10 Ways to Decorate a Plain Christmas Ornament

Feeling a little crafty this holiday season and want to find a way to spice up your traditional Christmas tree decorations? Have way too many plain ball ornaments that you'd be willing to part with? Don't ever put up another ho-hum Christmas tree again! Here are 10 unique ways that you can decorate your own custom ornaments, out of those plain inexpensive Christmas balls that you probably have a hundred of lying around!

Decoupage ornaments with patterned paper

There are endless varieties of scrapbook papers at local Arts & Crafts stores, from beautiful classic patterns to fun, contemporary designs to kitschy holiday prints. For an updated look, decoupage your chosen paper all over the ornament using Mod-Podge.

Make it shine! Glue jewels, glitter and sequins onto ornaments

Christmastime and the holidays are all about glitzy, glittery, shiny baubles. Glue rhinestones, flat-backed imitation jewels, glitter and sequins onto your ornaments (maybe not all on the same one, though - there is such a thing as 'overkill'.) Try adding decorations in patterns rather than randomly gluing them on.

Paint ornaments with Christmas designs

Using acrylic paints and good small and medium-sized detail brushes, paint Christmas designs on the ornament. Think: a string of Christmas lights, holly leaves and berries, mistletoe, icicles, snowflakes, snowmen, stockings and other images. How detailed the designs are is completely up to you.

Personalize a Christmas ornament for each family member

Go one step further from painting the decorations to personalizing an ornament for each family member. Paint their name on the ornament, paint details, add accessories - beads, sequins, etc. Decorate one for each member of your family, each child, or with friend's names to give as gifts.

Wrap up the ornament - literally

Have ribbon you're not using? How about twine, jute, wire or yarn? Using tacky glue - not a hot glue gun - begin wrapping the ornament in your chosen material. It can be messy and random - like a ball of yarn, or you can try to make it neat, like rows of coils. I prefer messy and random. You can choose to let parts of the ornament show through, or wrap the entire decoration in the chosen wrapping material.

Glue overlapping craft items onto ornaments

Try gluing buttons, of all shapes and colors, all over the ornament - or stick to a limited color palette for a more classic look. Other craft supplies - feathers, jingle bells, silk flowers, beads, mini-flowers, mini-pinecones or fuzzy puff-balls, for example - could also be glued all over so that none of the ornament is showing through. Note - imagine how beautiful an ornament covered by peacock feathers would be!

Think untraditionally

This is a way to think outside-the-box when it comes to your ornaments. You don't have to rely on traditional Christmas themes - instead, think of your interests or even just what you have lying around the house. Overlap and glue metal nuts, washers and bolts onto an ornament for the DIY expert or handyman in your home. Glue on mini-seashells or starfish for a nautical, seashore ornament. Other materials to try: colored duct tape pieces, colored rubber bands, small twigs, paper clips, hazard stickers, soda pop labels, and so many more!

Mod-podge family pictures onto ornaments

If you are giving Christmas tree ornaments as gifts, commemorating each family member, or simply want to decorate a meaningful ornament that will bring back memories, try decoupaging photos onto the ornaments. You could try a family collage, or make each ornament about one person only. Mod-podge a baby's picture onto a "Baby's First Christmas" ornament, or a wedding photo onto an "Our First Christmas" ornament.

Cover Christmas ornaments in fabric or other materials

Using some of your favorite fabric, wrap up a Christmas ornament in a piece of fabric, gather the corners at the top, and fasten with a complementing ribbon. You may want to use a rubber band to hold the fabric in place first, under the ribbon. Likewise, you could attempt wrapping up the tree ornaments in other fabric-like coverings - try using printed Christmas gift-wrapping paper, tin foil or multiple colors of cellophane wrapping.

Write messages on ornaments - to convey affection or document the year's events

Using a Sharpie, paint pen, puffy paint or other utensil, try writing message onto ornaments - like Christmas love letters to your family or significant other. Write how much you love them, how proud you are of them, or what they mean to you. Or, for a great and creative proposal idea - try popping the question to your girlfriend or boyfriend while decorating the Christmas tree, by handing them this special ornament to hang up! You could also write on ornaments as a 'historical record' for your family, by writing down the year and each year's major events that occurred - having a new baby, graduating, moving houses, and more. Then each year you can relive your family's past as you decorate your tree.

Using the ideas above to decorate your plain Christmas ornaments are ways to really go creative and make this holiday stand out from the rest. You might even start a new holiday tradition in your family. Instead of regular Christmas parties with friends, family, or your child's classmates, why not try hosting a 'Christmas Ornament Decorating' party at your home? Or, for an inexpensive (relatively free) present, decorate your recycled plain Christmas tree ornaments, and give them away as holiday gifts at gift exchanges, to friends, or give specialty ones to family members. Happy crafting!