The festive season can be such an expensive time of year. With gifts to buy and friends and family to entertain, costs can spiral. One of the areas in which you can save money is by creating Christmas crafts for gifts and home decor.
Crafting can not only be a relaxing and enjoyable process but also has the added benefit that it can result in a unique item for the home or a thoughtful gift for a friend or relative.
Handmade items can give your home a beautiful, unique look. Plus, a homemade gift is often more well-received and appreciated than a shop-bought one.
These simple Christmas crafts are fun to make and can save you a little money in the festive season.
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Simple Christmas Crafts for The Festive Season
We’ve collated a round-up of our favorite Christmas crafts for you to try out.
Whether you spend a quiet solo afternoon creating handmade Christmas cards or gather a group of friends together for a fun evening making wreaths and garlands, a few hours of mindful craft is excellent for relaxation.
Some of these crafts are simpler than others. Some are perfect for crafting with children, while others are slightly more involved and require a more adept hand.
Christmas Crafts to Make with Paper & Card
3D Paper Snowflakes
Cut and fold paper to create intricate three-dimensional snowflakes for hanging.
Origami Christmas Decor
From stars to Santa Claus, origami offers a variety of festive options.
Paper Poinsettias
Craft poinsettias using colorful craft paper and use them as tree or table decorations.
Paper Fan Decorations
Round paper fan decorations can be made with colored craft paper, wrapping paper, and even scraps of left-over wallpaper. Make a batch of differing sizes and group together for maximum impact.
Christmas Crafts to Make with Children
Paper Chain Garland
Cut colorful strips of paper, then glue the ends to create chain links, then thread them together to make a sweet and nostalgic garland.
Salt Dough Ornaments
Create a simple salt dough recipe using flour, salt, and water. Then, cut out shapes with cookie cutters and bake until hard. Paint and decorate.
Popcorn & Cranberry Garland
Use a needle and thread to string together popcorn and cranberries for an old-fashioned tree decoration.
Handmade Christmas Cards
Use watercolors, stamps, or collage materials to create unique holiday greeting cards. To make life easier, you can create your Christmassy pictures, upload them to a computer, and then print duplicates rather than creating each masterpiece by hand.
Pinecone Christmas Trees
Paint pinecones in green and add little beads or stars for decorations.
Paper Plate Angels
Use paper plates to craft angel wings and faces, and attach golden tinsel for the halo.
Twig Stars
Bind together twigs to make rustic star decorations.
Christmas Crafts Using Upcycled Household Items
The recycling bin is an excellent source of relatively free craft supplies. Whether you are tossing out a cork or yesterday’s newspaper, the bin is full of creative possibilities.
Button Garland
String colorful buttons on a strong nylon thread or string to make unique garlands.
Wine Cork Reindeer
Use old wine corks to make the body of a reindeer and use twigs for the antlers.
Mason Jar Snow Globes
Glue tiny bottle brush trees and miniature figures to the underside of a mason jar lid. Then, fill the jars with a mixture of water, glycerin, and glitter to create a homemade snow globe.
DIY Gingerbread House Christmas Gift Bag
This is such an easy craft. Simply draw your design onto a brown paper bag using a chalk pen or similar and cut the edges of the bag to resemble a roof. You can see the full DIY gingerbread house Christmas gift bag tutorial for more details.
Clothes Peg Snowflakes
Remove the metal from old clothes pegs, then assemble the pieces to form intricate snowflake patterns. Once you’re happy with your design, glue the clothes peg sections together with hot glue. Once complete, you can paint or leave them natural for a rustic, wooden look.
Cardboard Dove Christmas Garland
Don’t throw your old shipping boxes away! Create a DIY dove Christmas garland with them instead! The run-up to the festive season sees lots of deliveries and, with it, lots of excess cardboard. Instead of sending it to the recycling depot, turn it into a beautiful Christmas craft decoration for your home.
Homemade Christmas Home Decor
These Christmas crafts are so easy to create and will bring a touch of nostalgic Christmas charm to your home.
Beaded Candy Canes
Thread red and white beads on a pipe cleaner, then bend them into a candy cane shape to hang on the tree or onto a garland.
Christmas Lanterns
Decorate jam jars, short cylindrical vases, or hurricane candle holders with Christmas-themed stickers or transfers, then pop a tealight candle inside.
