RD.COM Christmas
Lucie TurkelUpdated: Dec. 21, 2023
Deck your halls with these simple DIY Christmas decorations to get the whole family in the holiday spirit
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’Tis the season for DIY Christmas decorations
Creating holiday crafts with the family does more than dress up your decor. It gets you in the seasonal spirit and underscores one of the biggest reasons why we celebrate Christmas: to spend time with one another. Plus, it’s a great way to save money on holiday decorations. And contrary to what you might believe, even the least crafty person on the planet can put together these DIY Christmas decorations. (Yes, even you!)
Once you start, Christmas crafting will quickly become a new favorite Christmas tradition, so don’t be afraid to get even more into the holiday spirit with Christmas crafts for kids and DIY Christmas ornaments. By the time you’re ready to open presents, settle down for the holiday meal, and play Christmas party games, your home will be decked out in DIY style.
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Pom-pom wreath
Add a little bit of fun and sophistication to your holiday season with this colorful craft. All you’ll need to create the perfect pom-pom wreath is a foam wreath form, pom-poms in an array of sizes and colors, and a hot glue gun or fabric glue. Talk about an easy but cute Christmas decoration idea!
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Mason jar Christmas lanterns
After sprucing your Christmas tree, take pieces of leftover pine branches and create these perfectly rustic mason jar Christmas lanterns. Add a tea light on top of the branches, then decorate the mason jar with Christmas ribbon and seasonal items like pine cones. Dim the lights and enjoy the glow of your homemade lanterns while watching romantic Christmas movies.
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Advent calendar jars
This fun take on a traditional Advent calendar features painted jars counting down the days to Christmas. Place a small treat or stocking stuffer in each to recreate the classic calendar countdown.
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Candle name cards
Spruce up your dining setup with personalized candles at each place. Sprinkle some fake snow in a glass jar before adding your tea light. Finish it off with a cute tag: Stamp each name onto a construction paper shape, which you’ll wrap around the lip of the jar with twine. Get even more into the holiday spirit by visiting a few of these charming Christmas towns.
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Paper lantern village
This paper lantern village is the perfect centerpiece for your mantel or dining room table. After creating houses out of white cardstock, place an electric tea light behind each to create a warm and cheery glow. For bonus points, sprinkle some fake snow beneath. It’s as festive as these holiday quotes.
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Monochromatic ornament wreath
String ornaments on a wire to create a sparkly and festive wreath. It’s extra elegant when you stick to a single color but vary the finish—try matte, glossy, and glittery baubles. Need more ornaments at the last minute? These stores are open on Christmas Eve.
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Wooden Christmas figurines
This incredible lineup features Rudolph, Frosty, and Santa—all made out of wood. All you’ll need are some thick pieces of wood and some acrylic paint to bring characters from your favorite Christmas movies to life.
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Merry Christmas banner
This festive banner is the perfect way to greet guests at your holiday party. Cut pieces of burlap (or another type of sturdy fabric) into triangles and hot-glue felt letters to spell out “Merry Christmas.” Attach the flags to pieces of string and hang the banner once dried. To make it extra festive, make sure to use red and green—the official colors of Christmas.
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Cardboard Christmas houses
Use leftover cardboard to create little Christmas houses that have a classic feel. Decorate them with glitter glue for some extra pizzazz. Craft an entire village of cardboard homes to evoke the feeling of a Christmas getaway.
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Felt holly wreath
What’s better than a real holly wreath? One made of felt that will last for years! First, wrap twine around a foam wreath form. Then cut green felt into holly leaf shapes. Use a hot glue gun to attach the leaves to the wreath and top with red pom-pom berries. Not sure how to celebrate the holidays this year? Get a recommendation based on your zodiac sign.
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Gift bag Advent calendar
Kids may not go wild for all of these DIY Christmas decorations, but they’re sure to love one that promises 25 days of fun surprises. Make this Advent calendar by tying decorated paper goody bags to a large stick to create a hanging mobile. The kids can open one per day until Christmas morning.
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Knitted Christmas trees
Cozy and festive? Sign us up! All you need to complete these DIY Christmas decorations are knitting needles and yarn. Make them for yourself, or give them as gifts for Grandma.
