- Pinecones add seasonal charm to decorations and gifts.christmas tree image by JoLin from Fotolia.com
Christmas crafts can provide inexpensive, easy ways to decorate your house, and make presents for friends and family. If you're celebrating the holiday season on a budget, get creative wiht these tips on free and easy Christmas crafts, using materials often found around the house or in your neighborhood. - If pine trees are available in your area, head outside and collect some for your crafts. Collect cones only in public areas; those on private property require permission from the property owner. You can paint the cones various colors and sprinkle on glitter for some sparkle, or add fake snow instead. Once done, loop some string around the large end of your pine cone and hang it on a Christmas tree. For a natural look, leave pine cones undecorated.
- Using construction paper in red and yellow and gold glitter, you can make some paper poinsettias. Cut out matching-sized petals from the red construction paper, and a few small circles from the yellow construction paper. Glue the petals together and glue the yellow circles onto the center of your resulting flower. Decorate your home with these flowers or give some to a friend.
- A pine cone wreath can be another fun and easy Christmas craft. Collect about 20 pine cones of at least three inches in length. Use hot glue to attach the pine cones to each other in a circular shape, until you've formed a pine cone circle. Use green florist wire to wrap around the head (where it attached to the pine tree) of each cone for added strength. Decorate with ribbons or gift wrap you have around the house, and add a ribbon for hanging.
- For a fun storage container---and an environmentally friendly one---recycle old tin cans by decorating them with wrapping paper, using white glue. You can also paint them, using acrylic latex paint, with Christmas designs of your choosing. Use them to store kitchen ingredients, bathroom items, or turn them into potpourri containers and place them in your living room.
- Another option for pine cones is a Christmas tree. Collect around 20 pine cones of varying sizes and stack and glue them one atop the other (horizontally), using smaller and fewer cones as you go. Glue five together for the first level, then use one less for each level, so that they form the appearance of a Christmas tree. Spray paint your tree green for a more realistic effect.
- A toilet paper roll angel is an easy craft that can help you recycle your junk into beautiful décor. Paint the roll the color of your choosing for the angel's body. Make wings by tracing your hands and cutting them out of white construction paper, then glue them onto the back of a toilet paper roll. You can use a round ball, such as a golf or ping pong ball, for the head, paint it and glue it atop your head. Use finetip markers for eyes, nose and face, and silver or gold tinsel for hair.
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