Here’s a list of gorgeous DIY holiday ornament craft ideas for kids and adults that make decorating the Christmas tree fun!
Crafting DIY Christmas ornaments is a fun and meaningful way to connect with children and bring everyone together to create personalized holiday gifts and keepsake decorations. Ornament making brings families, classrooms, and other community groups together around a shared creative experience. It’s also a fun Christmas activity for kids and adults who enjoy crafting. Turn simple materials into keepsake memories that brighten the holiday season year after year with the DIY Christmas decorations below. Nothing is more rewarding than a Yule or Christmas tree decorated with at least a few unique handmade Christmas ornaments.
Making homemade Christmas ornament crafts in December is one of my family’s favorite Christmas traditions. This round-up of handmade Christmas ornaments features the treasured keepsake ornaments my family has made to decorate our Christmas tree over the years. Scroll down to find a gorgeous collection of handcrafted ornaments and simple decorations for Christmas that kids and adults can make to turn your Christmas tree into a festive holiday decoration you can be proud of. Unlike other flimsy, handmade Christmas ornaments and crafts made with materials that fall apart or deteriorate a few days after you make them, you can store most of these Christmas ornament crafts to decorate the tree year after year. You might also enjoy this list of Christmas gifts kids can make.
DIY Christmas Decorations: Christmas Ornament Crafts for Kids and Adults
Making DIY Christmas ornaments is a fun way to add meaningful, handmade charm to your holiday decor. Whether you’re building snowmen and women with clay, crafting angels, or making hand-beaded snowflakes, or assembling nature-inspired decorations, the process itself becomes part of the season’s magic. Creating ornaments by hand fosters creativity and gives everyone a chance to slow down to enjoy a mindful seasonal activity.
Creating new and unique Christmas crafts and decorations is a Christmas Tradition my family thoroughly enjoys. Here’s a collection of handmade Christmas ornaments and fun crafts my daughter and I made for our Christmas tree over the years. These handcrafted ornaments are assembled with a variety of craft supplies, including beads, clay, wooden peg dolls, and natural materials such as walnut shells, acorn caps, twigs, pinecones, and oranges. Gather inspiration to make holiday ornament crafts you’d be proud to add to your festive holiday decor with the DIY Christmas ideas below!
First published on October 11, 2017, this list of DIY Christmas ornament craft ideas for kids and adults is regularly updated to improve the content and remain current. As my daughter and I continue making homemade Christmas ornaments, I will add them to the list of DIY ideas below. Please bookmark this page and check back every year so you don’t miss our latest creations. Scroll down to look through each of the homemade Christmas ornament DIY project tutorials for creative ideas.
Related: 10 Reasons to Choose the Kindness Elves Over the Elf on the Shelf
DIY Christmas Ornaments for Children and Adults:
Making handmade Christmas ornaments makes it easy to customize each piece to match the look and style of your home decor. Crafting your own Christmas decorations also offers practical benefits. It’s often more affordable than buying new ornaments, especially if you repurpose materials and use natural supplies. DIY projects can reduce waste, promote sustainable practices that align with eco-friendly values, and teach children to be resourceful and independent.
DIY ornaments like those on the list of craft ideas below make delightful gifts. They are small, heartfelt, and easy to personalize with names, dates, or themes. They can even become part of yearly crafting traditions, with each year’s additions telling a new story of your family, as they do in mine. You might also enjoy this list of homemade Christmas card crafts. They make a lovely complement to Christmas ornament gifts.
Below is a gorgeous collection of handmade ornaments and crafts you can use to decorate your Christmas tree. Best of all, you can reuse them year after year! If you make a new Christmas ornament each year, children will have a tree full of Christmas memories to reflect on once they reach adulthood. This is one of the many reasons personalized DIY ornament crafts are so lovely. Merry Christmas and happy crafting!
1. Acorn Marble Ornaments
With this easy, step-by-step Christmas craft tutorial, you can make gorgeous rustic ornaments for the Christmas tree using marbles and natural acorn caps from oak trees.
2. Angel Ornaments
Here’s a Christmas angel craft that you will enjoy hanging on the Christmas tree year after year. These sweet DIY Christmas ornaments also make a great gift idea for someone special. It makes a lovely gift for anyone who has recently lost a loved one.
3. Baby Jesus Christmas Ornament
This rustic walnut shell manger ornament is a fun Christmas craft for kids, teens, and adults. Making baby Jesus ornament crafts to hang on the Christmas tree is a lovely way to share the holiday spirit and connect with children.
