Crafty Christmas Decor

Speaking of decorations, we thought the perfect thing to kick off this month would be some Christmas décor you can make yourself. If you are feeling crafty or your kids want something fun to do to help get in the Christmas spirit, this is the post for you! We crafted pomanders, painted ornaments, and made the most wonderful smelling rosemary wreaths.

The pomanders were by far the easiest craft to conquer. With minimal supplies needed and not a lot of mess, you can have some beautiful, yummy smelling décor in your house in no time! For the most basic pomanders all you need are some oranges or mandarins, cloves, and something to pre-poke holes in your fruit. If you wanted to be able to hang your pomanders, you can add some twine and floral wire to the supply list.

To hang, we used a skewer to make a hole down the center of the mandarin, then we wrapped the floral wire around the skewer and threaded it through the mandarin again. We used a clove as an anchor to wrap the end of the wire around, then created a loop of wire at the top of the mandarin that we strung the twine through.

Once you are ready to decorate your orange, it is as simple as picking a design (or winging it) and using a skewer, or other poking device, to pre-poke a small hole where you would like your clove to go and then placing the clove. We found that doing a portion of your design with the skewer and then going back and filling with cloves was the fastest route to a beautiful pomander.

This craft was simple and easy to put together but may not be the best idea for kids that aren’t ready to handle sharp objects! You can use these as décor on the table, hanging as ornaments, hanging in your kitchen or in your windows, in a garland, or really anywhere! As the oranges dry, they will become fragrant and smell magical.

Next up, we made painted ornaments. This craft is pretty simple to throw together, especially if you have some paint laying around the house. We used acrylic paint, but if you’re doing this with kids, you may want to use a more kid friendly option. All you need are glass ornaments, paints, and string or twine. For our paint selection we used two different shades of red, two of green, white, and we threw in some sparkly paint for good measure.

Simply remove the top of the ornament by pinching the small metal loop together and pulling it out along with the decorative cap. Pick the colors you want to use and carefully drizzle the paint into the ornament, switching between colors if you are using multiple. Once you have a good amount of paint in your ornament, swirl the paint around to cover the entire inside of your ornament and create a colorful pattern with the paints. Once you are satisfied with your painting, put the top back on your ornament, tie a loop with string or twine, and hang to dry. If you want to make your ornament a little more of a keepsake, you can use a paint pen to write the year or your child’s name so you can remember who crafted it forever!

The most fun we had was making these rosemary wreaths. We’ll start with the ultra-simple version. For a nice little place setting décor we used a sprig of rosemary, looped into a circle and secured with either string or a bit of floral wire. These can bring a pop of color to each place at your table along with a tasty smell to get everyone in the mood for dinner.

Now for the more elaborate wreath, you will need floral tape and wire, one small wire wreath frame, one potted rosemary, scissors, and ribbon. We snipped the three largest sprigs of rosemary and spaced them evenly on the wire wreath shape, taping them in place from the bottom of the stem. To tape the sprig in place, wrap the floral tape around the stem 2-3 times then place the stem on the wire wreath and wrap the tape around the wire and stem, securing it in place. Then we used a small piece of floral wire to secure the top of the rosemary stem. Once the three larger pieces of rosemary were secured, we used smaller stems to fill in the emptier spaces, securing the smaller pieces with floral tape and wire. Once that was complete, we finished the wreath with Christmas ribbon.

We used our large rosemary wreath as a centerpiece, with a candle in the center. Keep in mind that these will wilt, so if you are going to use them as décor for a special occasion, we recommend making them the day of.

We hope these fun little crafts will help start your holiday season off with some joy and bring you and your family together to make some sweet memories!

Happy Crafting!