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Wine cork wreath
Finally, a place for all of your wine corks! Hot-glue them to a foam wreath form and decorate with a Christmas ribbon. Add some pine cones and evergreen sprigs for extra festiveness.
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String snowflake
Let it snow! Trace the shape of a snowflake onto a wood board, then mark the shape with pins. Using white string, create web patterns until a beautiful snowflake appears. This Christmas decoration is sure to become a favorite. Bonus: It’s easy enough to complete while watching your favorite Hallmark Christmas movies.
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Pine cone ornament
This do-it-yourself decoration is as easy to make as it is inexpensive. On your next walk, collect some pine cones, then glue mini pom-poms onto them for a joyful (and colorful) holiday centerpiece. The best part about this craft is that it can weather the outdoors, just as a good outdoor Christmas decoration idea should.
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Rustic mantelpiece
Who says your DIY Christmas decorations have to stand alone? Try grouping seasonal items for a spirited mantel setup. Rustic elements—a star made of branches, pine cones, and a gold-and-brown color palette—bring this display to life.
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Rustic Christmas frame
Class things up with this simple yet sophisticated rustic Christmas frame, which looks like a window into your own personal winter wonderland. You’ll need a large wooden picture frame, pine branches, bows, ornaments, and any other baubles you want to decorate with—just be sure to secure the wintry elements with hot glue. Crafting is certainly going to get you in the holiday spirit, as will these best-ever Christmas songs.
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3D paper Christmas trees
Move aside, blue spruce! There’s a new Christmas tree in the house. All you need is some green craft paper and a pair of scissors to create it. Fold a piece of craft paper in half and draw half of a tree (or half a triangle) on one side. Cut out the shape and then cut horizontal lines up the folded side. Once unfolded, alternate the direction of the cutouts to create the 3D effect.
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Crystal snowflakes
Bring a little glitz and glitter to your holiday decorations with these crystal-beaded snowflakes. Use tweezers to bend some durable wire into the shape of a snowflake, then add your beads. When you’re done, twist the ends with tweezers to make sure none of the beads fall off. You can even go really crazy and create a big snowflake to use as a Christmas tree topper rather than the classic star.
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Christmas terrarium
Calling all succulent lovers! This is the Christmas craft for you. Fill a glass orb with sand, stone, and/or dirt to create the base of your terrarium. Add your succulent of choice, then work in a miniature deer figurine and holly berries to put a Christmas twist on this sustainable decoration.
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Jingle bell wreath
The more Christmas wreath ideas, the merrier! For this musical wreath, you’ll need a package of jingle bells, a foam wreath form, and some hot glue. Glue the bells to the wreath form, keeping the jingle side face up, before completing with a ribbon bow on top.
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Christmas tree patchwork
Ever wanted to give quilting a try? Now is your chance. Use scraps of holiday-colored fabric to create a patchwork tree. There’s no need for a sewing machine—hand-stitching will do the trick!
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Origami Christmas tree
Cheap and easy DIY Christmas decorations that require only paper and scissors? Yes, please! These origami Christmas trees are easy to make yet impressive to look at. Fold and cut a square sheet of green paper until it turns into the Christmas tree of your dreams. Paper Christmas trees easily make the list as one of the best artificial Christmas trees (yup, they totally count).
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Tangerine wreath
Everything is better all tied up in a bow—including this Christmas decoration. Wrap tangerines in translucent paper and use green ribbon to separate each one. Tie a big bow at the top to complete this delicious wreath—the perfect gift for foodies.
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Jolly snowmen
What would Christmas be without Frosty? To create these jolly snowmen, wrap glue-soaked twine around mini balloons to form the shape. After the glue dries, pop the balloons and dress the snowmen. Crochet little hats, scarves, eyes, and carrot noses for your new creations. Decorating according to your zodiac sign? Leos will absolutely love this craft.
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Felt tree ornaments
When it comes to hanging ornaments, don’t limit yourself to the tree. These DIY Christmas decorations—cut from felt and hung from fishing line—can hang from anywhere: your ceiling, your mantel, and yes, even your tree. If you’re a dog lover, then decorate your tree with these adorable photos of Christmas dogs and puppies.
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Christmas cookie garland
Cookies aren’t just for Santa to eat—they’re also a perfectly good decorating device! Whip up your best Christmas cookies, cut them into holiday shapes, use a skewer to poke a hole at the top, and bake them. Once they’ve hardened, loop them through some festively colored string. Attach them to a more sturdy piece of twine, and your Christmas cookie garland is complete!
