26 Cool and Cheap Christmas Crafts You Can Make Today

Pinecone Ornaments

Stroll through the neighborhood and collect a few fall pinecones and pine needles. Arrange this free foliage in glass ornaments, bowls, and hurricane vases for a fragrant and festive look. Match the display to your other holiday decorations by adding a few colored ornaments or tinsel to the mix.

Easy Christmas Candle

Transform a glass Mason jar into a jolly display with just a few seasonal embellishments. Wrap the jar with a piece of plaid ribbon ($14, Target) and secure it with tape. Tie on twine and a sprig of evergreen. Fill with a simple pillar candle for a charming Christmas decoration.

Ornament Balloon Garland

A bag of inexpensive balloons is the base of this cheerful and cheap Christmas craft. A few pieces of mirrored paper are used to create the ornament tops. All that's left is stringing the finished ornament balloon garland up with fishing line.

Glitter Ornaments

Dress up basic ornaments with glitter. For simple designs, use a paintbrush to apply glue directly to the ornament and then sprinkle it with glitter. If you want to try a more detailed design and aren't comfortable applying glue by hand, cut a snowflake, Christmas tree, or another shape out of cardstock using a holiday-themed stencil or paper punch. Apply glue to the punch-out and stamp it on the ornament. Finish with glitter.

Editor's Tip: Sprinkle glitter over a tray for easy cleanup.

Embroidered Ornaments

These easy Christmas ornaments start with a trip to the laundry aisle! Inexpensive wool dryer balls ($9 for 3, Target) get a festive holiday makeover with a few embroidery stitches. We free-handed snowflakes but try stitching other holiday shapes like stars or trees.

Patterned Ornaments

Use air-dry clay to create one-of-a-kind Christmas ornaments. Simply roll out the clay and use a patterned crystal glass to stamp a design. Poke a hole to hang and let dry according to package directions. This inexpensive Christmas craft doubles as pretty gift toppers.

Cupcake Wrapper Gift Wrap

Personalize your gifts with cupcake wrappers. Fold a series of green wrappers into a Christmas tree, and affix them to the top of a package. Or nest a group of holiday-theme wrappers to create a frilly starburst. Pair your wrapper art with simple gift wrap so your creation takes center stage.

Bonus: You can buy a huge roll of kraft paper for the price of a couple of small rolls of department store wrapping paper.

Mini Wreath Ornament

Mason jar lids are the base for these cheap Christmas ornaments you can DIY in a flash. You can also buy a pack of just the lids ($7 for 12, Target) as an inexpensive alternative. Hot-glue boxwood leaves (preserved or real) to the top of a Mason jar lid ring. Embellish with any ornaments you have, or gather small pinecones to glue to the lid.

Paper Pom-Pom Wreath

Save your scraps of paper to create this pretty Christmas wreath. Create easy fringed paper pom-poms and glue them to a foam wreath form—that's all it takes! Hang this wreath inside or in a protected area, so it keeps its shape.

Family Photo Garland

Take a trip down memory lane with a homemade photo garland. Drape the nostalgic display across a mantel or shelf by clipping old snapshots to a piece of festive ribbon. Start with the great-great-grandparents at one end of the garland and progress to the youngest generation.

Wreath Ornament

A 4-inch grapevine wreath sets the scene for a pretty winter moment. Create this easy Christmas craft by painting the wreaths. Once dry, use hot-glue to attach a small bottle brush tree, miniature plastic deer ($3 for 4, Factory Direct Crafts), and a folded bow.

String Tree Craft

Forget the fridge! Spotlighting sweet holiday cards on a festive board gives them the "tree-t-ment" they deserve. First, staple a neutral fabric to the back of an old corkboard. Then, using colorful string and a couple of dozen gold pins, create a tree shape suitable for showing off.

Cardboard Christmas Trees

Have Santa-ready kiddos? Spare the expensive breakables and try these classic cardboard trees on for size. With a so-easy template and only two materials required, these pretty satin-edged Christmas trees are just the touch your sprightly home needs.

Stocking Gift Bags

You can make a festive holiday gift bag using thick paper and your sewing machine. Create this easy sewing project by cutting a stocking shape from cardstock. Draw a simple pattern on one side using a metallic marker. Sew the two together and fill with Christmas treats or candy.

Golden Memo Frame

Cheer up your entryway with a dazzling "dipped" frame. Start by spray-painting the bottom of an old white frame ritzy gold, using painters tape to keep lines clean and crisp. Staple colorful strings of pom-poms to the back of the frame, including one or two happy memos made of felt and puff paint.

Hanging Countdown Christmas Calendar

Can't wait for Christmas? Neither can we! Count down the days with a homemade Advent calendar. Fallen birch branches tied with number-stamped muslin bags help create this fresh outdoor spin. Use strong yarn or skinny rope to assemble and hang.

Fa-La-La Garland

Make your fireplace or a blank wall sing with these homemade ornaments. Trace the outside of different-size embroidery hoops onto a roll of canvas. Cut out the circles and paint them with green chalkboard paint; let dry. Place the painted circles in the hoops and add hanging ribbon. Use chalk to write a festive refrain.

Chalkboard Phrase Decoration

Bring festive cheer to your home with a playful message written in chalk. Just paint the back of an antique picture frame with black chalkboard paint, then write your favorite phrase.

Postcard Ornaments

Add a natural touch to this year's Christmas tree with vintage postcards. This is a botanical print, but any image you find will do the trick. Use a hole punch to create a hole at the top, thread a ribbon through, and hang.

Gingerbread Display

Transform a plain glass cake stand ($30, Target) into a sparkling centerpiece with a homemade gingerbread display. We'll show you how to make the cookies and arrange them on a sugar "snow" bed to get the look.

Christmas Cake Topper

Give your favorite holiday sweet a festive makeover with these adorable Christmas animal cake toppers. Craft your own using just a few dollar-store materials like felt, toy animals, and bottle brush trees.

Peppermint Candy Christmas Wreath

Looking for a cheap Christmas craft to make as a family? Try this sweet peppermint candy wreath! Glue flat peppermints (you'll need about 250 for a 10-inch wreath) in close, neat rows to a white foam wreath. Glue small cinnamon candies in the gaps. Add a ribbon, and hang on the front door or a wall peg.

Pinecone Chair Decorations

Bring the beauty of a wintry landscape into your home with pinecones and a blue, silver, and white palette. Brush white paint on the tips of pinecones, glue them to velvet ribbon and secure them to the backs of your dining room chairs with plastic adhesive hooks.

Wreath-and-Candle Table Topper

This easy display adds a natural, festive feel to your coffee table. Surround a candle of your choice with store-bought faux greenery—that's it! Christmas craft ideas don't get any easier!

Ombre Wreath

Dress your front door with this festive ombre pinecone wreath. Made using collected pinecones and spray paint, you can customize it to fit any color scheme. We used shades of blue, but this technique looks great with classic red and green or metallic tones.