Ideas for Homemade Christmas Ornaments

Decorate your Christmas tree with homemade Christmas ornaments just like your great grandparents did. While a commercially decorated tree does look lovely, there's something special and personal about homemade Christmas ornaments hanging from the evergreen branches. Homemade Christmas ornaments also make lovely gifts for friends, teachers, neighbors and family members.

Victorian Walnuts
Carefully split open walnuts on the seam and clean out the meat. Paint the shells in metallic gold or silver and let dry. Glue a strip of 1/8-inch lace along the edge of each bottom shell. Also glue a ribbon loop to the roundish end of the walnut shells. While the glue is still wet, press the top shell in place. The lace should ruffle out between the shells of these Christmas tree ornaments; use the ribbon loop is for hanging.

Stained Glass Balls
Open the top of a clear glass ball ornament and carefully pour 1 teaspoon of acrylic glitter paint. Add another teaspoon of a different color in a different spot. Add a third if you desire for extra colorful Christmas ornaments. Swirl the colors around the bulb until it's all covered from the inside. Let the bulb dry, then glue the top back on and decorate with ribbon or lace.

Snowman Peanuts
Paint shell peanuts in white paint, then paint snowman faces and details, as you desire. Tie a colorful ribbon around the "neck" for a scarf and glue a ribbon in back for hanging. Make a variety of these homemade Christmas ornaments and make peanut angels, peanut Santas and even a peanut Nativity scene.

Antique Photo Christmas Ornament
Cut out two circles from brown cardstock. Cut out a smaller circle from just one of the large circles to make the frame. Copy treasured photos in sepia or black and white and glue it to the back circle. Place the frame on top and glue together. Add lace, ribbon, beads, dried flowers or other embellishments as needed for a treasured homemade Christmas ornament.

Rustic Tin Ornaments
Purchase metal discs from the craft store or Mason jar lids, then tape a simple template to it (such as a star, heart or Christmas tree ornament). Set the metal disc on an old phone book or piece of wood. Tap a nail all the way through the metal, all around the edge of the template. Remove the template and tap a larger nail through the top for a ribbon loop to create a rustic homemade Christmas ornament.