t we all making this?)
MESS METER: minimal
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
- shea butter
- beeswax pastilles
- almond oil
- essential oils (we recommend lavender or peppermint)
- small, stainless steel bowl
- cooking pot
- rubber spatula
- recycled jars (we used jam jars)
TIME NEEDED: 20 minutes
KID RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars; fun to melt, but it is just balm after all)
PARENT RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 stars; such an easy process and saves big time cash! Best of all, the stuff is amazing. My hands haven’t been this happy in a LONG time. I’m making this from now on.)
1.) Measure out all ingredients other than essential oils into a small, stainless steel bowl.
We doubled this recipe we found online and played around with the amounts and scents.
Our adjusted recipe:
- 1/2 cup shea butter
- 1/4 cup sweet almond oil
- 2 tablespoon beeswax pastilles
- about 40 drops essential oil of choice
2.) Gently melt together, leaving out the essential oils.
Put a small amount of water into the pot and turn onto low heat. Place the stainless steel bowl of ingredients to float on top of the water, or if it sinks, that’s fine too. Melt together, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula.
*NOTE: As you see above, the shea block will take the longest to melt. To speed things up, you can cut it into pieces.
3.) Remove from heat. Stir in essential oils to your liking. Then, pour into a clean jar.
*We recommend lavender or peppermint for a brisk scent for this hand cream.
4.) Add a little ribbon or twine, and done!
Last and definitely LEAST . . .
Bath Bombs that . . . bombed.
“Ummm… they don’t look so much like owls. Maybe we should try them as cookies instead of bath bombs. Bath cookies.” –Goldilocks, age 6
What went wrong? We got the ingredients. We followed the recipe here. We weighed everything out on a kitchen scale. We mixed slowly and carefully. We pressed the mixture lovingly into the molds. Then everything exploded in our faces.
Oh well. You can’t nail ’em all. 😆
So, we think either our mixture was too wet, or our molds too small. We’re going to try a second batch in the traditional, large, round molds. If it works, we’ll let everyone know. But we aren’t holding our breath.
Thanks for crafting with us today!
Love, ~Candace Arden
PSSST! Today’s snowy crafts (the first two that is) pair perfectly with our Magical Winter Wonderland Playlist for when you need a break from Christmas music this season! I don’t want to know WHAT playlist that bath bomb craft would pair well with.
Thanks so much for the craft ideas, Candace! I hope the bath bombs work out the next time around. I think I’ll look into the hand cream idea; my mom makes some, but we haven’t tried it with peppermint yet. Hope you all have a lovely Christmas!
-Lily
Thank you for the good wishes on the bombs! lol And thank you for the Christmas wishes! A very Merry Christmas to you also! ~Candace