DIY Christmas Tree Ornaments to Make With Your Kids
Updated on December 23, 2017
Making Christmas tree ornaments is something we love to do every year. We usually make a few cute or kitschy ones for fun and then save some time to really invest in one that’s a little more special or well made. Even more than the ornaments we make ourselves, we love putting aside time to make a few DIY ornaments with our kids! That’s why we’re always collecting simple, super fun ideas for handmade ornaments that we know our kids will be able to help us with or even make for themselves while we wrap presents and otherwise prepare for the holidays.
Have you been looking for great DIY ornament ideas that you think your kids might like to make over the holidays but you feel like you could still use a few more tutorials, just to make sure they’ve really got enough crafts to fill their time while they’re off school? Check out these 15 awesome DIY Christmas ornament ideas that are perfect for kids!
1. Felt and button Christmas trees
Are cut and paste crafts your kids’ favourite kind but you like to shake things up a little every once in a while, rather than just giving them construction paper or old magazine pages over and over, just to keep them interested? In that case, we think you should help them try out this felt and button idea! Check out how Hands On As We Grow made this cute little Christmas tree ornament.
2. Melted bead and cookie cutter ornaments
Perhaps your kids are a little bit older and have been really into crafts lately that let them get a little more experimental and exciting? Then we’d be willing to bet that the idea of melting things would probably be right up their alley! If you’re an avid DIY family then you probably already have plastic beads and festive metal cookie cutters on hand, and that’s almost everything you need to make these awesome ornaments from Crystal & Co. .
3. Quote and photo marble ornaments
Have you had a bag of those clear glass, flat backed crafting marbles laying around for a few months now and you’ve been wondering how to use them for quite a while? Then here’s a cute idea that your kids can totally help with! Chreetzmas shows you how to paste small photos and written names onto the backs of the marbles and finish them with glitter and a ribbon to make a tiny ornament for each member of your family.
4. Paint chip Christmas trees
Perhaps you’ve been doing some redecorating lately, so you’ve been making trips to the local home store to look at paint chips? In that case, we’d suggest swinging by the green shades the next time you go! Cut the chips into triangles, add construction paper trunks, and decorate them with stickers, beads, sequins, or whatever you please as little ornaments. Girl in The Garage has more details to help you out.
5. Popsicle stick and button Christmas trees
Did you love the idea of using colourful buttons as faux Christmas ornaments in crafting but you think your kids would rather build something with their hands rather than just cutting out a shape? Then try helping them make a triangular tree from popsicle sticks for them to decorate. You can find the whole idea in more detail on My Ideas Bedroom.
6. Plastic cup and glitter North Pole
If your kids are going to go to the trouble of crafting their own ornaments for a number of hours, do you think they’d prefer to make something fun, sparkly, and interactive? Then Domestic Charm has just the design for you! Their tutorial walks you through the process of making a small, glittery snow globe featuring a miniature North Pole on the inside.
7. Bundled snowman Christmas ornaments
Do you actually have a number of plain Christmas bobbles in festive colours already and you’ve been thinking about jazzing them up a little bit before you hang them on your tree? Then pass them on to your kids and show them how to make these adorable little embellished snowmen! Huckleberry Stew guides you through the whole process in just a few simple steps.
8. Yarn wrapped wreath ornaments
Perhaps you’re an avid yarn crafter who is always knitting or crocheting around your kids, so they have a big interesting in working with yarn but they’re not quite ready for your crafts of choice yet? Well, that doesn’t mean they can’t still use it for crafting, especially around Christmas! We’re pretty crazy about these adorable wrapped yarn wreaths by Izzness. In fact, our kids made them the other day and they’re hanging on our tree as we type.
9. Wooden spool Christmas list ornament
You’ve probably finished all of the Christmas shopping you’ll do for your kids by now, but why not try out a creative way to get any of the last few requests on their Christmas lists in a subtle way that’s also creative? This cute list ornament made with a wooden spool is also a good way to keep track of the funny things your kids wanted for Christmas at this age for years to come. See how they’re made on Honey Bear Lane!
10. Paper tube and bead Christmas tree
Are your kids a little bit older and starting to get into more detailed crafts that take a little bit more concentration? Well, they might not be quite ready for hand embroidery of cross stitching, they might be prepared to work with decorative paper rolling and a little bit of beading! Find out how these adorable tree ornaments are made on Make and Do Crew.
11. Christmas colours sand ornament
Did we catch your attention when we started talking about working with Christmas bobbles because you do have some sitting around, but yours are a little bit different then the ones you saw because they’re hollow? In that case, we think you might prefer this awesome layered crafting sand idea instead! Mess for Less shows you how to do it with as little mess as possible.
12. Handprint snowman Christmas ball
Are you very into the idea of filling a clear glass ornament in a fun way, but you’d rather do something fancy with the outside too, while you have the crafting supplies out? Then we’d suggest taking a look at this cute handprint tutorial from DIY Network! They tell you how to fill the inside with sparkling iridescent confetti to look like snow and how to turn your white hand print into a cute little family of snowmen.
13. Cinnamon stick and ribbon Christmas tree
Is one of your absolute favourite parts of Christmas the festive way that the holidays always seem to smell? Well, what’s to say you can’t incorporate that into your crafting process? This Grandma is Fun shows you exactly how to do that by turning some cinnamon sticks into tree trunks using ribbons in fun Christmas colours.
14. Bent wire and bead Christmas tree
Have your kids been watching you make jewelry for a number of years now and they keep asking you to let them try their hand at it too? Well, they might not be ready to start makin their own intricate pieces yet, but that doesn’t mean they can’t handle something simple like this waving wire Christmas tree from Soft Flex Girl! Even if they need your help bending the wire itself, they’ll definitely love decorating the tree by stringing seed beads along the wire when you’re done.
15. Stacked button Christmas trees
Are you still thinking about how much you’d love to make some cute Christmas crafts with buttons but the ideas you’ve seen so far just haven’t quite appealed to you? Then here’s one that’s got a little more to it! Check out how Get Creative With Kids string buttons in decreasing sizes along some sparkly pipe cleaner in a pile to look like trees, adding a cute little bell on the end for some extra flare.
Have you made other kinds of awesome DIY and hand crafted Christmas tree ornaments with your kids that they had a blast creating and that you still hang up each year, but you don’t see anything quite the same as what you made on our list? Tell us all about how you did it or link us to photos of your finished ornaments in the comments section!