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Potted Christmas candles
Let there be light! Fill small planters with moss, then top with tea lights. Accent with berries, mini pine cones, and ornaments to make these DIY Christmas decorations extra festive.
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Felt Christmas trees
Your tree will certainly be evergreen with these DIY Christmas decorations. They’re not a bad Christmas tree idea for the kids’ rooms. Fold a piece of green felt in half and sketch the vertical outline of half of a Christmas tree. Cut this out, unfold the edges, and you’ve got your tree! Create ornaments with other multicolored felt.
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Pine cone wreath
Deck the halls with DIY holiday decorations that rely on natural elements found in your backyard. Use hot glue to attach pine cones and gold ornaments to a wreath shape and create the rustic (yet festive) holiday wreath of your dreams.
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Burlap-wrapped presents
Presents aren’t just for giving. They can also be a great way to decorate your house in the days leading up to Christmas. Simply wrap your presents with burlap instead of wrapping paper, and use twine for the bow. Get even more festive with this Christmas craft by tucking sprigs of evergreen, pine cones, berries, and other holiday trinkets within the twine to create aesthetically pleasing presents to display all month long.
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Cardboard Christmas tree ornament
Put all those empty cardboard boxes you get around this time of year to good use with this incredibly easy craft. Just cut a Christmas tree shape out of the cardboard (use a stencil if you need it), and then decorate it as you see fit. Use twine and a hole puncher to turn it into a simple yet sophisticated ornament.
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Rustic reindeer
For these nature-inspired DIY Christmas decorations, use a small saw to cut two round pieces from a thicker evergreen branch. They’ll become the bodies and heads of the reindeer. Use trimmers to cut small branches for the legs, and clip some pine branches to act as antlers. Glue everything together using wood glue. With a Rudolph this cute, all the other reindeer will invite him to play their Christmas games.
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Twine ornaments
Creating a twine ball ornament for your mantel or tree is an easy way to get a perfectly rustic yet festive holiday look. Soak twine in glue and then wrap it around a Styrofoam sphere until the Styrofoam is completely covered. Once it’s dry, add Christmasy decorations, such as mini felt trees, ribbons, or bells.
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Upscale Advent wreath
Put a new twist on an old classic with this stylized Advent wreath. Instead of using a typical evergreen wreath, purchase a flat, white wicker basket to use as the base of your creation. From there, it’s all about decorating: Head into your backyard and gather berries, pine branches, and pine cones to position around four thick, red candles.
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Wooden Santa Claus
This wooden Santa Claus figurine will have you ho ho ho–ing throughout the holiday season. Start with a wooden peg shape and use wood glue to attach additional wooden pieces for the arms, legs, and cap. From there, it’s all about the decorating: Add colorful paint and a beard made from a pipe cleaner.
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Light-up stick star
Add some pizzazz to your home with DIY Christmas decorations that’ll make your spirit bright. To create your own light-up stick star, lay five wooden sticks in a star shape and secure them with wood glue. Wrap some holiday lights around the star to make it glow. The best part? This works as a wonderful post-holiday winter decoration.
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Christmas calendar
This unique take on an Advent calendar will add extra excitement to your Christmas countdown. Tie 25 jewelry pouches to a branch or other sturdy bar-shaped item and decorate the outside of each pouch with the numbers one through 25. Drop a candy or toy inside each one for a fun countdown surprise.
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Christmas light mason jar
Make the cold winter nights feel cozy and romantic with this craft. Use a hot glue gun to attach ribbons to the outside of a mason jar. Drop in a votive candle and light it up on nights when you want a festive yet romantic vibe. Another option: Write Christmas captions on tissue paper before gluing it to the jar.
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Quilling paper snowflake
Kick your paper decoration game up a notch with quilling paper snowflakes. Quilling, or paper filigree, is an art practice that uses strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to make creative designs. If you’re new to quilling, there are plenty of YouTube tutorials that can turn you into a pro in no time.
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Fabric Christmas trees
Do we have any seamstresses in Santa’s workshop? If so, this is the craft for you. You’re just a cut, stuff, and stitch away from making these plushy trees. All you’ll need is some fabric (in the pattern of your choice), stuffing, and a needle and thread.
