Some of the most treasured Christmas decorations are the crafts made by children and friends over the years, such as the candles made by an aunt or ornaments from the kids. Like the crafts, you hold onto, through the years, the handmade gifts you present to others can endure in their families for many holiday seasons to come. Some of the best ideas for inexpensive yet unique holiday gifts lie in Christmas crafts.
Christmas Crafts to Make
Here are some ideas for Christmas crafts that make good Christmas gifts:
- Christmas cards
- wreaths for windows or doors
- Christmas ornaments
- candles decorated in a festive theme
- cookies in a basket or box
- gift baskets.
There's no limit to the list of Christmas crafts to make: your imagination and personal talents are all you need.
Christmas Wreaths and Christmas Candles
Christmas wreaths and candles make beautiful personalized Christmas decorations. Although wreaths can be very complex crafts, they can also be beautiful if made with simple organic materials, like holly or mistletoe. However, creating Christmas wreaths from natural materials requires some knowledge of how to attach items and what weight the wreath base will support. Many local craft stores offer free courses on making wreaths and other Christmas crafts.
While more traditional Christmas wreaths generally include red berries or ribbon, wreaths can be personalized in a variety of ways. For instance, you might include little framed pictures of children when making Christmas wreaths for grandparents, or nestle toy cars in a wreath for a racecar lover. Virtually any lightweight item can be fixed to a wreath.
If you are looking for a more challenging Christmas craft to make, try making Christmas candles. They tend to require more skill, specific equipment, and safety precautions to prevent hot wax burns. To minimize the risk of wax burns, rolled beeswax candles make simple but lovely personalized Christmas gifts and decorations.
To make rolled beeswax Christmas candles simply cut a sheet of beeswax to the size you want, and roll the beeswax tightly around the candlewick. Tie six or seven beeswax candles in a bunch with red ribbon and place them in a small basket to have a lovely personalized present.
Personalized Christmas Cards
Personalized Christmas cards beat store bought cards every time, and craft the whole family can enjoy making. Children can draw their own Christmas cards and decorate them with beads, sequins, and other materials. With so many card-making computer programs, personalized cards are not only easy to make but also send thoughtful seasonal greetings in a more inexpensive and unique way than store bought cards.
Christmas Ornaments
Christmas decorations, like Christmas ornaments, are enjoyable crafts to make and often highly treasured when given as holiday gifts. One of the simplest ornaments to make is a marshmallow Christmas decoration.
All you need is a Styrofoam ball (available at craft stores), some craft pins with colored heads, a length of ribbon, and a bag of mini marshmallows. Stick the pins through the marshmallows into the Styrofoam, covering the entire ball. Tie the ribbon into a loop and attach it to the ball. The marshmallows harden as they dry, creating a long lasting Christmas ornament. Add a coat of clear lacquer to make this ornament endure the test of time.
For a more sophisticated looking Christmas ornament consider glass. Carefully remove the metal tops from the glass ornaments and fill them with glitter, tiny shells, or other materials. Replace the tops and you have sets of personalized Christmas gifts.
Christmas Crafts to Make in the Kitchen
A good cook is never at a loss for personalized Christmas gifts. However, even if you aren't a trained chef, you can still bake (and most likely appreciate receiving) Christmas cookies, gingerbread houses, cakes, and specialty bread. Personalized gifts from the kitchen can also include homemade pancake mixes and muffin mixes.
One of the easiest Christmas crafts to make in the kitchen is a pomander or clove-stuck orange. Take a firm orange and poke a hole in the skin with a skewer or pin. Using the hole as a guide, stick a whole clove through the orange rind. Continue to add cloves until the entire orange is completely studded with cloves.
If you wish, you can "cure" the pomander by placing it in an oven set to a very low temperature. Cure the pomander for about an hour. To complete the ornament, tie the ribbon around the pomander and hang it from a door. The smell of cloves and oranges will fill the room with a festive Christmas scent.
The Joy of Personalized Christmas Crafts
Whether you make wreaths or candles, personalized Christmas cards or ornaments, giving handmade items can be more pleasurable than giving store-bought gifts. Personalized Christmas presents are gifts from the heart that show a gift receiver that you acknowledge them not only with a gift but also you’re your thought and energy. Try making Christmas crafts for your family and friends this season and show them that even in today's hectic world you can still take the time to create something special for them.
Christmas Crafts to Make as Decorations or Gifts
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