4. Beaded Snowflake Ornaments
Here’s a DIY Christmas ornament craft tutorial to add sparkle and shine to your Yule or Christmas tree. This easy snowflake ornament craft tutorial shares how to make gorgeous beaded snowflake ornaments. Both kids and adults will enjoy this simple winter craft.
5. Christmas Elf Ornaments
Christmas ornament crafts like this sweet idea will surely put a smile on anyone’s face. Use wooden peg dolls and felt to make these cute little Christmas elves inspired by the book “The Christmas Wish.”
6. Orange Slice Ornaments
This easy traditional Christmas craft tutorial teaches how to dry oranges and make them into dried orange sun wheel ornaments. DIY orange slice ornaments can last up to 2 years when stored correctly in a cool, dry location. Make some sweet and fragrant natural ornaments to adorn your Christmas or Yule tree with this easy Christmas ornament craft for kids and adults.
7. Christmas Tree Twig Ornaments
Here’s a simple, elegant, and beautiful Christmas ornament DIY project tutorial that kids and adults can make. Make a few twig trees to add to your festive winter holiday DIY decor!
8. Snowman Ornament
My daughter squealed excitedly when I asked her if she wanted to build a snowman, and I’ll bet yours will, too! This step-by-step DIY Christmas ornament craft tutorial teaches how to make clay snowman ornaments for the Christmas tree in various fun and festive ways.
9. Olaf Ornaments Kids Can Make
Toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners love to build Olaf Christmas ornaments. Go ahead and ask your kids if they want to build a snowman with this Christmas ornament craft. I bet yours will love this festive holiday decoration as much as mine.
10. Easy Snowman Head Christmas Ornament
Make snowman head ornaments with this simple step-by-step Christmas ornament DIY tutorial. Children love to decorate the Christmas tree with them!
11. Rhinestone Pinecone Ornaments
Add rustic bling to your Christmas tree with these sparkling DIY rhinestone pinecone ornaments! This Christmas ornament craft is an easy, book-inspired nature craft for kids.
12. Wood Slice Alphabet Ornaments
Here’s a fun DIY Christmas ornament craft idea for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners that makes learning the alphabet fun. Or, make these fun Christmas ornament crafts spell your family name, Merry Christmas, Joy, etc. These rustic alphabet ornaments are perfect for homeschoolers and look great hanging on a kindergarten Christmas tree.
More Christmas Crafts and Fun Ideas for Kids and Families:
Help the kids make beautiful gifts, keep them busy, and create meaning, beginning with this list of Christmas Traditions! Or, scroll through the Christmas crafts listed here for inspiration:
- Homemade Christmas Gifts for Everyone on Your List!
- Fingerprint Lights Christmas Cards: This easy Christmas craft improves finger dexterity and strengthens fine motor skills. You can also try reverse fingerprint Christmas tree cards.
- Watercolor Christmas Tree Cards – Use watercolor paintings and children’s artwork to make these simple Christmas cards.
- Simple Stone Christmas Advent Calendar—This easy nature-inspired Christmas idea allows you to create a homemade advent calendar with stones or rocks (or alternatives). You can also try a spiral advent.
- Holy Family Craft—This easy DIY tutorial teaches you how to make a simple holy family with wooden peg dolls. Place these sweet Christmas crafts in a Nativity scene or display.
- Rhinestone Pinecone Crafts – Add a little rustic bling to your Christmas decor with rhinestone pinecones. This is an easy winter nature craft that 76kids and adults can make!
- Homemade Gifts Kids Can Make – Handmade gifts from children are always a hit with parents and grandparents. Try these gorgeous homemade gift ideas!
- Handprint, Footprint, and Fingerprint Christmas Crafts – Make beautiful Christmas keepsakes, cards, and gifts with this fun collection of art made by little hands and feet.
- Christmas Art Projects for Kids – Gather your favorite art supplies from the craft closet and try these Christmas painting ideas!
Homemade Christmas Ornaments DIY
Making Christmas ornaments, spending time with the kids, and enjoying other meaningful Christmas traditions will help you and your family create memories that last a lifetime! Try the festive holiday ideas above or find inspiration to make homemade Christmas ornaments with your children.
Bookmark this list of Christmas craft ideas for easy reference. My daughter and I (and sometimes a few of our friends) will continue creating more Christmas crafts and adding them to this list of homemade Christmas ornaments kids can help make.
You might also enjoy this Winter Bucket List filled with Seasonal Activities and Crafts for children and adults of all ages. It’s a list and a virtual treasure trove of ideas to keep the kids busy learning through play all winter.
Learn more about Nell Regan Kartychok, author, photographer, and creator of each of these original DIY ornaments HERE, and Rhythms of Play HERE!
Leave a Comment