I love making homemade Christmas ornaments with my kids. They love to craft, and we love doing things together. This Gumball Machine Christmas Ornament was one we made together. This post contains affiliate links.
This ornament is one of my kids’ favorites. My 3 year old has been carrying it around for days telling me it’s her “gumball machine.”
Table of Contents
What do you need to make a Gumball Machine Christmas Ornament?
You can get almost all the supplies from the Dollar Tree for this one. You will need:
- plastic globe ornament
- red plastic disposable shot cup
- 1 pop tab from a soda can
- rainbow sprinkles and/or sugar pearls
- 1/8 to 1/4 inch ribbon
- hot glue gun and glue
The only thing I couldn’t find at the Dollar Tree was the sprinkles. But, you could skip the sprinkles and just buy pompoms, and they do sell those at the Dollar Tree.
How do you make a Gumball Machine Christmas Ornament?
When the video pops up, take a minute to watch it, and see how easy it is to make this Christmas ornament.
I like to use the pop tab from a soft drink for the coin slot. I use the Pepsi Zero tabs because they are black. Silver works well, too.
Carefuly remove the pop tab from the can. Hot glue it to just under the top of the plastic shot cup. Set aside to cool.
Remove the top of the round plastic ornament. Insert a funnel and pour the sprinkles about 1/3 to 1/2 of the ornament full.
Add some hot glue to the inside of the metal top of the ornament and then replace it on the ornament to seal it. This way no sprinkles can escape.
Flip the shot cup upside down and add hot glue the very bottom. Press the very bottom center of the ornament directly onto the hot glue and hold it for a a few seconds while it cools.
Add a ribbon or cording or string to the loop of the top of the ornament. Burn the ends if necessary to stop fraying.
You’re done in just a few minutes and can hang on the tree!
Just a word of warning. Your kids will most likely LOVE this ornament and want to carry it around all the time. So, you might need to make an extra one or two just for them.
DIY Gumball Machine Christmas Ornament
Materials
Tools
Instructions
Remove the drink pop tab from the can. Hot glue it to just under the top of the plastic shot cup. Set aside to cool.
Remove the top of the round plastic ornament. Insert a funnel and pour the sprinkles about 1/3 to 1/2 of the ornament full.
Add some hot glue to the inside of the top of the ornament and then replace it on the ornament to seal it.
Flip the shot cup upside down and add hot glue the bottom. Press bottom center of the ornament directly onto the hot glue and hold it for a a few seconds while it cools.
Add a ribbon or string to the loop of the top of the ornament. Burn the ends if necessary to stop fraying.
Hang on the tree!
Notes
You can use a variety of things for the "gumballs". I used both tiny non-pareils and larger non-pareils. You can also use sixlets or even a rainbow of pompoms.