I am undeniably one of those people who scream ‘IT’S CHRISTMAS’ as soon as the clock turns to midnight on the 31st of October and leave Halloween behind us for another year. And I do not feel the slightest bit guilty about it.
Christmas is, of course, the most wonderful time of the year for so many reasons. It is a time of family, of friends, of giving, of sharing, of happiness, and of general togetherness.
One of my favorite parts of the festive build-up is completely decking out my house with more DIY Christmas ornaments than you would think humanly possible. I want people to walk in my front door and think they have accidentally stumbled into Santa’s Grotto at the North Pole.
DIY Christmas ornaments are undoubtedly the best. Not only do they often look better than shop-bought ones, but creating them together as a family is a fantastic way of getting into the festive spirit.
DIY Christmas Ornaments to Build Christmas Cheer
1. Popsicle Stick Sleds
I think that these popsicle stick sleds are the sweetest little tree ornaments. And you would never ever guess what they were made from when hanging on your tree.
To make them even more fun looking, you could add little children figures sitting on the sleds.
2. Woodland Animal Baubles
These woodland animal baubles are so cute and so easy to customize. They would be a great craft for kids to get involved with too.
You could have one or two spread around your tree, or even go for a whole woodland theme, and absolutely cover it in woodland baubles of all shapes and sizes.
3. Yarn Christmas Stars
What better way is there to use up little bits of wrapping paper and string that you’ve got left lying around than making up a few of these tree star DIY Christmas ornaments.
The combinations of patterns and colors you could use is unlimited. So if your tree has a color scheme this year, you could easily make ones to match it.
4. Mini Snow Globes
I am considering completely covering my entire tree in these mini snow globe DIY Christmas ornaments this year, that is how genius I think they are. You could pay an arm and a leg for something like this in a shop too.
I would experiment, and make different ones with varying shapes of lightbulbs and lots of little figures inside.
5. Scrabble Tile Ornament
These Scrabble tile DIY Christmas ornaments are perfect for adding a personal touch to your tree. You could spell out anything you want, from the names of your family members to your favorite Christmas songs.
I can imagine that these would make lovely gifts too.
6. Mini Yarn Hats
Do not fear, these mini yarn hats are far easier to make than you may think. There is no real knitting involved, just a few little nifty tricks.
This festive season I will probably be dotting these around my entire house, never mind just on the tree.
7. DIY Tattly Ornaments
I used to be obsessed with temporary tattoos when I was younger, and the fact that I have now found a way to incorporate them into my adult life in the form of these baubles makes me beyond happy.
The end result is so pretty, and I bet your guests will never believe you when you tell them how you made them.
8. Pinecone Elves
Pinecones themselves look great on a Christmas tree, never mind when they’re jazzed up to look like little elves.
These pinecone elves would be a lot of fun for kids to help make. You could keep them as individual little DIY Christmas ornaments or loop them together in a garland like in the photo.
9. Marbled Baubles
I cannot believe how easy these marbled baubles are to make compared to how chic they look.
If I saw these on someone’s tree I probably wouldn’t immediately believe that they had made them themselves, as they look like they belong on the shelves of a high-end retailer.
10. Lighted Burlap Garland
I am not the biggest fan of using tinsel on my Christmas tree, so I am always looking for alternatives to wrap around it. As soon as I saw this lighted burlap garland, I knew I was set for this year.
This would look easily as fantastic hung on a wall, draped around a mantlepiece, or even in the middle of a table as a centerpiece.
11. Jingle Bells DIY Christmas Ornaments
Nothing quite beats the sound of jingle bells at Christmas.
These little jingle bell ornaments look so easy to make. You could have so much fun experimenting with different colors and hanging these all-around your house so that they jingle as you brush past them.
12. Melted Peppermint Candy DIY Christmas Ornaments
These melted peppermint candy ornaments look like a lot of fun, and you could mix and match different colors of candies to get some variation if you wanted to.
I can imagine these would probably give off a lovely festive peppermint scent too.
13. Rustic Twig Ornaments
Using natural materials to make your Christmas ornaments has such a lovely effect, and these rustic twig ornaments would look so lovely hung upon the tree.
The incorporation of holly berries and pine is a nice touch, and you could use other wintery things from the garden too.
14. Melted Crayon Baubles
The melting of crayons onto these baubles gives them such a unique look.
They’re quick and easy to make, and the world is your oyster as far as it comes to colors.
15. Marble Acorns
Everyone has some old marbles lying around somewhere, and the need for acorn caps in this DIY is a great excuse to drag the family out on a wintery treasure hunt for them.
You could not only use these marble acorns on your tree but also scattered across your Christmas table for a bit of extra decoration.
16. Nutcracker Peg Dolls
I absolutely love these little nutcracker peg dolls, they remind me of reading the book every Christmas as a child.
Take inspiration from this DIY and make a whole festive family of peg dolls, with characters like Santa Clause and Rudolf.
17. Miniature Skis with Poles
My dad is absolutely obsessed with skiing, I am pretty sure as we were growing up he was more concerned about us being able to ski than being able to ride a bike.
For this reason, I am definitely going to make him some of these mini skis with poles for our family tree this year. I might as well make some for myself too while I’m at it.
18. Ugly Christmas Sweaters
I am an absolute sucker for an ugly Christmas sweater, and I take great pride in mine every year.
The idea of having lots of these mini ugly Christmas sweaters hung around my Christmas tree is an exciting one to me. I am definitely going to try and make mini replicas of my own ones. I also absolutely love the mini coat hangers, they are so cute.
19. Christmas Fruit Ornaments
Dried oranges always make me think of Christmas as we always had garlands of them around the house when I was small.
The scent of the dried oranges and the apples mixed with that of a fresh Christmas tree is a match made in heaven.
