Christmas is just around the corner and most of you are already feeling the holiday spirit. Still, there might be a few who have yet to put up their Christmas ornaments for a variety of reasons. Maybe you’ve been too busy or a family emergency has kept you from truly enjoying the holiday. Whatever reason you have, cheer up because there’s still time to take out the old decors and even make new DIY Christmas ornaments.
Here are some easy ones you can make right now:
Paper Star Ornaments
Perhaps one of the most surprisingly easy DIY Christmas ornaments is the 3D paper star. You’ll need a square origami paper, a pair of scissors, glue and string for hanging. Watch this video for the instructions on making these simple Christmas ornaments.
To make cute paper lucky stars like the ones pictured above, you’ll require strips of paper. There’s no need to cut strips as you can purchase pre-cut origami paper. Of course, if you already have some solid-colored or patterned paper with you, then you can go ahead and cut the strips you need. Fashion a cone from cardboard and glue green paper stars on it to make a mini Christmas tree. You can also thread a string through the stars to make a garland. See how the stars are made here
Pine Cone Ornaments
If you don’t fancy spending too much on your Christmas ornaments, you can simply make do with what you have. You’re lucky if you have pine trees on your property or somewhere nearby. No, there will be no cutting down of trees in the neighborhood. What you can do is collect pine cones and turn them into ornaments. Of course, you have to ask the owner first if the tree is in someone else’s yard.
To turn pine cones into Christmas ornaments, you’ll need a string or thin ribbon, glue gun, white paint, glitter, and little trinkets or anything you find to add a more Christmas-y feel to your DIY project. Simply paint the sides of the cone white. You can dab it in some silver glitter to make it sparkle.
Use the string and superglue to attach the rest of your materials once the paint has dried. A ribbon and a couple of tiny bells would look great. Don’t forget to superglue a loop of string at the top so you can hang it on your tree.
Christmas Balls
A Christmas tree feels incomplete without the classic Christmas balls. Those sold in stores may be a bit boring while others are too fragile that you end up buying more. If you’re tired of picking up the pieces, why not make your own.
Get your hands on different-sized foam balls and let your imagination run wild. You can wrap each ball in a fabric or two then tie the end with your twine. Voila! Instant Christmas ornaments. You can also cover the foam balls with jute twine or yarn. Just pin one end to the ball and wrap and glue the twine around it until you reach the opposite end.
Do you have lots of buttons just lying around? Glue or pin them on the foam ball. Using sequins and pins is another cheap way to make your Christmas ornaments. Pin thumbtacks all over your foam ball to get something like a cross between Iron Man and a scaly dragon. Make sure you pin them overlapping each other and one row at a time to get that scaly effect.
Christmas Banners
Christmas banners are cheap, easy and can be a fun activity to do with the children. You just have to cut out triangles from card stocks or origami paper then glue the base to a string of jute twine. You can hang other stuff on the twine such as cut-outs of Santa, Christmas balls, stars, reindeer, bells, and other Christmas symbols.
Make Christmas-themed origami projects with the kids and hang them on your banner. There are lots of easy origami you can do such as paper Christmas trees, Santas, candles, and wreaths.
Have you seen one of the Christmas episodes of Mr. Bean, the classic comedy show starring the legendary Rowan Atkinson? Maybe you remember when he “mailed” Christmas cards to himself? After getting the cards, he hung them on a string to make his own Christmas banner. Such a genius, right?
Buy or make your own Christmas cards and clip them on the twine with wooden clothespins. You can use photos from previous Christmases and pin them on your string.
If you’re really on a tight budget but still want to celebrate Christmas, you can use some old discarded stuff in your home to make Christmas ornaments. Make a snowman out of a white sock. Just cut the toe part off then tie that end with a string. Fill it with strips of cloth or rice then tie a ribbon somewhere along the middle. This will be the snowman’s neck. Place the toe part you cut earlier on the top of the head to make it look like hat. Draw a face or glue buttons for its eyes.
We’re pretty sure you have your own DIY Christmas ornaments you make every year. We’d be glad if you share them in the comment section below so we can all try them out. You can also check out The Gentleman Pirate for more DIY projects that are easy enough for anyone to do.
Since we’re on the topic of Christmas and kids, it would be great if you can make the celebration memorable even if you’re on a tight budget. This is possible by holding a number of activities that the young ones will surely love. Surely, you can find at least one great activity out of the over 200 tips from the Creative Youth Ideas Christmas Collection.
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