DIY Christmas ornaments from a variety of materials are fun Christmas activities for kids or great ideas for what to do on Christmas Eve with family members and friends. Each year we add new handmade ornaments to our Christmas tree and DIY holiday decorations! Check out all our images of homemade ornaments we made!
Best DIY Christmas Ornaments To Make With Kids
I love that our tree is full of unique and handmade Christmas ornaments now! Each year, we appreciate the DIY decorations, but it’s also fun to talk about the time we spend making the ornament crafts!
How To Make Easy Homemade Christmas Ornaments:
- Use leftover holiday gift bags to make 3D paper stars for the Christmas tree.
- Pour beeswax into molds to make beautiful handmade beeswax ornaments to hang on the tree.
- Make an orange pomander ornament.
- Grow a crystal snowflake and then hang it on the tree.
- Make dried oranges and dried lemons into Christmas tree ornaments and holiday garland for decorations.
- Dry apples to for Christmas decorations / holiday decor.
- Use real pinecones with twine to make easy Christmas ornaments.
- Create a personalized Christmas ornaments with favorite finds from vacations like rocks, sand, shells, and more.
- Make and easy paper ornament based on The Night Before Christmas poem.
- String popcorn and cranberries for a natural garland for the Christmas tree.
- Use birdseeds to make a nature ornament for the birds outside!
FULL TUTORIAL BELOW: Keep scrolling for the full list of instructions for homemade ornaments to make for the holidays. (They make great homemade gifts, too!)
How To Make Your Own Christmas Tree Decorations And Handmade Ornaments
Our favorite homemade vintage and natural DIY ornaments!
These are fun DIY Christmas ornaments for kids and for adults to make together — something for all skill level and ages. There’s something for everyone — from easy holiday ornaments for preschoolers and toddlers to personalized ornaments for DIY Christmas gifts that will be treasured for years!
If you’re wondering what are some easy DIY Christmas ornaments to do with younger kids or what are fun things to make with Christmas as a family or group crafts, you’ll find something on this Christmas list!
Our family had a blast with these holiday crafts and making an old-fashioned Christmas tree. We hope you enjoy these holiday craft ideas, too!
TIP: Be sure to click over to get the full step-by-step instructions for each handmade ornament.
DIY Bees Wax Ornaments
These are my favorite handmade holiday ornaments we’ve ever made. (So much, that we’re pouring more beeswax ornaments this year after making them last year!)
You can use whatever shape molds or cookie cutters that you want, but we used a variety of old-fashioned beeswax molds for a more vintage Christmas tree look.
Hands-down one of the best Christmas activities we’ve ever done and will now become an annual tradition and helps get us into the holiday spirit.
CRAFT TIP: If you use the yellow beeswax like this (you can check at the craft store too), they come out looking like more aged ornaments. Also, you can use a toothpick to carve the date into the bottom of the ornament if you’re going to do these each holiday season.
You could DEFINITELY add these as Christmas ornaments to make and sell at local holiday craft shows and they also make unique homemade gifts for others.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE BEESWAX ORNAMENTS
Crystal Snowflake Ornament
Not only is this a fun holiday STEM project for kids, but growing snow flake crystals are also fun ornament ideas!
These make such beautiful snow flakes that you could use them as DIY elegant Christmas ornaments to tie on packages or to give as homemade gifts.
They also work great for DIY Christmas stocking tags.
LEARN HOW TO GROW A SNOWFLAKE ORNAMENT
DIY Dried Citrus Ornaments
Dried oranges, lemons, and grapefruits make gorgeous Christmas tree ornaments and definitely give your tree and holiday garland an old-timey feel.
These can take a couple of hours to dry, so we always put the citrus in the oven to dry and then make our other holiday ornaments / holiday crafts while waiting.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE DRIED ORANGE ORNAMENTS
DIY Dried Apple Ornaments
Drying apples is another old-fashioned Christmas idea that I think many people have forgotten about.
If you cut the apples the right way, you can have a beautiful star shape in the middle that looks awesome when you hang it on the tree!
LEARN HOW TO MAKE DRIED APPLE ORNAMENTS
Paper Star Ornament
These easy paper ornaments are fun to make with any recycled paper, leftover scrapbook paper, or card stock you have around the house — including leftover gift bags, which is what we used to make our paper stars.
