DIY Christmas decorations: 20 easy ideas to make at home

The 20 DIY Christmas decorations below are grouped by material: paper, the kitchen and garden, the tree, then the table and mantelpiece. Each comes with what you need and the steps, and the table gives a rough time and skill level for all of them. Most run on things already in the house, such as oranges, cinnamon, flour, jam jars and last year’s wrapping paper. For whatever you would rather not make, our tree decorations collection fills the gaps.

DIY Christmas decorations at a glance

Times are rough guides for a first attempt; oven and drying time come on top. Easy means children can help, hard means it takes practice.

Paper decorations to make at home

Paper is the cheapest material in the house, and the recycling bin supplies most of it: wrapping paper offcuts, old book pages, brown parcel paper and last year’s cards.

1. Paper snowflakes: fold a 21 cm square cut from A4 into a narrow 12-layer wedge so it opens into six points like real snow, then cut notches and shapes along the edges. Our guide to making paper snowflakes has the folds and the cutting patterns.
2. Paper chain: cut paper into strips 2.5 cm wide; one A4 sheet cut lengthways gives eight. Loop the first strip and glue or staple it, thread the next strip through and close it, and carry on. Alternate two colours, or use wrapping paper offcuts for a mixed chain.
3. Froebel star: also called the Advent star or German star, it is woven from four identical paper strips whose width is 1/25 to 1/30 of their length, for example 1.5 cm by 40 cm. The weaving and folding take many steps and end with eight flat points and eight cone-shaped tips. It is the hardest idea on this list; stop halfway and you have a flat eight-pointed star. It is named after Friedrich Fröbel, the German educator who founded the kindergarten, although he probably did not invent it.
4. Paper fan rosettes: pleat a strip of paper in 1 cm folds along its length, fold the pleated strip in half and glue the two inner edges together to make a half-circle fan. Glue three fans into a circle and stick a paper disc in the middle to hold it open.
5. Paper cone trees: roll a sheet of card into a cone, tape the seam and trim the base flat, then cover it in overlapping paper scales, wrap it in yarn or glue on sequins. Three in different heights fill a shelf or a mantelpiece.

Natural decorations from the kitchen and garden

Oranges, spices and greenery give decorations that look and smell like Christmas. Cut greenery only from your own garden, or ask first.

6. Dried orange slices: cut oranges into thin, even slices and lay them on a rack or a lined tray. Dry them in a low oven for a few hours, turning them now and then so they do not stick. They are ready when mostly dry and no longer sticky, and they finish drying over the following days. They darken with age, so make fresh ones each year if you want them bright.
7. Orange and cinnamon garland: thread the dried slices onto twine with a darning needle, through the flesh just inside the peel, and tie cinnamon sticks or bay leaves in between. Hang it across a mantelpiece, a window or the tree.
8. Clove pomanders: push whole cloves into an orange in rows, spirals or patterns; a cocktail stick makes starter holes and saves your fingertips. Tie a ribbon round it and leave it somewhere airy to cure dry, after which it can keep for years. The name comes from the French pomme d’ambre, apple of amber.
9. Pine cone decorations: gather fallen cones and let them dry indoors, then brush the tips with white paint for a frosted look. Twist a loop of wire round the bottom row of scales to hang them, or pile them in a bowl.
10. Cinnamon stick bundles: tie three sticks together with twine or wire round the middle and tuck in a sprig of fir or a star anise. Hang them on the tree or tie them to presents.
11. Twig star: cut five straight twigs of the same length and lay them out as a five-pointed star, the one you draw without lifting the pen. Tie each point with twine, then tie the crossings in the middle so the star holds its shape. Make a big one for the front door and small ones for the tree.
12. Foliage door wreath: bind bundles of fir, holly, ivy and eucalyptus onto a wire ring packed with moss, each bundle covering the stems of the last, then wire on cones, dried orange slices and a ribbon. Allow a few hours, and wear gardening gloves for the holly.

Homemade Christmas tree decorations

A tree dressed only in homemade pieces takes a lot of making, so most trees mix a few handmade decorations with bought baubles. These five are the easiest to make in batches.

13. Salt dough decorations: mix plain flour, table salt and water into a firm dough, roll it out, cut shapes and make a hanging hole. Dry them slowly in a low oven, then paint and varnish them. Our salt dough recipe and guide gives the quantities, the drying times and what to do when the dough puffs or cracks.
14. Felt decorations: cut two matching shapes from felt, such as stars, hearts or stockings, put a ribbon loop between them at the top and blanket-stitch round the edge. Push in a little wadding before you close the last gap.
15. Filled clear baubles: clear plastic baubles that open in two halves can hold a family photo, a sprig of greenery, a twist of ribbon, faux snow or a handwritten wish. Write the year on the cap with a paint pen.
16. Embroidery hoop decorations: clamp a circle of Christmas fabric in a small embroidery hoop, or leave the hoop empty and wire a sprig of eucalyptus and a mini bauble across one side. Hang it from the screw at the top with ribbon.
17. Ribbon bows and a bow topper: tie bows from wired ribbon and wire them onto the branches in a spiral, then make one large bow with long tails for the top of the tree. Wired ribbon holds its loops; for a ready-made finish, see our Christmas tree toppers.

Homemade pieces show up best against plain glass in one colour. If the tree needs filling out, plain Christmas baubles in your main colour do it quickly.

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See the full Tree Decorations collection (93)

Decorations for the table, mantelpiece and windows

18. Jam jar lanterns: wrap clean jam jars in a paper doily, tracing paper or a band of hessian, tie twine round the neck and stand an LED tea light inside. LED lights are the safe choice here, because paper and twine catch fire.
19. Branch tree: stand a bare branch about a metre tall in a pot or bucket weighed down with stones, wrap the pot in brown paper or fabric, and hang it with light decorations and a string of battery fairy lights. It takes little floor space and works where a tree will not fit.
20. Foliage garland: tie small bundles of fir, ivy and eucalyptus onto a length of rope with florist wire, each bundle covering the stems of the last, until the rope is hidden. Lay it along the mantelpiece or the table, or tie it to the banisters. A faux base from our Christmas garlands lasts the whole season and takes a few real sprigs tucked in.

How to decorate on a budget without it looking homemade

Homemade decorations look deliberate when they follow a plan. These rules keep a low-cost scheme pulled together:

• Choose two colours and one metal, and make everything in them.
• Make in multiples. Twelve dried orange slices on one garland look better than one each of twelve different crafts.
• Stick to natural materials such as paper, wood, oranges, cinnamon and greenery, which all sit well together.
• Hide the fixings: hang things on twine, ribbon or fishing line rather than bright plastic hooks.
• Use warm white lights, which make paper and natural materials glow.
• Spend where it shows: plain baubles, a topper and a garland base carry a tree full of homemade pieces. Our Christmas tree decorations are split into baubles, toppers and skirts to make that quick.

Keeping homemade decorations safe, and storing them

• Paper, dried oranges, pine cones and dried greenery all burn. Keep them away from candles, open fires and heaters; London Fire Brigade advises keeping all decorations away from naked flames.
• Use LED candles in lanterns and near paper. Tea lights get very hot and can melt through plastic without a proper holder.
• Salt dough is toxic to dogs and cats if eaten, so hang it high on the tree.
• Store paper decorations flat between sheets of card, and wrap salt dough and dried fruit in tissue paper in a dry box; damp brings mould.
• Throw away pomanders or orange slices that turn soft or mouldy rather than packing them in with everything else.