How to Make Peppermint Candy Ornaments

Making Christmas ornaments out of edible objects such as peppermint candy is an entertaining family activity that will stimulate a sense of holiday spirit. Because peppermint candies are hard, they make for a perfect crafting material. There are several different ways to make peppermint candy ornaments. Peppermint candy comes in the form of candy canes, rounded discs and puffs, giving you a variety of design ideas. Make holiday time a creative time for you and your family by making your own peppermint candy ornaments.

Purchase several different balsa wood shapes from a craft store. Balsa wood shapes are thin and light, coming in a variety of shapes and sizes such as hearts, circles, stars and squares.

Drill a small hole in the top of each shape using an electric drill or a small jewelry drill. This is where the ornament hook will hang from.

Paint the wood shapes in holiday colors such as red, green, silver or gold. Keep in mind that the wood shape is only a background, so do not get too detailed with painting.

Glue the peppermint discs around the outer edges of the shape, fill the entire shape in or make your own design. Paint glue over the peppermint discs and sprinkle glitter over the ornament.

Spray the ornament with a clear acrylic varnish to preserve the candy and keep the glitter from flaking off. Loop a wire ornament hook into the hole and hang the ornament once it has dried.

Stick an embroidery needle through pieces of peppermint puff candy to turn them into candy beads. Do this carefully, as the candy will crack if the needle is pushed too hard.

Spray the puff candy pieces with a few coats of clear acrylic varnish to preserve the candy. Let the candy pieces dry.

String the candy and decorative beads over fishing line or thread. Make the ornaments between 5 and 6 inches long and finish each end with a small- to medium-sized bead. Loop the end of the fishing line or thread and knot it to keep the candy and beads from sliding off. Attach a wire ornament hook to the loop.

Alternatively, you can make the candy and beads into a string garland to wrap around the tree.

Remove the candy canes from their wrappers and spray them with a few coats of clear acrylic varnish. Let the candy canes dry.

Glue plastic holly and small holiday bows to the candy canes.

Hang the ornaments from tree branches from the hooked end of the candy cane.

Unwrap several candy canes and put them in a heavy duty plastic zip bag. Crush the bagged candy canes with a meat tenderizer or hammer until the candy is crushed into small chunks.

Paint a layer of glue or apply spray adhesive onto an unwrapped, unbroken candy cane.

Put the unbroken candy cane into the bag of crushed peppermint pieces and lightly shake until the candy cane is coated with crackled peppermint pieces. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until the candy cane is completely covered.

Remove the candy cane and coat it with a few layers of acrylic spray varnish. Let dry. Hang the ornament from the tree from the hooked end of the candy cane.