Alternatively, you can create a paper snow scene to wrap around the inner base of your glass vessel, then fill the jar with tiny fairy lights for a festive look.
Cinnamon Stick Candles
Bind cinnamon sticks around pillar candles and tie them with a rustic ribbon or jute string.
Jingle Bell Ornaments
Attach colorful ribbons to store-bought sleigh bells or mini jingle bells, and hang them on your front door, the Christmas tree, or around the house.
Miniature Sleighs
Create miniature sleighs using candy canes for sled runners. Glue a piece of cardboard between the ‘sled runners,’ then pile up with miniature chocolate bars or wrapped gifts.
Clove and Orange Pomander
Create a simple festive pomander by studding oranges with cloves. You can elevate this Christmas decoration by scoring the fruit’s skin with a lino-cutting tool. This seasonal decoration looks good and will make your home smell delicious, too.
Christmas Crafts Using Fabric & Haberdashery Items
Fabric and haberdashery items offer a vast and creative avenue for crafting beautiful Christmas decorations and gifts. Here are some creative and festive ideas to consider.
Hessian Tree Skirt
Use hessian to create a rustic tree skirt, then decorate it with sequins, lace, or pretty ribbon.
Yarn-Wrapped Christmas Trees
Wrap colored yarn around conical shapes, adding beads or stars for added Christmas sparkle. You can create your own cone shapes from cardboard or buy maché or polystyrene cones from craft stores or Amazon.
Ribbon Chain Garland
Instead of paper, use fabric ribbons to make colorful chains for the tree.
Felted Wool Ornaments
Felt old wool sweaters or blankets by washing them on a hot cycle in the washing machine, then tumble-drying them until shrunken and felted. Once you’ve done this, cut out festive shapes for ornaments and thread with ribbon or string.
Crochet Snowflakes
For those who can crochet, delicate snowflakes make beautiful tree ornaments or window decorations.
Felt Stockings
Hand-sew small stockings from felt, then decorate them with buttons, ribbons, and embroidery.
Sock Snowmen
Fill a white sock with rice or beans, tie sections to form the snowman’s body, then decorate with buttons, and create a miniature scarf and hat with scraps of paper or fabric.
Pom Pom Wreath
Make pom poms of different sizes and colors, then stick them onto a foam wreath to create a fun and eye-catching pom pom wreath.
Traditional Christmas Crafts for the Win
For some, purchasing Christmas decorations or a store-bought gift is more feasible and practical. After all, not everybody has the time, resources, or skills to create homemade items.
That said, some of these traditional Christmas crafts are so simple a child could do them. Many won’t take much time to create, and the joy of gifting — and receiving — something that’s been lovingly handmade is unparalleled.
Creating homemade gifts and home decor offers many benefits compared to purchasing store-bought items. Many people find it more satisfying to make homemade items because homemade gifts and decor inherently carry a personal touch. They show that someone took the time and effort to create something unique for another person, which can make the recipient feel special and valued.
These gifts carry a special significance because they are infused with the time, effort, and love of the maker.
When you make something yourself, you can tailor it to the specific tastes, needs, and preferences of the recipient. This allows for a level of personalization that is hard to achieve with mass-produced items.
Unique and One-of-a-Kind
Homemade items are totally unique. Even if you’re following a pattern or a recipe, all handmade items will differ due to the natural variations in materials and the human touch involved in their creation. That knowledge of emotional connection and time and effort spent can make homemade gifts and decor feel more valuable and sentimental than store-bought counterparts.
There’s a particular joy in creating and receiving something made with love and care.
Crafting at home can help you learn new skills or hone existing ones. Whether it’s sewing, painting, woodworking, or any other craft, the learning process can be as rewarding as the final product.
These Christmas crafts can be a relaxing and rewarding way to spend your time and also allow you to express your creativity.
And — best of all — you’ll have one-of-a-kind decorations to adorn your home for the holidays. Or some specially hand-crafted Christmas presents to gift to family and friends.
Christmas is a time steeped in tradition. For many, childhood memories of the festive season include crafting, baking, or creating decorations. Engaging in these activities can evoke a sense of nostalgia, reconnecting us to simpler times and cherished memories.
Christmas crafting is the perfect way to merge the joy and spirit of the holiday season with the inherent benefits of creative expression, resulting in an activity that nourishes the soul.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
