DIY Christmas ornaments to fall in love with

There are a lot of to-do’s to cross off your list before the holidays arrive. You have to select, address and send out your holiday cards to friends, family and co-workers, and of course prepare all of the decorations to fill your home with a festive atmosphere. One way to personalize your decor is to make your own Christmas ornaments. This way, your tree will be customized to fit your holiday lifestyle. So gather your crafting tools and get to work on creating these DIY Christmas ornaments:

Filled glass ornaments
There are endless opportunities for decorating plain glass ornaments. You can pick up the empty glass orbs for about $1 each at the craft store and personalize them as you like. Fill one with small wooden chips or sprigs of holly for a rustic vibe, or use layers of different colored sand for a vibrant addition to your Christmas tree. Another option would be to fill the glass full to the brim with Christmas-colored sprinkles or glitter.

Peanut creatures
With some acrylic paint and a bag of peanuts, you can make more than a few ornaments for your tree. For instance, use a small paint brush to cover the entire surface of one peanut with white paint. Then use a black Sharpie to draw eyes and a mouth. Place the top of an acorn on the head of the peanut to double as a tiny winter hat, then wrap a colored 1-inch strand of pipe cleaner around the peanut like a scarf. You now have your own little snowman. Feel free to decorate the rest of the peanuts as your favorite Christmas characters, like Rudolph or Santa.

Mini felt wreaths
This is one of the simpler DIY projects, and one that’s great for kids to help out with. All you need for this ornament is wire and colored felt balls that can be picked up from any craft store. Simply bend the wire into the shape of a circle, then poke the felt balls onto the sharp end of the wire until you fill up the entire thing. The end result should be a small wreath for your tree.

Bird seed ornament
Want to decorate the trees outside your home as well? Then consider hanging an ornament that birds such as blue jays and goldfinches will adore. All it takes is three simple steps. First, find yourself a bird-shaped cookie cutter, grease it and set it on top of two layers of aluminum foil. Make sure to tightly wrap the foil over the sides of the cookie cutter. Next, melt 1 cup of coconut oil, 1/4 cup chopped nuts and 1/4 cup birdseed, and let the mixture cool. Use an 8-inch long strand of twine to put in the cutter. The twine should stick out from the top of the wing about 1 inch. Then pour the mixture into the cookie cutter until the cutter is almost all the way filled. Let it harden, and then throw it in the freezer for an hour. After that, you can hang it on a tree from the twine and watch the birds enjoy their Christmas present.

Sweater hearts
Have you cleaned out your closet from last fall and winter? If you haven’t, don’t throw out those sweaters just yet – they can come in handy. Select your favorite sweater and use fabric scissors to cut a heart shape out of the material. Then, use a needle to thread a piece of twine or string through the sweater and hang it on the tree.