Five Creative Christmas Craft Ideas
Why buy Christmas decorations when you can make them – and have a little fun in the process?! Here are five ideas for simple yet joyful Christmas crafts to make your home feel extra festive, and entertain you and your loved ones over the holidays.
Christmas is a great time for crafting!
I unashamedly love Christmas. I’ve loved Christmas since I was a little girl. And that’s mostly thanks to my mum. Christmas was probably her favourite time of the year (tied with summer holidays!) and, especially when me and my brothers were young, she would really go the extra mile to make our house feel warm and festive.
My mum wasn’t necessarily much of a crafter but some of my favourite Christmas crafts come directly from her playbook. Others I learnt from other family and friends. Because that’s what Christmas crafts are really about; getting together to spend time with the people you love (maybe over a mug or two of mulled wine for the adults…) and create something festive in the meantime!
Here are five Christmas craft ideas you could have fun with this holiday season…
1. Try your hand at needle felting Xmas decorations
My brother bought me a needle felting starter kit for Christmas one year and I immediately loved it. It’s mostly just repeatedly stabbing wool to tangle it, compress it and form it into different shapes. Great for taking out any stress you may be feeling in the run up to the holidays! And despite how simple the process is, it’s so versatile – you can pretty much make anything your heart desires!
The great thing about it is how easy it is to get started. All you need are the barbed needles, some sort of cushion to work on (so you don’t stab your legs) and some wool. My husband and I needle-felted the toppers on our wedding cake. And this year for Christmas, we’re making some of our loved ones their own unique Christmas decorations to hang on the tree.
2. Make a Christmas wreath for your front door
When it was time to decorate the house at Christmas, my mum would go out in the garden and forage for decorations for our hallway. We were lucky to have easy access to both of the classic festive plants – holly and ivy. But half of the fun of this craft is going for a crisp December walk with your loved ones to see what you can find.
My mum used spray paint to turn the foliage golden, which definitely looked cool, but these days I tend to think natural is best. She used florist’s wire to affix the foliage around the house (on the stair banisters, framing our hallway mirror) and to make a wreath for the door. If you fancy trying this yourself, you can buy wreath rings to use as a base. Or skip that expense and simply cut out a ring shape from a piece of cardboard headed for the recycling bin and use that.
3. Let your creativity shine with salt dough tree ornaments
Personally, I find perfectly presented, colour-themed Christmas trees a little soulless. I prefer it when the tree looks a little haphazard and where the decorations tell a story. Because for me that’s what family is about: maybe a little messy at times, but unique and full of joy and love.
Growing up, our Christmas tree was always absolutely laden, and adorned with some truly random decorations (like “the Christmas cockatiel” and the “Christmas FA cup”). Literally anything had the potential to become a tree ornament. Decorating the tree felt like a ritual (complete with its own soundtrack). But my favourite were always the salt dough decorations we had made.
This craft is a little time consuming, but so worth the effort. You can make the salt dough by combining flour, salt and water in the ratio 2:1:1. Use cookie cutters to cut into your chosen shapes – or go rogue, as I often do (and don’t forget to use a chopstick or similar to make a hole to hang them from). Then bake low and slow until they’re solid. Once baked you can paint them as you choose – and add a coat of varnish if you want them to last!
It’s a great way to stamp a little of your own personality onto your Christmas tree. We’ve made some unique ones over the years, from a clown, an alien and various football players, to decorations inspired by Malala, Wonderwoman, and yes, I might be the first person alive to have made a Naomi Klein inspired tree decoration.
4. Create stained glass window decorations to give your home a festive glow
Possibly one of my mum’s most amazing feats was her “stained glass” ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’. Truly a work of art, it was custom made to fit the window by the front door.
It was made from black card that had designs cut out symbolising the twelve days of Christmas – from a partridge in a pear tree, to twelve drummers drumming. Behind each cut out she had glued on coloured tissue paper.
It didn’t look like much in the light of day but in the evening the light from inside the house would make the design glow like stained glass, offering a fabulous festive greeting to anyone who knocked on the door.
It must have taken her ages to do, and I’ve never found the time to recreate it (I think it eventually fell foul of the mice in the attic). But the principle is easy enough to follow to create “stained glass” festive decorations of your very own.
5. Design a festive tableau out of paper
My sister in law is a master at paper crafting (and hosting!). I’ve never had a go myself but I’m always very impressed by the wonderful displays she makes. Every season she creates a beautiful tableau to hang above the dining table using just coloured paper, tape/glue, a very cool gyro-craft knife and a cutting mat (to protect the table).
It’s a really lovely and effective way to change the ambiance of your dining room to match the seasons, and let your creativity flow at the same time. And although hers are extremely intricate, some designs, like the classic snowflake, could be easily made with kids.
Happy Christmas crafting!
I hope you have lots of fun trying out these Christmas crafts. Do get in touch and tell me about your own Christmas crafting projects. And if you try any of these out, tag me on social media – I’d love to see your creations.
Happy holidays!
Looking for gift ideas?
Head to my Etsy shop to see what prints I have in stock. And get your orders in soon to make sure they arrive in time for the holidays!