The holidays can be tough for a lot of folks who have complicated relationships with their families — which is part of why we’re so down with throwing friends-focused holiday/Christmas parties, a.k.a. Friendsmas gatherings, to add a little levity to the season.
One twist we’ve been adding to our holiday get-togethers that have brought an extra layer of cheer: some kind of easy, festive craft project. We’ll all do plenty of standing/sitting around and drinking/eating during the holidays, so having something specific and creative to do feels fun and refreshing. That it doubles as decorating help for you, the host: bonus.
Are you planning on throwing a Christmas party this year? Up for adding a Craftsmas twist? We’re thinking DIY Christmas ornaments this year, and here are a few of the favorites we’re considering:
Glitter Bulb Ornaments
If your general Christmas decor approach leans toward the twinkly, these should be perfect — find some old bulbs (or grab some little blank bulb ornaments at the craft store), brush on some glue, roll in glitter, and let dry. Attach some string (or for more sparkle, metallic embroidery floss) to hang. Easy, fun, and festively sparkly. More from Country Living.
Mini Snow Globe Ornaments
Something about hanging tiny, snowy trees on the tree just feels extra Christmassy. Clear globe ornaments and little brush trees are easy to find at any craft store. This one’s particularly easy, since you’re mostly just putting them together. But the results are pretty adorable. More at No Biggie.
Sprinkles Ornaments
If you and your friends are into baking, this one’s a no-brainer — plastic globe ornaments, varnish and sprinkles/jimmies/etc. of your choice, and you’ve got sweet additions to your tree. More at Gimme Some Oven.
Pinecone Bird Ornaments
We have a thing for trying to make yardwork feel like craft-materials hunting. If you have a bunch of pinecones laying around, grab a few, plus a little felt and some wood beads. That, hot glue and directions from Lia Griffith, and you’ll be able to put a bird on it, Christmas style.
Cork Owl Ornaments
Serving wine at your holiday gatherings? Save the corks. Lia Griffith delivers again with this easy how-to that’ll have you refashioning old corks into cute little owls to perch in your Christmas tree.
Salt Dough Gingerbread Men Ornaments
These little guys aren’t edible, but considering all the Christmas cookies that tend to be around this time of year, that’s not really a downside. Plus, they’re really cute, and they’ll make your house smell like cinnamon the rest of the holiday season. More from Treasure in an Earthen Vessel.
Embroidery Hoop Ornaments
If you like a more Bohemian/natural vibe, these feather-filled ornaments are really fun — and they don’t take anything more than trip to the craft store for 3-inch embroidery hoops and feathers, and then a little hot glue and twine. More from A Pretty Fix.
Cookie Cutter House Ornaments
We love houses, obviously, so this’ll probably be our winner. These exact cookie cutters are from Target’s Hearth & Hand collection, and they’ll run around $10 for three, but you can find cheaper alternatives, especially if you’re willing to expand outside the house shape. Places like Old Time Pottery usually have easy options locally (or, of course, Amazon). This feels like a good place to get creative too — the Merry Thought uses bells, beads and little bottle trees for the adornments, but anything from acorns to colorful felt balls (or whatever else is hanging around) would likely look cool too. More from The Merry Thought.
Any of these catch your eye? Have other ideas in store for your Christmas gatherings? We’d love to hear about what you’re planning.
And if you’d like to be set up in a new Nashville home by the time next Christmas rolls around, please let us know if we can help. Check out some Nashville homes for sale here, and reach ACRE here.