20. Cinnamon Stick Christmas Trees
Now, what could possibly look better on your large Christmas tree than multiple mini Christmas trees?
This DIY looks so easy to follow, and the use of the cinnamon sticks for the base of the tree not only looks effective but will add a lovely scent to your tree.
21. Pompom Baubles and Wreaths
Pompoms always look fun, and I absolutely love the look of this bauble, which is absolutely covered in them.
The mini wreaths are also a great idea, and would look so bright and colorful hung on the branches of your Christmas tree.
22. Campfire Ornaments
I don’t think I have ever fallen in love with anything faster than I did with this set of felt campfire ornaments.
The marshmallow toasting scene is absolutely genius, I think I might even have it on display all year round, and the S’mores look good enough to eat.
23. Tinsel Baubles
This DIY is actually intended to be filled with treats like a classic piñata, so it is totally up to you whether you do that or whether you just stick to the outside look of a tinsel bauble.
These would be perfect for a Christmas party, or even as celebrations go on into the new year, because who doesn’t love a bit of sparkle?
24. Musical Christmas Star
Christmas songs and carols are one of my favorite ways of getting into the Christmas spirit, and I think that these musical Christmas stars are a perfect way of incorporating that into your tree.
This DIY could even be used as a gift, as you could choose the Christmas song of a family member and make them their very own star.
25. Mini Yarn Wreaths
These mini yarn wreaths are simpler than simple to make, and you would never guess that by the outcome.
I love the way that they have decorated them all differently, with berries and beads. There are so many other things you could use to put your own personal touch on them.
26. Pine Cone Christmas Trees
I can definitely imagine myself having these little pine cone Christmas trees dotted all around my house throughout the Christmas period.
In this DIY the pine cone trees are designed to be sitting. However, I think that it would be easy to thread some string or ribbon through the tops and hang them from your Christmas tree too.
27. CD Mosaic Baubles
The effect that these broken up old CDs give these baubles is almost mesmerizing.
Just imagine having a couple of CD mosaic baubles hung on your tree alongside your lights, and watching as the reflections bounce around the room.
28. Hot Air Balloon Ornament
Anything miniature really gets to me, and this hot air balloon ornament is no exception. I don’t know why, but anything that should be big, but is made miniature, is just too cute for me to handle.
If I were making this, which I will be, I would put a little Lego man into the basket, so it looks like he is riding the balloon.
29. Cinnamon Bundles
Cinnamon is by far my favorite Christmassy scent, and no matter what time of year it is when I catch a whiff of it, I am always transported to December 25th.
These cinnamon bundles are a great way of spreading that cinnamon scent around your home, without it being too overpowering or having candles out if you’ve got excitable kids running around.
30. Cork Reindeer
This little cork reindeer would be an absolute pleasure of an addition to your Christmas tree and requires very few materials.
You’re bound to have a few corks lying around at this time of year, so why not put them to good use. True, you might need to hunt for them in the garden if you went for the dramatic out-the-window champagne pop as my dad does.
31. Wire Stars
This DIY might require a little more craftsmanship, but it is totally worth it for these wire star ornaments.
My favorite colors are copper and gold stars. However, you could use whichever you wish, and even combinations of more than one.
32. Tea Light Snowmen
As soon as I saw this tea light snowmen DIY, I knew that it would for sure be making its way directly onto my Christmas tree this year.
I adore their little ear muffs. And I know it will be so much fun to create different scarves and hats for my snowmen.
33. Hanging Felt Mittens
I myself quite fancy a larger pair of these hanging felt mittens to wear myself.
These would look so sweet hung from the branches of your Christmas tree, and if you’ve got kids you could even make little replicas of their own Christmas mittens.
34. Christmas List
One of my favorite parts of the Christmas countdown, when I was a child, was writing my Christmas list and sending it off to the North Pole. This Christmas list ornament totally recaptures the magic of that experience for me.
Be extra sneaky and leave your own Christmas list hanging on the tree to drop a few not so subtle hints.
35. Cardboard Igloo Ornament
Cardboard is something that everyone has lying around the house, especially at this time of year when you’ve been ordering all your presents.
With that considered, there is no reason why you shouldn’t give this very simple Igloo DIY a go this festive season.
36. Pompom Pine Cones
These hanging pompom pine cone ornaments are so easy to recreate, even though they look so good.
I like the idea of hanging them outside as they have done in the photo, bringing some color to those otherwise grey winter mornings.
37. Bottle Cap Reindeer
This would be a perfect festive craft for kids, as these bottle cap reindeer involve very few materials and, fingers crossed, very little mess.
It would be easy to try and make different festive characters too, like a robin, or even joining up multiple bottle caps to make a snowman.
38. Gingerbread Ornaments
Gingerbread is fantastic around Christmas in so many ways. The fun of making it, the smell, the taste, and now with this easy DIY you can use it to make gingerbread Christmas tree ornaments.
Good luck trying to keep guests from eating them.
39. Hot Cocoa Mix Baubles
Not only would these hot chocolate baubles look great on a tree with all their yummy layers, but they’re also such a genius idea for a personalized Christmas gift.
Fill one up with your recipient’s favorite hot chocolate flavor and toppings and you’re bound to get a big smile in return. Whether or not it’ll make it onto a tree before making it into a mug, I’m not so sure.
Conclusion
I think I might just have to have at least one of each of these unbelievable DIY Christmas ornaments gracing my Christmas tree this year.
I love the little clothing items, like the hats and sweaters, and those miniature sleds are too cute not to make. The idea of having a tree covered in homemade decorations and treats that I have made myself and with my family is so much more appealing to me than spending hundreds of dollars on factory-made decorations that many people will have.
