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Easy Christmas Crafts for the Holiday Season
Whether you enjoy a peaceful afternoon making handmade Christmas cards or host a festive gathering to create wreaths and garlands with friends, mindful crafting is a wonderful way to unwind and embrace the season.
I’ve put together a collection of our favourite Christmas crafts for you to try.
Some of these projects are quick and easy, ideal for crafting with children, while others are a bit more intricate and suited to those with a steady hand.
Christmas can be an expensive time of year. With the costs of gifts, gatherings, and decorations quickly adding up. However, one way to cut costs is by making your own Christmas crafts for gifts and home décor.
Homemade decorations add a special touch to your space, and a DIY gift is often cherished even more than something store-bought.
Not only is crafting a relaxing and enjoyable activity, but it also allows you to create unique pieces for your home or thoughtful, personalized gifts for loved ones.
These Christmas crafts are simple and fun to create and can help you save a little money during the festive season.
Homemade Christmas Home Decor
These holiday crafts are so easy to create and will bring a touch of nostalgic Christmas charm to your home.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Cinnamon Stick Candles
Bind cinnamon sticks around pillar candles and tie them with a rustic ribbon or jute string.
4. 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.
5. Jingle Bell Ornaments
Attach colourful ribbons to store-bought sleigh-bells or mini jingle bells, and hang them on your front door, the Christmas tree, or around the house.
6. Miniature Santa Sleigh
Create miniature sleighs using candy canes for sledge runners. Glue a piece of cardboard between the ‘sledge runners,’ then pile up with miniature chocolate bars or wrapped gifts.
Paper & Card Christmas Crafts
7. Origami Christmas Decor
From stars to Santa Claus, origami offers a variety of festive options.
8. 3D Paper Snowflakes
Cut and fold paper to create intricate three-dimensional snowflakes for hanging.
9. Paper Poinsettias
Craft poinsettias using colourful craft paper and use them as tree or table decorations.
10. Circle Fan Decorations
Paper circle fan decorations can be made with coloured 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
11. 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.
12. Paper Chain Garland
Cut colourful strips of paper, then glue the ends to create chain links,and then thread them together to make a sweet and nostalgic garland.
13. Popcorn & Cranberry Garland
Use a needle and thread to string together popcorn and cranberries for an old-fashioned tree decoration.
14. Handmade Christmas Cards
Use watercolour paints, 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.
15. Pinecone Christmas Trees
Paint pinecones in green and add little beads or stars for decorations.
16. Paper Plate Angels
Use paper plates to craft angel wings and faces, and attach golden tinsel for the halo.
17. Twiggy 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.
18. Wine Cork Reindeer
Repurpose old wine corks to make the body of a reindeer and use twigs for the antlers.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. Button Garland
String colourful buttons on a strong nylon thread or string to make unique garlands.
22. 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.
23. 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.
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.
24. Hessian Tree Skirt
Use hessian to create a rustic tree skirt, then decorate it with sequins, lace, or pretty ribbon.
25. 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.
26. Yarn-Wrapped Christmas Trees
Wrap colourful wool 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.
27. Ribbon Chain Garland
Instead of paper, use fabric ribbons to make colourful chains for the tree.
28. Woollen Christmas Tree Garland
Transform a ball of wool into a simple yarn Christmas tree garland.
29. Crochet Snowflakes
For those who can crochet, delicate snowflakes make beautiful tree ornaments or window decorations.
30. Felt Stockings
Hand-sew small stockings from felt, then decorate them with buttons, ribbons, and embroidery.
31. 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.
32. Pom Pom Wreath
Make pom poms of different sizes and colours, then stick them onto a foam wreath to create a fun and eye-catching pom pom wreath.
33. DIY Advent Calender
To make a DIY advent calendar, simply fill small fabric bags with goodies, then pin to a pegboard using string and tiny woodden pegs. This is super easy to make and will last for years and years.
One-of-a-Kind Creations
Handmade items are truly unique. Even when following a pattern or recipe, no two creations are exactly alike—each carries subtle variations shaped by the materials used and the personal touch of the maker. This individuality, combined with the time and care invested, makes homemade gifts and décor feel more meaningful and sentimental than anything store-bought.
There’s something special about both creating and receiving an item made with love and intention.
Crafting at home is not only a great way to relax but also an opportunity to develop new skills or refine existing ones. Whether you’re sewing, painting, woodworking, or experimenting with another craft, the process itself can be just as fulfilling as the final result.
These Christmas crafts allow you to express your creativity while providing beautiful, one-of-a-kind decorations for your home or heartfelt, hand-crafted gifts for family and friends.
The holiday season is rich with tradition, and for many, childhood memories include making decorations, baking, or crafting with loved ones. Engaging in these creative activities can spark nostalgia, reconnecting us with cherished moments from the past.
Christmas crafting is a wonderful way to blend the festive spirit with the joy of creativity, making it an experience that enriches both the heart and home.
The Magic of Handmade Christmas Crafts
For some, buying Christmas decorations or gifts is the most practical option—after all, not everyone has the time, materials, or skills to make homemade items.
However, many traditional Christmas crafts are so simple that even a child can create them. Some take only a short time to make, yet the joy of giving—and receiving—a thoughtfully handmade gift is unmatched.
By crafting your own gifts, you can customize them to perfectly suit the recipient’s tastes and preferences, making them even more meaningful than anything mass-produced.
Handmade gifts and decorations offer a unique charm that store-bought items simply can’t replicate. They carry a personal touch, showing that someone took the time and effort to create something special. This thoughtfulness can make the recipient feel truly valued and appreciated.
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.
