Creating Your Own Christmas Ornaments

Creating a unique Christmas ornament is not only fun and creative, but it is something that is easy to do with your kids as well. These easy crafts can decorate your own tree, be used as a gift for grandparents, or be used for a cute but cheap "secret santa" gift both in school or for coworkers. The best thing about creating your own ornaments is that there is no wrong way to make them. You make all the decisions and can be your own judge.

One of the cutest ideas I've seen was actually a gift I got in elementary school as a secret santa gift. It was simply a plain red ornament that was decorated to be a cute little teddy bear. The head, arms, legs and tail were just light brown pom poms that can be found at any craft store, kept in place by using a hot glue gun. Small present-shaped decorations were also glued on the front, and that was it! So you can make as many as nine or twelve of these ornaments for about ten dollars.

Another idea that comes from elementary school is making popsicle stick reindeers or snowmen. For the reindeers, you can use pipe cleaners and glue them around the top for antlers, and use a fine-tip paint brush and paint to put a little face on the reindeer. If you have any of the smallest size red pom poms, you can glue one in the center of the face to make a popsicle stick Rudolph. For the snowman you can take a small ripped piece of cloth and tie it around the popsicle stick, about the third of the way down to create a scarf. Again, use a fine-tipped paint brush and paint to create a face, and you can even paint on an orange carrot nose! These ornaments are so cute and so much for the kids. You can also write their name and the year on the back with a sharpie.

One final cute but cheap idea is to make play dough ornaments. You can use any color you want, and create anything with it! You could use cookie cutters to create a Christmas design, or free-hand to make anything you want. Put a small hole in the ornament and run ribbon, yarn, fishing line, or anything similar through the hole in order to create a method to hang it on the tree. Let the play dough sit out and harden, and if you want you can even paint it after it's hard.

These are only a few simple but cute ideas that can be a fun craft for kids, and a very light burden on the budget. May your holiday season be filled with happiness and fun, and as little spending as possible!