A Handmade Christmas: Decorating for the Holidays

Christmas time is for cookies, crafts and Christmas movies. And Jesus of course!  As we celebrate the birth of our Lord, we have created festive traditions to enjoy. Like decorating our homes with treasures, new, old and handmade!

Here are a few handmade decorations that we have made this Christmas season!

Old-Fashioned Paper Ornaments

My daughter and I made the sweetest paper ornaments for our tree and they were so easy to make. We used floral scrapbook paper, but you can use any kind of paper. Newspaper would be cute as well! 

We cut a sheet of scrapbook paper in half then folded it lengthwise in an accordion style. Next, we trimmed the edges in a forked V shape and tied the center with a piece of jute twine. After that, we applied hot glue to one side, folded the sides together, and did the same to the opposite side.

After poking a small hole with a needle, we attached wire ornament hooks to our little paper ornaments. Now, they were ready to hang on the tree! These turned out so cute and added some old-fashioned charm to our tree. 

Natural Garland

I wanted to hang a garland of greenery on our stair rail but after shopping at several big box stores, I couldn’t find one that I liked. And my goodness, they are pricey! I couldn’t justify spending over $50 for a garland that I didn’t love, so I decided to make my own. We have cedar trees all over our property, so I took cuttings from them and went to work.

I first cut a long strand of jute twine and laid it across the table. I tightly bound sprigs of cedar to the twine using floral wire. As I worked my way down the jute twine, I also wrapped the twine around the end of each little branch. This was my first attempt at making a garland,  and I improved as I went along.

After finishing, my husband and I hung it on our stair rail using more jute twine. I decorated it with velvet ribbon, dried orange slices, and sprigs of holly berries that we also picked from our property. I’m really happy with how it turned out. It has a charming, old-fashioned, homespun look! This was an inexpensive, fun project, and I plan to make a couple more to put over doorways.

Decorating our homes for Christmas doesn’t have to be expensive. We can easily create our own decorations using just a few store-bought items or items we already have on hand, or that are readily available in nature. By having a handmade Christmas, we are not only creating affordable decorations for our home, but we’re also crafting sweet memories with our loved ones. What kind of handmade Christmas decor are you making this year? 

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