I had a surplus of baby food jar lids in my house from a previous project (oh like you don’t have a bunch of jar lids just waiting to be used … ) and after my darling children used up the last of my printer paper to play yet another tic-tac-toe tournament, I came up with this simple solution: Magnetic Tic-Tac-Toe (with jar lids!).
We go a little wild with the Christmas decorations here, so I didn’t even hesitate to make this a Christmas-themed game, but you can simply leave off the stickers or paint the lids more neutral colors in order to be able to use this year round (unless you live and work at the North Pole – then you could have Christmas everything all year!!!).
DIY Christmas Tic-Tac-Toe
Supplies
- 3/4” disc magnets
- Super glue
- Baby food jars (at least 12 – more if you are doing two boards)
- Magnetic board (I used two because I have 4 kids and well, they aren’t very patient)
- Washi tape
- Paint (spray paint or acrylic paint)
- Christmas stickers (optional)
- Mod Podge (optional)
- Foam Brushes
- Sandpaper
Instructions
Gather your supplies – make sure you have plenty of paint on hand – and then get to work.
Give each jar lid a quick brush with some sandpaper – no need to obsess over this, but it’s worth it to limit the coats of paint you need (my friend Stephanie pointed this trick out to me recently. Last time I painted baby food jar lids, I had a hard time getting the paint to stick – thanks, Stephanie!).
Flip all the jars over and super glue the magnets to the back of the jars. Let this dry for the recommended amount of time.
While the glue is drying, apply the washi tape to your magnetic board(s) – if you don’t have a spare magnetic board, you could use the washi tape to make a game board on your fridge.
Once the glue is dry on the jars, flip them over and line them all up on some parchment paper or newspaper with a good amount of space in between. If you are painting them each by hand with acrylic paint, the magnet makes them easy to hold while you are painting. If you choose to spray paint, obviously do this outside. I applied a few coats of each color. (In case you were dying to know, the red ones were hand-painted and the white were spray painted).
I would let the jars dry overnight – but that’s partly because I live in Florida and it was pretty humid last weekend when I made these. If you aren’t currently smothered in humidity, then a few hours should be fine.
Finishing touches on page 2!
Love it!
I am such a fan of homemade games and this one is going on the to-do list.
-r
Thank you! They have had a lot of fun with it (and have stopped taking all my printer paper:).
how fun…what a great family present!!! love it
Thank you:)
This is really cute! Love how simple it is to make, but looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you and yes, this is definitely simple to make – but had a huge impact:)
Cute idea – and this would be good for all year!! Pinned!!
Thank you!
Love this! Thanks for the shout out and where did you get the magnetic boards with the fancy edges?
Craft store and they have free-standing ones as well. And all kinds of colors:)
What a cute idea and a great way to keep the kids busy.
Super cute idea! This would make a great Christmas gift too.
Thank you and absolutely – great gift for little ones!