4 Handmade Christmas Ornament Ideas for Your Tree

This year, it’s all about being personal and creative. We wanted to get you in the DIY-Christmas spirit with some fun ornament ideas!

Decoupage Ornament

If you love color, this is the ornament for you! These decoupage ornaments are a literal hodgepodge of colors, fabrics, and textures which makes for a fun and quirky addition to the tree. You simply need clear glass ball ornaments, decoupage, scissors, and a material of your choice (fabric, tissue paper, etc.)

Cut your material into strips or tear it into pieces. Following the decoupage instructions, attach those pieces to the ornament in a colorful quit-like pattern until you’ve covered the entire surface of the ornament. You can also use sheet music of a favorite song, maps of places you’ve been, or copies of personal letters to create unique pieces.

Fun-Filled Ornaments

To add some more sparkle to your tree, you can create ornaments that have glitter, confetti, or jewels inside. All you need are clear glass ball ornaments and your choice of “filling.”

You simply remove the hook base from the ornament, fill it up with the something sparkly (glitter, colorful confetti, jewelry pieces, you name it!), secure it back in place, and add a hook.

Baked Cinnamon Ornaments

These Christmas ornament classics are not only adorable, but they smell amazing, too! There are several recipes out there, but we’re going to share this one from McCormick:

You’ll need:

• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 2 bottles (2.37 oz. each)
• Cookie cutters
• Drinking straw
• Colorful ribbon

To make:

• “Preheat oven to 200°F. Mix applesauce and cinnamon in small bowl until a smooth ball of dough is formed. (You may need use your hands to incorporate all of the cinnamon.) Using about 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll dough to 1/4-inch to 1/3-inch thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap. Peel off top sheet of plastic wrap. Cut dough into desired shapes with 2- to 3-inch cookie cutters. Make a hole at top of ornament with drinking straw or skewer. Place ornaments on baking sheet.”
• “Bake 2 1/2 hours. Cool ornaments on wire rack. (Or, to dry ornaments at room temperature, carefully place them on wire rack. Let stand 1 to 2 days or until thoroughly dry, turning occasionally.)”
• “Insert ribbon through holes and tie to hang. Decorate with opaque paint markers, found in arts and crafts stores, if desired.”

And that’s it! It takes some time, but the ornaments and memories will last forever.

DIY Rudolph

One of the season’s most beloved characters can make his way on to your tree. We love this idea from A Pumpkin and a Princess.

You’ll need:

• brown ornaments
• googly eyes
• gold pipe cleaners
• red poms
• hot glue

To make:

• Hot glue your red pom and googly eyes to the brown ornament.
• Cut, wrap, and bend the pipe cleaners to look like horns.
• Remove the hook base.
• Tuck your antlers into the opening and then secure the base back on. This will hold your antlers in place.
• Add a hook or ribbon.
• Hang on the tree!