These are also great if you’re wondering how do you make ornaments out of old Christmas cards or other upcycled materials.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE A 3D PAPER STAR ORNAMENT
Orange Pomander Ornament
Because they’re so heavy, most people make homemade orange pomanders and put them in a bowl. However, with some twine or beautiful raffia like this or ribbon bow and you can make these into pomander ornaments.
Just be sure to use smaller oranges and also pick Christmas tree limbs that are more sturdy when hanging.
These also make some of the best DIY mantel decor for the holidays (add in some cinnamon sticks to get those holiday smells)!
LEARN HOW TO MAKE ORANGE CLOVE POMANDERS
DIY Pinecone Ornaments
These ornaments from real pinecones are also easy Christmas ornaments to make. You can make them in just a few minutes.
I think it’s fun to pair it with a cold weather hike / winter hike to gather pinecones and then make the ornament crafts when you get back from the hike.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE EASY PINE CONE ORNAMENTS
Personalized Keepsake Ornament
To this day, these DIY personalized Christmas ornaments remain one of my all-time favorite ornaments we’ve ever made.
And, it’s simple enough to do as a group holiday project (for any age).
You just need to have each person bring small items and materials that have personal meaning to them for their own personal touch.
It’s fun to see how each person puts their personalized touch on their own ornament. I filled an ornament with sand and shells from a special summer trip, but you can use anything in your clear glass ornaments (or clear plastic ornaments)!
Making your own ornaments is also a fun craft for a Christmas party or a way to get the whole family involved.
Many people wonder how to decorate plastic Christmas balls, but they never think about decorating the inside instead!
LEARN HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE KEEPSAKE ORNAMENTS
MORE FUN CHRISTMAS IDEAS TO GO WTIH CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT CRAFTS: Best Ideas for DIY Advent Calendar with Images
Night Before Christmas Ornament (Super Simple DIY Christmas Ornament!)
If you’re looking for an easy holiday craft for preschoolers or a DIY ornament everyone can do, this is it! (This is also an easy candy cane ornament and fun ideas to use leftover candy canes, too!)
These are paper Christmas ornaments that are a play on the “Not A Creature Was Stirring” part of The Night Before Christmas poem.
Read the Night Before Christmas and then make these ornaments as a family Christmas Eve activity idea.
Perfect craft for Christmas for all ages. (Great craft for toddlers, too!)
LEARN HOW TO MAKE A NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT
Popcorn and Cranberry Garland (DIY Christmas Decorations)
If you’re looking for old-fashioned Christmas decor or want a vintage farmhouse look, string up some popcorn garland for your Christmas tree or fireplace mantel.
You can also add anything else you want to your homemade garland, like dried fruit or wood beads.
(I get it. It’s not really a holiday ornament, but since you hang it on the tree with ornaments I thought I would include it here!)
CRAFT TIP: Don’t miss our trick to to keep popcorn from breaking off of garland!
LEARN HOW TO STRING POPCORN GARLAND
Bird Feeder Ornament
These aren’t traditional Christmas ornaments, but they’re fun winter crafts / holiday projects to make if you have outside trees to hang them on.
You can create your own little outdoor Christmas tree for birds and wildlife!
These are also cheap & easy DIY Christmas ornaments to make with things you have at home or a great addition to winter solstice activities.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE A BIRDFEEDER ORNAMENT CRAFT
Do you have any favorite DIY homemade Christmas ornaments or Christmas inspirations for decorations? Let us know if you have favorited handcrafted ornaments and we’ll give them a try!
Also Check Out: Ice Candle Instructions
Ice candles (also called lanterns or luminaries) are not only a fun winter craft for kids activities, but they’re also a beautiful addition to winter solstice celebration or fun lights to guide Santa’s reindeer to your house! You can put real candles in them or battery operated candles.
How To Make Ice Lanterns (Ice Luminaries)
You’ll Need Materials You Have At Home Like:
- Orange slices
- Lemon slices
- Cranberries
- Pine branches
- Rosemary (optional)
- Round containers (like a bowl)
- Small plastic cups
- Duct tape or packing tape
- Candles (like small tea light candles)
- Water
GET THE FULL DIY ICE LANTERN INSTRUCTIONS
Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season!
We hope you have fun making your own DIY Christmas ornaments together!
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