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Burlap stockings
Why buy a cookie-cutter stocking when you can come up with your own personalized Christmas stockings? Create your stocking pattern by tracing the shape onto a piece of burlap. Cut out the shape, then use fabric glue to join the two pieces together. Add some candy cane–inspired stripes to spruce it up for the season.
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Popsicle stick snowman
This Christmas decoration is as easy as one, two, three. You’ll only need three main materials: Popsicle sticks, glue, and paint. Glue together some Popsicle sticks (don’t forget a horizontal one for the brim of his hat) before painting on a set of eyes, a smile, and an orange carrot nose. Frosty has never looked so good!
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Wrapping paper tree topper
For this craft, you’ll need a sheet of printer paper, cardstock, gift wrapping paper, tape, and creativity. First, cut your sheet of printer paper into a square and fold it origami-style into a two-dimensional star (check out a YouTube video for help, if needed). Do this again before pinching along the lines of both sides of the stars until the cardstock stands up on its own. Now you’ve got your three-dimensional star! Cover it in the wrapping paper of your choice.
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Christmas rocks
Nothing gets us more in the spirit than a simple “Merry Christmas!” Write this saying (and others) on painted rocks to create playful (and super easy!) DIY Christmas decorations.
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Cupcake wrapper garland
Pick out a sleeve of holiday-patterned cupcake liners to create this easy garland. After flattening the cupcake liners and folding them in half, hot-glue three together to form a tree shape. Want to add some humor to your holiday? Read these funny Christmas puns.
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Christmas ribbon bauble
Use large styrofoam floral balls to create these easy DIY Christmas decorations. Simply stick mini Christmas ribbons onto the surface of the ball and glue a loop of string at the top for the hanger.
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Pasta noodle Christmas trees
This pretty little pasta tree looks a lot more difficult to make than it actually is. Roll a piece of cardboard into a cone, then hot-glue it together. Glue one noodle at a time, concentrically, until you reach the top. Once you’re done, spray-paint it whatever color you like—and don’t forget to add a bow tie noodle for the star. If this craft is making you hungry, you’re going to want to see these Christmas menu ideas, stat.
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Cinnamon stick candle
There’s nothing like the spicy smell of cinnamon to put you in the holiday spirit. Hot-glue cinnamon sticks around a large candle before tying a ribbon around it to add elegance and help hold everything in place.
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Citrus pomander candles
Citrus pomanders are classic Christmas decorations. So pop on some Christmas songs and get crafting! Slice a thin piece of skin from the stem end of an orange to create a base. On the opposite end, use a sharp paring knife to cut out a hole that’s just large enough to fit the tea light. Decorate the outside with cloves to complete the decoration.
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Citrus ornaments
Instead of tossing citrus skins into the compost pile, transform them into ornaments. Use cookie cutters to trace shapes onto the skin, cut them out with a sharp knife, and transform them into ornaments by threading a string through a small hole or piercing them with metal ornament hooks.
courtesy Debbie Wolfe
Cardboard gingerbread house
Skip the messy candy-and-graham-cracker gingerbread kit and make a gingerbread house out of cardboard boxes instead. Use chalk markers or paint to decorate your house.
courtesy Debbie Wolfe
Candy cane reindeer
Nothing’s better than a Christmas decoration you can eat after the holiday. Glue two candy canes back-to-back and wrap a piece of brown ribbon around the center. Glue googly eyes and a red pom-pom nose to the ribbon to create Rudolph’s face. His nose has never looked brighter!
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Woodburned ornament
Woodburning is a versatile craft that looks amazing and is surprisingly easy to do. Lightly sketch a design on wood slices before you apply the heat with a woodburning tool. Check out these Christmas traditions to inspire your holiday celebration.
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Reindeer pot
Create this adorable little reindeer with pipe cleaners, craft paper, googly eyes, and a pom-pom. Cut out ears from the craft paper and adhere them to the pot with hot glue. Twist the pipe cleaners into antlers and glue them onto the pot, along with the eyes and nose.
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Cardboard and yarn Christmas tree
Sometimes, the simplest DIY Christmas decorations are the best. Cut a simple triangle from cardboard, then paint a layer of glue over it. Wrap yarn around the tree and let it dry. It’s so quick and easy, you’ll have plenty of time left over to catch all of those Christmas movies on Netflix you’ve added to your list.
