40+ DIY Christmas Decorating Ideas Done In Minutes
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Tis’ the season to make your home merry and bright with these fast and easy DIY Christmas decorating ideas.
Holiday decorating using store bought items or “in-the-family-for-generations” vintage Christmas decorations are both ways to decorate a home for Christmas, but there’s something magical about handmade, yet stylish and heartfelt DIY Christmas decorations that give the season more meaning.
For instance, these festive Christmas craft ideas and projects are very easy to make and a few can even be used to embellish your gift wrapping when giving gifts to your family and friends this season.
From creative Christmas ornaments to simple Christmas dinner table setting ideas and even DIY holiday mantel ideas, I am sure your will find many ideas you can easily do to decorate your home in no time.
Once you deck your halls, take your toolbox of festive ideas outdoors. I have also included popular DIY outdoor Christmas decorations that’ll have your front porch looking ready for the holiday season in no time.
With these DIY Christmas decorations and ideas you’ll have your home merry in minutes, so you can sit back and enjoy all the holiday season has to offer.
Let’s start at your front door.
Create DIY Christmas Lantern Planters
Create a welcoming glow on a front porch or an entry to a home. Snip small branches of evergreens like boxwood and cedar in your yard and place them in a foam or snow filled urn or planter. Place a glass hurricane from a thrift store in the center along with a red candle.
Hang Greenery on Outdoor Light Fixtures
Hang greenery from exterior light fixtures using a coat hanger and foam, then add festive red ribbon and a ball style Christmas ornament.
- Step-by step instructions: How to Hang Christmas Greenery from an Outdoor Light Fixture
Double Up When Hanging Holiday Wreaths
When hanging a wreath on a door, go for double the impact, by hanging two instead of a single wreath. Loop wide ribbon to attach the bottom wreath to the top wreath that is hung from the top edge of a door using a thumbtack.
Create a Colorful Charlie Brown Christmas Tree
When at the tree farm picking out a fresh Christmas tree, don’t overlook a dead tree. Ask if you can have it for free. When you get home, spray paint it and hang colorful or vintage Shiny Brite ornaments from it.
Ornament Tree Centerpiece
Using a knitting needle and Shiny Brite or ball style Christmas ornaments you can build an ornament tree in minutes without damaging the ornaments.
If you want to keep it intact after the holidays, use a hot glue to apply glue to each ornament.
Tree Branch Ornament Tree
Bring in a few tall branches from your yard and place them in a planter using foam to secure.
To hide the foam, place a few ornaments on top of it, then hang a few more ornaments on the branches.
Dollar Store Ornament Lamp Finial
Add Christmas cheer to a table lamp using inexpensive plastic Christmas ornaments that are sold at Walmart. You can use any shape or even snowman, reindeer and angel shaped ornaments.
- Use a craft knife to cut the hook off, then place over the existing finial on the lamp. See how easy it is to do in this post: DIY Christmas Lamp Finials
Mad for Plaid Stacks of Books
Make lifts for smaller holiday decorations using books that you cover with Christmas plaid gift wrap.
Grocery Store Poinsettia Hack
Liberate a poinsettia from its shiny foil-covered pot for a more festive display.
Simply snip off the flowers with a length of its branch and place in small vases or bottles. I even used a fancy pedestal salt shaker as a small vase.
Place the vases on a cake or tiered stand.
Festive Shelf or Mantel Trim
Use dollar store paper doilies and gift wrap to edge your kitchen shelves or along the top edge of a fireplace mantel.
To cut gift wrap to fit doily: Find a dinner plate that has a close diameter to the center of the doily. Place plate upside down on gift wrap and trace around it.
- Cut out and use a glue stick or spray glue to attach to the center of a paper doily. Fold in half and place one half on the shelf so the other half hangs over the shelf.
- I used the same size doily, but you can mix doily sizes to create your own unique look on your open shelves.
Use Food as Holiday Decor
Nuts, oranges, cookies and candies can become decor when you put them out on display.
Look in your china closet for bowls, trays and cake plates and tiered stands to use.
When using nuts, make sure to place a nutcracker nearby so everyone knows the nuts are for eating. :-)
Place candy canes or candy in a glass vase or canister for kids of all ages to enjoy.
- Make the top for this thrift store glass jar using a tuna can.
You can read how to do it in this post: Faux Zinc Candy Jar
Or simply pile citrus or orange slices on a pedestal with a boxwood wreath.
Add Ribbon, a Jingle Bell & Greenery
Make any item in your home holiday ready by adding ribbon, greenery and a jingle bell. Use florist wire to attach a few bells together and then onto the ribbon.
For a Kitchen Counter
Add a bit of Christmas in the way of a candle and a few ornaments on a tray. Use florist wire to attach a few smaller ornaments to pine branches placed in a white pitcher or vase.
Fill a Basket with Bare Branches
Find a few dead branches in your yard and place in a large basket, planter or urn. Add festive ribbon, a large jingle bell and greenery.
Display Vintage Santa & Me Family Photos
If you have any Santa & Me photos of when you or your children were little, take them out of storage and put them on display.
Sparkly Christmas Tree Garland
For a colorful and easy to make Christmas tree garland, use pipe cleaners also called chenille stems that you buy at the crafts store. They come in a multitude of colors. Use all the same color or mix and match them using your holiday decorating color scheme.
Lay a Christmas Wreath on a Table
Christmas wreaths don’t have to be hung on a door or wall. Lay one on the center of a table to use as a candle centerpiece.
Keep Christmas Table Settings Simple
When setting your Christmas holiday table, keep it simple by using only one color along with white accents.
