There’s always something magical about Christmas. The spirit of giving is in the air, families spend precious time together, friends wish each other good will- it’s the best season to be jolly, indeed. But celebrating Christmas need not be expensive to be enjoyable. What better way to express your joy this season than by creating homemade Christmas projects with your loved ones? As we all know, homemade always trumps anything that is store-bought. Not only are you able to make objects which you can treasure for many Christmases to come, you also get to spend valuable time with your family and friends. To get you started, the compilation below lists some of the best DIY Christmas projects that are available on the Web.
Family Christmas crafts
Everyone dreams of a white Christmas, but here at the National Trust for Scotland we are also looking forward to a greener one! And with these family-friendly festive crafts, you can celebrate a more sustainable Christmas.
These fun craft projects are suitable for kids and adults, and are the perfect way to get the whole family together for a festive afternoon inside on the run-up to Christmas. Make a day of it, and spend the morning on a winter walk at home or at one of our gardens and estates to forage for some of the natural items you’ll need such as pinecones and twigs.
Pinecone Christmas trees
At this time of year, pinecones are plentiful in our gardens and grounds. So pick up a few until you find ones with the perfect shape, and get your paints out to create your own mini Christmas trees at home.
You could paint your pinecone green, and once it’s dry add in some snow with white paint on the tips. Then go in with some colours to add twinkling lights and tinsel. Or why not paint your pinecones a variety of bright colours and turn them into unique baubles! Get creative and try different designs.
What you’ll need
- Pinecones
- Eco-friendly paints
- Paintbrushes (different sizes)
- Ribbon, if you would like to make a hanging decoration for your tree. You could either loop the ribbon through the pinecone to tie it on or use a hot glue gun (only to be used by adults!) to secure it.
Paint the pinecones your favourite colour | Image by Sergey Kuznecov/Shutterstock
Twig ornaments
While you are foraging for pinecones, don’t forget to pick up some twigs along the way to make these ornaments. These star decorations are a plastic-free, zero-waste Christmas decoration. With twigs, string and a dash of creativity, you can make your very own stars for the tree or even a garland too.
What you’ll need
And if you have any paint left over from your pinecone trees, your twig stars can be spruced up too!
Some tips for making your stars
- Collect smaller twigs for your stars.
- You’ll need five twigs of equal length per star.
- Tie two ends of the twigs together and keep moving round until you’ve completed the star and each end is tied to another end. Little fingers may need help with the tying.
- Then tie a loop of twine around it so you can hang on the tree.
Candy Sleighs
These festive candy sleighs make for great giveaways to friends and neighbors! Though they might look a bit complicated, these sleds are actually very easy to construct. The needed materials are a glue gun, candy canes, candies and wrapped chocolates (recommended are flat bars like KitKats and Hershey’s chocolates).
Tutorial: link
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Fun Snowman From Plastic Cups
No need for snow to make this quirky snowman! This ornament can be done no matter what time of the year it is. All you need is some cheap white plastic cups (there’s no reason to buy new ones- used ones will do, just clean them properly beforehand), a stapler, glue gun, colored paper, plus a little bit of creative flair.
Tutorial: link
Peppermint Christmas Ornament Candies
Peppermint is a flavor that most people associate with the holiday season. While stores stock the usual candy canes, you can create your own Christmas-themed peppermint candies, which can also double as ornaments for your Christmas tree or as fun giveaways for neighbors and friends.
Tutorial: link