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Bottle cap snowmen
Make these mini snowmen by gluing bottle caps onto a length of ribbon. Decorate with pre-made mini craft snowflakes, or paint inside the bottle caps yourself.
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Christmas ornament candle holder
Make this festive candle holder by gluing mini Christmas ball ornaments onto a foam wreath form. These pretty little candle holders make perfect hostess gifts as well as a lovely tabletop centerpiece for a party.
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Ornament vase centerpiece
Another way to create an easy centerpiece is to fill a glass vase with ornaments. You can swap out colors to match your decor. This sophisticated-looking centerpiece is inexpensive, versatile, and super simple—genius!
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Natural garland
This natural garland is not only easy to assemble, but it’s also a great way to keep the kids busy and feeling included. After all, people celebrating Christmas certainly kept it natural 100 years ago. Have little ones gather sprigs of evergreen branches and pine cones from the yard, and feel free to add in slices of dried citrus. Then clip them to a length of twine with clothespins.
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Snow globe
Snow globes are the perfect seasonal craft to make with an upcycled glass jar. Place faux snow at the base, then add a mini tree inside. Finish with battery-operated mini LED string lights to add a warm glow to any room.
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Pine cone centerpiece
If you have a yard full of pine cones, use them to create this simple centerpiece. Just place various sizes of cones into a wide glass bowl. Add cinnamon sticks and sprigs of pine for natural fragrance. When you’re done with this craft, stock up on free Christmas cards—just download, print, and sign.
courtesy Crayons & Cravings
Ribbon tree
This craft will have you singing “O (Mini) Christmas Tree” all day long. Pin pieces of ribbon to a tree-shaped foam form before hot-gluing them secure. A pine cone tops the festive look.
courtesy Crayons & Cravings
Mason jar ring wreath
Do you have mason jar rings piling up in your drawers? Use them to make mini wreaths, which look adorable tied to gifts or hanging on your tree. The only other things you’ll need are a pair of scissors and the holiday fabric of your choice. Keep the fun going with these free Christmas bingo cards.
Courtesy Angela Hine/Projects with Kids
Gingerbread pots
Using mini terra-cotta pots and chalk markers, you can create these sweet little houses that look good enough to eat.
courtesy Angela Hine/Projects with Kids
Magical lanterns
There’s nothing like candlelight during the holidays. Transform glass jars into magical lanterns with the help of some tissue paper, yarn, Mod Podge, paintbrushes, and cardboard. If holiday crafting is quickly becoming your thing, you’re going to want to give these handmade presents a whirl.
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Salt dough ornaments
You can’t talk about Christmas decorations without discussing classic salt dough ornaments. All you need to make the dough is flour, salt, and water. Create shapes with cookie cutters before baking in the oven. Once they’re cool, decorate them with paint.
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Evergreen wreath
If you adore the look and smell of a fresh evergreen wreath but hate the price, you’re in luck. Creating a wreath is easy with the help of a straw wreath form and U-pins. Simply gather evergreen greenery, cut the branches into smaller pieces, and pin the bundles to the wreath. You can also use floral wire to help secure the branches to the wreath. Keep the holiday spirit alive post–craft session by reading one of these Christmas books.
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Pine cone Santas
These darling little Santas are easy to put together with pre-made mini hats that you can pick up at the craft store. Paint the tips of pine cones white and let them dry. Pop on the mini Santa hats, and they’re ready to go!
izzzy71/Shutterstock
Evergreen branch arrangement
Use those leftover branches that were trimmed off your fresh Christmas tree to make a simple tabletop arrangement. Line a decorative pot with a plastic insert, add soaked floral foam, and insert the branches into the form at varying heights. Keep crafting with these gift wrapping ideas.
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Christmas paper town
Create your very own miniature winter wonderland with this cheap Christmas decoration. Construct houses out of cardstock by cutting and gluing pieces together.
Originally Published: December 23, 2021
Lucie Turkel
Lucie Turkel is a lifestyle and culture writer covering the latest in holidays, books, movies and television, and e-commerce for RD.com. She graduated with an individualized major in Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies from the University of Connecticut.
