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5 Surprisingly Easy Homemade Christmas Ornament Ideas

Hi Kimberly,

With all the holiday gift-giving and a less than rosy economy, many of us are feeling financially strained. The idea of "make your own Christmas ornaments" is an excellent way to deck your hall and decorate Christmas tree on a dime. You won't spend much on these crafts – the materials are ridiculously cheap and you can even use recycled household items – plus you'll be rewarded with hours of fun with your children.

I promise you, no sewing required. These creative Christmas ornament ideas are exceedingly easy to make, and you'll probably find yourself getting more creative than you thought possible!

Christmas Ornament Craft Ideas that Kids Can Make

1. Paper Christmas Decorations
What can be cheaper than making origami ornaments? You only need papers, colored or plain. Construction paper works best than regular paper but it isn't necessary. And, if you don't have colored papers, you can spruce them up with crayons, pens, markers, colored pencils, sparkles, glitters, and gift wrapping paper.

Depending your level of paper-folding skills, you can create stunning holiday decorations such as stars, angel, hat, stocking, bauble, snow flakes, candy cane and many more. Search online for free origami Christmas ornaments instructions.

To start your creative juices flowing, you might want to make simple paper decorations from old Christmas cards. Simply cut out the images that you like, punch punch holes near the top, thread with red/green metallic ribbon, and hang them on your tree. To add an interesting touch, use crinkle-cut craft scissors.

You can also make cute paper ring garlands from empty toilet paper rolls (or paper towel rolls) to decorate your mantel or windows. Get your kids to paint the toilet paper roll in any color they like, and let dry completely before cutting it in smaller rings. String the first ring on your yarn, slip a bead (or button) and continue this pattern until you reach your desired length.

2. Eggshell Christmas Ornaments

Faberge style Christmas ornaments look stunningly beautiful and extremely easy for kids to make. The best thing about eggshell Christmas ornaments is, you can take them out during Easter and reuse as Easter decorations.

Make 2 neat holes (one in the top and one at bottom) of the eggshell. You want the hole to be large enough to put a small toothpick in. Stir the contents and blow out.

Wash each eggshell clean with dish detergent and let dry. Paint them in different christmassy colors such as red, green and white. You can also use unwanted nail varnish as paints. It dries very quickly and adds a nice gloss.

Once the paint has completely dried, decorate with glitter, sequins, lace, cords, fabric trims or other decorative materials. Here's some holiday ideas that your kids will probably love – paint a Santa Claus, a snowman, or flowers on the shells. Then attach a piece of string or ribbon onto the top.

3. No Sew Fabric Christmas Ornaments

Reuse old fabric scraps, old clothing and old socks to make heaps of cute but really frugal homemade Christmas ornaments for family and friends.

Take 1 foam ball, and using a dull knife, indent 2 lines all the way around each ball to make quarters. Cut fabric just large enough to cover each quarter. You can use a combination of fabrics. Push the edges of the fabric into the ball. Repeat until the ball is covered. To finish, wrap a long piece of ribbon around the ball, covering the indentations. Use hot glue to fix in place. Add a golden cord to hang.

4. Jigsaw Puzzle Christmas Tree

Here's another crafty idea that I'm sure you'll love – upcycle your kids' missing jigsaw puzzle pieces into beautiful decorations.

Paint 9 puzzle pieces in green (body) and 1 in brown (base), and leave them to dry. Lay them out to form a Xmas tree, glue green pieces (slightly overlapping each other) onto the base. Flip your tree over, add glue (where the pieces joined) to make it stronger.

Decorate with embellishments such as small buttons, stickers or felt scrapes. Cut a ribbon, about 6 inches long, and fold it in half. Glue ribbon on to the top (back) of your jigsaw Christmas tree.

5. Christmas Garlands and Wreaths

Garlands and wreaths are not only easy to create but also easy on your wallet. Go outside and find an array of materials for free – pine cones, twigs, branches, flowers, magnolia leaves, and holly berries.

You can also use edible ingredients such as popcorn, hard candies, dried fruits, nuts, cranberries, sugar cookies. Beads from broken jewelry, tiny kids' toys, trinket boxes, or any household items that are no longer needed are great stuff for decorating garlands/wreaths on the cheap.

By Holly Campbell

I got carried away and blew my holiday shopping budget, so now I've to look for some ways to save on Christmas decorations. Homemade Christmas ornaments sound wonderfully frugal but the trouble is, I am not a creative person and I even can't sew on a button! Any ideas for quick and easy Xmas ornament crafts that I can make with my young kids? – Kimberly, Delaware.

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