People's hearts are filled with excitement and joy as Christmas approaches in less than a month. The festival preparations are already in full swing. Christmas is the most anticipated holiday of the year due to the adornments of trees, the welcoming of guests, the baking of cakes and cookies, the singing of carols, and the exchange of gifts.
Nothing is more exciting than going shopping for Christmas decorations and decorating the Christmas tree with our close ones. But with the current situation, people are afraid to go outside to buy decorations or even gifts or they just do not have the means to buy decorations as they sometimes tend to be expensive. So, a genuine solution would be to make it yourself, that is, by making some DIY Christmas decor. It is affordable and easy to make as well as you can use this opportunity to spend time with family members by making it an activity where everyone gets a chance to make their ornaments to decorate the Christmas tree.
Below are some DIY Christmas décor ideas to make this festive season even more special and charming:
1. Popsicle Stick Snowflake Ornaments
Inspired by traditional Scandinavian straw ornaments, these kid-friendly creations call for popsicle sticks, embroidery thread, and paint.
Instructions:
First, paint popsicle sticks white and let them dry. Then arrange matching sizes into an X-shape and glue together. Once dry, arrange 2 X’s diagonally on top of each other and glue in the middle, creating a snowflake. Weave colored embroidery thread around the popsicle sticks to create an X or grid pattern. Tie the thread at the back of the snowflake and trim excess. Glue a ribbon loop to the back of the snowflake to hang.
2. 3D Paper Ornaments
Using colored cardstock and embellishments, make it three-dimensional.
Instructions:
To make, cut five strips of paper into the following sizes: two 1.25" x 10", two 1.25" x 7", and one 1.25" x 5". Then, at the top and bottom of each strip, punch a 1/4" hole. Stack the papers with the smallest in the middle, followed by the medium strips, and finally the largest strips. Line up all of the strips on one end and tie a piece of string or wire through the holes. Repeat this step on the opposite end of the strips, which can then be fanning out. For added glam, add tassels or beads to the bottom of the ornament.
3. 3D PAPER SNOWMAN ORNAMENTS
This is a cute craft to do with kids.
TOOLS & MATERIALS:
❖ White card stock
❖ 2" and 3" circle punches
❖ Ad Tech's permanent crafter's tape
❖ White ribbon
❖ Orange card stock
❖ Scissors
❖ Brown or tree-bark card stock
Directions:
1. With the punches, cut six circles of each size on white card stock. Fold them in half.
2. Tape the shapes together with the crafter's tape, but do not form the ball shapes yet.
3. At the back of both pieces, apply two strips of crafter's tape side-by-side right down the middle. Cut a length of ribbon (about 9") and attach it along here.
4. Close the back of the snowman with more tape. Then, cut a long triangle for the nose, and two "twigs" shaped like arms.
5. Attach the nose to the top sphere and the arms to the bottom one and there you have it!
4. Pinecone Bow Ornament
Instructions:
Cut a piece long enough of jute to attach to the pine cone, yet still fit around a tree branch. Glue the two ends to the top of the pine cone. Just be sure that it hangs nicely once it’s attached.
Then tie a bow out of some ribbon (beige satin ribbon, 1.5 inches wide).
Glue the bow to the jute as it allows the bow to hang a little nicer. Then, cut the ends of the ribbon at a diagonal, whatever length you like
Then heat seals the ends of your ribbon with a lighter( preferably ask an adult to do it).
5, TWIG CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS
SUPPLIES:
● Thin branches or twigs
● Garden shears
● Glue gun and glue sticks
● Twine
● Sharpie
● Buttons
● Sprigs of faux pine/berries
INSTRUCTIONS
1. To make the star ornament trim 5 twigs to equal length with your garden shears.
2. Begin with two twigs, overlap them in an upside-down “V” shape. Using hot glue, attach the two twigs at the top as pictured.
3. Get another twig and attach it on top of the first two twigs going across diagonally.
4. Continue adding your twigs until the star is complete.
5. To reinforce the point of each star, take a short length of twine. Hot glue it to the backside of the ornament at one of the points. Wrap around 3-4 times then hot glue the end of the twine to the back of the ornament. Trim any excess.
6. Take another small length of twine, form a loop, and hot glue the two ends to the top point of the star at the back. This will be for hanging the ornament on the tree. Trim any excess.
Instructions:
1. To make the Snowflake ornament begin with 1 long twig and 6 shorter twigs of equal length. Lay the long twig up and down. Arrange smaller twigs around a longer one to form a snowflake. Begin attaching smaller twigs to the large one in the center.
2. Once all the twigs have been glued to the center of the longest twig cut 16 tiny pieces to add embellishments to the end of each point on the snowflake. Attach these with hot glue.
3. Wrap twine around the center of the snowflake to reinforce. Next, decorate the center of the snowflake using sprigs of pine and berries, and buttons.
Instructions:
1. To make the tree ornament start with one longer twig. You can make these as large or as small as you want –no need to do any exact measuring here.
2. Next, you will want to trim some twigs in graduating lengths. I used a sharpie to mark the length of these. You will want a smaller twig for the top of the tree and each twig will get longer as you move to the bottom of the tree. 8-10 twigs should be enough to form the tree.
3. Once you have all your twigs trimmed, attach them to the longer twig with hot glue. Add a button to the top of the tree for a star. Cut a short length of twine, form a loop, and glue to the back of the tree at the top for hanging.
REFERENCE:
Writer: Narmadha Canoosamy
Editors; Tanvi Ramful, Khisha Callicharrun