There's no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than by incorporating some DIY Christmas decorations.
DIY Christmas decoration ideas, including beautifully crafted wreaths, garlands, and tree ornaments, can make your festive decor a little more special and unique, and of course, Christmas crafts can be a fun activity for the whole family to enjoy in the run up to the big day.
Our collection of DIY Christmas decorating ideas has something for everyone, no matter your style or crafting skills.
Enjoy a creative and handmade Christmas with DIY Christmas decorations
“For me, the lead up to the festive season is the best part – spending time crafting, decorating and listening to festive music is a great way to make use of dreary days and dark nights,” says Sam Duffy, designer at PaperSam.
Whether you're looking for more sustainable Christmas decorations or fun Christmas crafts the whole family can enjoy, tap into your creative side and add some more unique decorative touches to your home this holiday season with DIY Christmas decorations.
1. Make a Christmas wreath
(Image courtesy of SARAH KAYE REPRESENTATION LTD)
Enjoy the timeless Christmas tradition that many of us use for our outdoor Christmas decorating, the beauty of seasonal leaves and flowers, and learn how to make a Christmas wreath.
Collect holly, ferns, bracken and spruce sprigs from your yard or garden, or visit your local florist or garden centre to purchase eucalyptus, poinsettia and dried flower cuttings to create your own Christmas wreath, adding a charming natural touch to your space.
For a more rustic look, Homes & Gardens gardening expert and floral designer Rachel Bull offers step-by-step instructions on how to make a fern wreath. She says of the design, “This type of wreath is versatile and can be hung on a front door, placed indoors on a mantelpiece, or used as a wall decoration in a hallway. When I was a professional floral designer, natural dried wreaths like this one were a big hit with my clients.”
Rachel Bull
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Head of Gardens, Homes and Gardens
Rachel is a gardening writer, florist and floral designer. Her journalism career began 15 years ago at Country Living magazine, where her love of container gardening and wild plants blossomed. After over a decade writing and editing for a variety of consumer, business and special interest titles, Rachel became editor of floral arts magazine, The Flower Arranger. She then trained and worked as a floral designer and stylist in London for six years, creating floral installations in many of the city's iconic venues, including Kew Gardens and the Barbican.
2. Make a Christmas garland
(Image courtesy of Future)
To accompany your homemade wreath, gather some extra flowers and leaves at the same time to create your own Christmas garland. For a coordinated look, hang the wreath on the wall above your fireplace and use the garland as a Christmas mantelpiece decoration.
Not only will you learn how to make a Christmas garland from collected leaves, but you'll also find plenty of homemade garland ideas. From paper garlands to homemade dried orange garlands to glitter garlands, these homemade decorations are perfect for decorating fireplaces, window frames, door frames, staircases, and more.
3. Make reusable Christmas crackers
(Image courtesy of Jeska Hearne)
Christmas crackers may be a British tradition, but they're a fun and surprising addition to the American dinner table during the holiday season.
Homemade reusable crackers are not only eco-friendly but also make a great decorative addition to your Christmas table decoration ideas.
Here, Angela Maynard, author of “The Art of Gifting Naturally,” creates beautiful, reusable crackers from patterned scraps of fabric elegantly adorned with ribbons and dried orange slices. One of the most fun things about making crackers is that you get to decide what to put inside. From handwritten jokes to little Christmas table gifts and chocolates, homemade crackers make your Christmas tablescape more unique and guest-worthy.
Check out Angela's feature article for step-by-step instructions on how to make your own reusable crackers.
Angela Maynard
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Author, florist and founder of botany
Angela Maynard is the author of The Art of Gifting Naturally and Modern Dry Flowers. A dried flower florist and indoor plant expert, she is also the founder of Botany, an independent London-based plant and homeware store.
4. Make Christmas tree decorations
(Image courtesy of Rowen & Wren)
For many people, a Christmas tradition is putting up old handmade ornaments on the Christmas tree, sometimes placed at the back where they are not visible. But why not fully embrace this tradition and create new handmade ornament designs every year? Enrich your tree with handmade touches and memories of Christmases past.
Bring a handmade look to your Christmas tree theme this year by making Christmas tree ornaments out of air drying clay like this clay from Amazon, cookie cutters like this set from Target, or dried orange ornaments and Christmas tree bow ideas.
5. Get creative with pine cones
(Image courtesy of Future)
Never underestimate the decorative potential of beautiful pine cones, synonymous with seasonal decor.
There are many different Christmas craft ideas using pine cones, such as making pine cone wreaths, creating hanging ornaments and table decorations using pine cones, and more.
Featuring cozy candles, pine cone decorations, and foraged leaves, this Christmas table centerpiece idea is perfect for a more rustic, natural look.
6. Make paper decorations
(Image courtesy of Simon Bevan Ltd.)
Paper decorations are some of the easiest DIY Christmas decorating ideas you can incorporate into your home. From pretty paper snowflakes for your Christmas window decorations – find out how to make paper snowflakes in our dedicated guide – to paper chains (we love these wavy paper chains from Meri Meri) and paper ornaments to hang on your tree, it doesn't get more traditional than paper crafts.
7. Make your own Christmas candles
(Image courtesy of Future)
We think the more candles you have in your home at Christmas, the better. As one of the most versatile home decor items, candles fill a room with beautiful fragrances, make your home smell good for Christmas, provide warm, cozy lighting and of course, bring some stylish decor to your space – what's not to love?
Besides decorating your home with the best candles, why not try making some beeswax candles too? They would make a great Christmas gift!
“Beeswax candles are super easy to make yourself – they're some of the best candles out there, and all you need is a few basic store-bought craft supplies,” says stylist and craft expert Sarah Bird. “For a festive feel, simply tie a ribbon around the candle and add a few leaves or flowers. To ensure safe burning, just remove the candle before lighting it.”
In her candle making guide, Angela Maynard also gives tips on how to make beeswax dipped candles.
Sarah Bird
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Stylist and Craft Specialist
A creative director, stylist, speaker, author of the books Home for the Soul and Gardens for the Soul, and style editor at Future, Sarah has over 25 years of experience creating commercial and editorial imagery and content for popular interiors and lifestyle brands, including Country Homes, Ideal Home, and Homes & Gardens.
8. Make your own advent calendar
(Image courtesy of Jeska Hearne)
What could be better than a sustainable advent calendar and Christmas decoration rolled into one?
Not only is creating a reusable advent calendar environmentally friendly, but many of the designs also double as multi-purpose decorations, making them a more unique Christmas garland.
Whether you use string and cotton bags to create something similar to Angela Maynard's advent calendar or hang small wrapped presents from your existing Christmas garland on your mantelpiece or wall, a homemade advent calendar allows you to curate a special collection of gifts for loved ones, making your advent traditions and countdown to Christmas more unique and personal.
FAQ
How to make easy Christmas decorations?
DIY Christmas decoration ideas are very easy to make and can often be made using existing materials and craft supplies that many people already have at home.
From paper and ribbon decorations to harnessing nature's bounty and creating beautiful wreaths and garlands using foraged leaves and flowers, most traditional Christmas decorations are often very simple in design and don't need to be very expensive.
A final DIY Christmas decorating idea that makes the most of existing greenery in your home is to adorn your houseplants with festive ornaments.
From giant Monstera plants adorned with festive ornaments to fiddle-leaf fig trees adorned with twinkling strings and lights, these natural accents provide the perfect platform to display a variety of festive decor, and they're a super quick and easy way to make any room in your home feel festive with houseplants.
For more inspiration, check out our feature on how to decorate with houseplants at Christmas.