Decorating the holiday tree can be one of the most exciting times for the whole family. It’s a great way to get together and bond over the holiday magic, while adding your family’s personality to the holiday season. However, finding the perfect ornaments to let everyone know who you are as a family can really add to the financial strain. Between tree themes and characters or customized ornaments, you may find that your tree can really dip into your gift budget over the season. Luckily, there’s some pretty awesome DIY ornaments that can help you make your tree extraordinary without forcing you to throw your budget to the wind. The best thing is, many of these ornaments can be made with the whole family helping, which is sure to help everyone bond even more.
1. Books
If you have some book worms in the family, then there’s a few options to help you have a little fun while showing off your love of the written word. One option is to take an old, worn out book from your collection or a thrift store and cut out your favorite lines. If you don’t want to damage the book, then simply scan and print the page and go from there. Once you have everything cut out, then take an old ornament and glue the sentences onto it. You can have a lot of fun with this by putting the lines in order or scattering them throughout the ornament. You can even use basic sentences and highlight words to form your own sentences or season’s greetings. Another option is to take one of your favorite lines and place it inside of a clear ornament. You can add faux snow or curl the paper to give it an extra special touch. Finally, you can make your own little books to hang on the tree. You can do this by printing out your favorite lines and gluing them onto small pages hooked together. Add a cover to the book by printing out a small version of the book’s original cover.
2. Snowflakes
Snowflakes are always a magical part of the holiday season, whether you get to experience the snow or not. With every flake different, it is a lot of fun to see what snowflakes children come up with. This makes them great additions to the holiday tree too. One simple way to make your own snowflakes is to gather up sticks from the yard. Once you have an assortment of thin sticks then glue them together in various snowflake shapes. Younger children may need help with this, but older children should have a lot of fun using their creativity. Once the glue has dried, you can add faux snow, fake berries, bells or anything else that strikes your fancy. Another option is to go the more classic route and make your snowflakes out of paper. Most school children will have participated in this craft, so you may wind up with enough snowflakes to decorate the whole home.
3. Picture Ornaments
Everyone wants to remember special memories from the year, which is why ordering a picture ornament each year has become such a popular craze. However, these custom ornaments can run you a whole lot of money that you don’t really need to spend on an ornament. Instead, you may want to consider making your own ornaments. One popular way to do this is to take some wood, which works great for rustic themes, and transfer an image onto it. You can do this by printing out an image and using mod podge, glue or a special transfer paper in order to secure it to the wood. Of course, mod podge will work on a variety of surfaces, including an old holiday ornament. Another great way to do this is to take a clear holiday ornament and simply place the picture inside. You can add other details to the mix too to spice it up.
4. Scrabble Messages
Another hot trend for DIY ornaments is to use scrabble letters to form messages for the tree. You can easily do this by buying a few scrabbles games from thrift stores. When you shop this way you’re helping out the charity the shop is sponsored by and you’re probably getting a few games that are missing pieces anyway. Grab all of the letters and begin to form the message you would like to present. You can choose anything from season’s greetings to names or Biblical verses. Once the letters are pulled out and put in order, begin to hot glue them together. You can even glue on a wire or string to help hang the tree up. If you’re not keen on using game pieces, then find some scrap wood and sand it down. You can find a cheap wood burning kit to make the letters, which can always be used for your other crafting needs in the future.
5. Hand Prints
If you have little ones in the home, then remembering the size of their hands can be magical. That’s why hand print ornaments are one of the best options when decorating your tree. These ornaments can be made in several different ways too. You can always buy a casting kit at your favorite craft store, which is perfect for younger babies. These kits are simple to use and also allow you to write an inscription. You can also make your own clay for the baby or child to use. This is very cheap and efficient and can be baked in your own home. If you don’t want just a hand print, then consider using your child’s hand print to make a lovely bulb. Simply dip the child’s hand in white paint and place it on a colorful bulb of your choice. Once the paint has dried then paint on hats, noses and buttons to create a cute snowman ornament. Older children will love turning their handprints into reindeers too. Simply trace and cut out their hand and foot print on paper or felt. Then cut out eyes and a cute red nose. Once you’ve finished with your cutting glue the hands onto the feet and then add the rest of the details to finish off your cute reindeer design.
6. Cork Ornaments
The holidays often mean an abundance of leftover wine corks, so put the recycling to work for your tree. Corks are great for making a variety of items with very little effort. For starters, with a few adjustments you can transform a single wine cork into the face of a reindeer, which will look adorable on your tree. If you’re feeling a bit craftier then consider making the whole reindeer, which only takes a few extra corks to accomplish. You can also make snowmen, Santas and anything else your heart desires. One of the ideas for a larger ornament is to piece together the corks to create a cute sled, which will look good on the tree or underneath it, if you decided to make yours a little larger. There’s lots of great inspiration online, so don’t overlook tutorial pages while working with your corks.
7. Character Ornaments
Let’s face it, children love to have their favorite characters on the holiday tree, but buying ornaments for these can be pretty pricey. Even adults like to represent their fandoms on the tree, but finding the right decorations can cost way too much. Luckily, you can make a whole lot of characters out of simple colored bulbs. All you have to do is take the bulb and paint on the character of choices face. There’s even stencils to help you out with some of the characters, so browse around until you find a stencil that is free or make one for yourself. You can also print out images or take them from coloring books and then mod podge the item onto the bulb. Some people really love to get into the creation process though and have posted lots of great ideas, including how to make your own golden snitch from Harry Potter. The imagination is the limit when it comes to making your own character ornaments, so have fun with it and your kids will never long to buy the ornament from the store again.
8. Pinecones
If you live near a lot of pine trees then you probably see pinecones in abundance. If not, then there’s lots of cheap places to purchase these items, so you can cheaply make some nature inspired ornaments. Pinecones alone look amazing on a tree, especially if you’re going for a rustic or natural style. However, you can easily add a bit of flair to these items too. For instance, you can spray paint them to match other themes or to simply give them a festive look. Even painting them with glitter will add a bit of fun to your tree, especially when the lights on the tree make the glitter sparkle. If you want to get craftier then turn the pinecones into little animals. If you choose to use ribbon or colorful string to hang them up, then you’re in for even more holiday charm.
9. Stringed Foods
A little garland can take your tree to the next level and it’s a lot of fun to make with the whole family. The best things about garland is it can be made from a wide variety of foods that cost next to nothing. For instance, you can pop some unflavored popcorn and have the whole family work to string it onto fishing wire or any other thin string you may have. If you’re looking for something a little easier for children, then use yarn and a large bag of cereal. This can keep them busy while you put on your favorite holiday movie to watch. Another option is dried cranberries or other dried fruits. You can even use fake food items if you plan on holding onto your garland for upcoming years.
10. Origami
Being shy on a tree budget doesn’t mean you have to go without stunning holiday decor. One of the cheapest ways to decorate your tree is by using origami. You can choose from a wide selection of designs too, which will make your tree look outstanding even without all of the other ornaments. There’s many tutorials on origami that you can access for free, so all you’ll have to worry about is finding the paper to use. If you really want to be frugal or eco-friendly then you can always use paper from your recycling bin. If you don’t want the lettering to shine through them simply paint it before you begin to work on all of your folding. You may even consider adding a coat of glitter to make the items look festive. This activity can be very peaceful too, which might help you escape the stress that the season brings.
Decorating your holiday tree should be a fun time spent with your loved ones. If you’re wanting to keep your holiday tree budget down, but still want to add something new to the tree then these ten tips should set you on the right path. Before you know it, you’ll be hooked on making your own ornaments, which will certainly make your tree unique and fun to decorate as the years pass.
