Want to decorate for Christmas but want to avoid tinsel like the plague? I feel you!
Luckily for you, here are eight DIY ideas to get you into the Christmas spirit, ranging from super simple (ie. lazy) to a little more creative. Enjoy!
GINGERBREAD COOKIE GARLAND
This DIY project might not last very long in the vein of sustainability, but the gingerbread cookie garland is definitely one that will look cute.
Bake yourself some gingerbread cookies using your favourite recipe but cut two holes out of the centre of the cookie before you bake them. Once they are baked and cool thread a Christmas ribbon through the two centre holes and create a garland of cookie men to hang up around your home. Easy and delicious!
GINGERBREAD HOUSE CENTREPIECE
This may be for someone with a bit more creativity and time on their hands, but a beautifully decorated gingerbread house will make a perfect holiday centrepiece for your table, especially if you set it up on top of a beautiful rustic tree stump or cake platter.
Why not make it a Christmas tradition as well? Have your friends and family over for a gingerbread house making party while you are at it!
BEACH CHRISTMAS WREATH
Love to spend your summer holidays at the coast? Next time you visit, pick up all the shells, driftwood and beach castoffs that you can find and wash them thoroughly. Use superglue and twine (and nails if you are so inclined) to fasten the leftovers into a beautiful Christmas wreath and then hang it up above your door for some beachy cheer.
POPCORN GARLAND
A popcorn garland is usually a popular decoration that is used in the Northern Hemisphere where Christmas is a lot more snowy and wintery, but this would make a cute DIY decoration here in the Southern Hemisphere as well!
Pop your popcorn and score yourself a line of fishing wire. Hook the wire into a needle (one with a bigger eye) and then use the needle to thread the fishing wire through your popped popcorn. Make sure you push your popcorn to the bottom of the wire, tie it off at the top and bottom and then hang onto your Christmas tree.
GIANT CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS
I love this idea because it’s super easy, and super cheap but will make your house look like a giant Christmas tree! All you need for this is some bright colourful plastic balls from places like Toys R Us or Kmart (they have a big wire cage full of plastic balls for sale) silver tin pails in a proportional size and some super strong glue.
Put super glue around the lip of the tin pail and glue to the plastic ball, making sure to angle the pail’s handle so that it is upside down. Let the glue dry completely and then hang it upside down on your front porch along with some pine needles and holly to make giant Christmas ornaments.
DIY FIREPLACE
There is something classic about hanging stockings over a fireplace, but what if you don’t have one in your house? Well, feel free to build your own using what nature has provided! Collect three large tree branches that are quite thick (you can varnish them if you would like) and nail them together to create a small fireplace. Add a wreath or line of Christmas pine and place a couple of candles at the bottom and you will have an instant fireplace to line your stockings along without the danger of burning your house to the ground!
POPSICLE STICK SNOWFLAKES
This is a super cute idea for the Paddle Pop stick craft lovers amongst us! Get yourself a pack of flat Popsicle sticks and use super glue to stick them together into cute snowflake shapes. Spray paint with anything you would like that will add to the Christmas decorations around your house (white paint with glitter or full Veronica’s style red paint with glitter seem to be in vogue) and once the paint has dried, use some Christmas ribbon to hang the decorations above your fake fireplace, from window panes, suspended from the ceiling, or any other location in your house that needs a bit of festive cheer!
DIY CANDY CANES LIGHTS
Got some coloured solar powered lights in your garden? Well this DIY decoration could be perfect for you as long as you happen to have long stick lights without any added embellishments to the lights themselves. Buy yourself some striped stockings and stretch them out over the light.
Seriously, this DIY project is that simple.
At night, the light will glow through the stripes in the stockings and create a candy cane stripe effect. It usually works well with red lights to get the full candy cane experience, but other colours or just plain white lights will work just as well.
Courtney Hope | Author 