DIY Pinecone Pedestals
Decorate the top of a fireplace mantel or sideboard by lining up a collection of candlestick holders. Use hot-glue to attach a large pinecone to the candle holders.
Colorful Pine Cone Christmas Trees
Melt crayons in paper cups to create cute little pinecone Christmas trees.
Frosty Pine Cones
Glam up the rustic look of pinecones by adding glitter to them. To do this, spray the pinecones with spray glue and shake glitter over them. Let dry. Set them around real or battery operated candles on a plate.
Hang a Christmas Card or Free Printable
Display a favorite Christmas card or free printable by hanging it with ribbon from a doorknob. Spray glue front of card and then sprinkle with glitter.
Attach Jingle Bells
Decorate the top edge of a basket or fabric tote with jingle bells. Use colored pipe cleaners to attach jingle bells to the rim of a basket or tote.
DIY Christmas Chandelier Decor
Embellish a chandelier or light fixture with greenery and a single ornament hung with thin wire or ribbon.
Christmas Clock Wreath
Give a wreath a nostalgic touch by printing this free clock face printable and attach it to the inside of a wreath to create a vintage looking Christmas decoration.
Invisible Christmas Tree Ornament Hooks
To hang and hide ornaments hooks: Using garland ties bought at the craft store, cut garland ties to 4″ in length to make your own ornament hooks that will blend in with the Christmas tree branches.
Use Wrapped Gifts as Christmas Decor
No need for Christmas decorations when you can simply use your wrapped gifts for family and friends on a bench in your entryway to stand in as holiday decor.
Holiday Ready Lamps
Don’t overlook any item. Add gift wrap, greenery and a small ornament to tall buffet lamps so they are part of the festive decor.
Use What You Have DIY Christmas Tree Ornaments
Decorate your Christmas tree this year using small objects from around your home. Here I used vintage board game pieces. For more ideas:
Ornament Bowl
To decorate a table or sideboard, fill a large bowl with ornaments.
DIY Paper Christmas Tree Ornaments
If you don’t have any Christmas tree ornaments, here is a free printable of classic shaped ornaments that you can print, cut-out and decorate.
Use Dollar Store Paper Doilies to Make Snowflake Ornaments
Make inexpensive Christmas tree snowflake ornaments using small round paper doilies bought at the dollar store. Thread a bead or pom-poms on an ornament hanger, then attach a DIY snowflake ornament.
- Full Tutorial: How to Make Paper Doily Christmas Tree Snowflake Ornaments
Candles in the Snow
Instead of using branches of holly or greenery in a glass vase or large Mason jars, use faux snow flakes from the craft store and pour into vases. Then top with a collection of colorful Christmas ornaments.
Or fill trays with the snow to create candles in the snow.
A Little Christmas Detail
Place a few ornaments and sprigs of greenery from your yard in a few select areas around your house.
Rosemary or boxwood from your garden looks great in a drinking glass. Add a festive ribbon around the glass for more impact.
Garland Ties
Add small ornaments to a garland tie. Tie around a glass candle holder. Place on a tabletop or on a stack of wood slices.
Fast & Easy DIY Staircase Garland
Use garland ties instead of massive amounts of big garland to decorate your staircase.
Here is the easy how-to: Christmas Staircase Decorating on a Dime.
DIY Christmas Candle Decor
Pair a votive candle with a star or snowflake cookie cutter. Simply place a votive candle inside a small cookie cutter and lay it on some greenery. DONE!
Or place some coarse salt on a plate and add the cookie cutter and candle and you have… a candle in the snow.
If you have a larger pillar style candle, even if it is already in a candle holder. If it has straight sides, you can place it in a large cookie cutter.
Leave it on a single plate or place on a tray with greenery and coarse salt. Instant Christmas decoration and nothing to store come January.
Fast and Easy DIY Christmas Decorating Idea
If you have a large bowl or basket, place it on a table…
… and fill with a few ornaments, wrapped gifts, a strand of beaded garland and greenery.
Place a Santa hat on a topiary ball in an urn. Festive, fun and easy to create. Kids of all ages will love it!
A Few More Easy DIY Christmas Decorating Ideas
- Rely on Red. It is vibrant and festive.
- Skip the tree garland which can sometimes be tricky to layer into the tree. Instead, make your tree shine, by making sure to add a few ornaments in an array of reflective finishes to bounce light around the room and give the tree a layered sparkly look.
- No tree skirt? – A simple alternative – a blanket, shawl, scarf, or fabric yardage.
- Have a real tree? This makes watering it easy!
- On a window – Hang ornaments along the top using lengths of ribbon. Use thumb tacks to attach ribbon to window molding.
- Wrap a vase that has straight sides with holiday gift wrap to transform it to a temporary holiday vase.
- Do you have outdoor planters or window boxes? Fill with pinecones and a ribbon bow so they don’t look barren.
You May Also Like These Easy DIY Christmas Decorating Ideas:
We are apparently cut from the same cloth ;-) I’ve done almost all of these easy decorating ideas too!
I’ve never done the ‘barren/dead’ Christmas tree look (like the one you have on your buffet with multi-colored balls) but when I was a kid, my mom spray painted a huge tumble weed silver and we decorated it for our Christmas tree. The funny thing was, she thought she would save money instead of buying a tree….but by the time she got it fully spray painted it cost just about the same as buying a tree! ;-)
My brother and sister in law have a small house and lots of company for the holidays so there’s really no room for a tree. But they find a beautifully shaped large twig from their tree belt, sticks it into an urn, and she decorates it lovely! It really is magical.
Great ideas Diane. Always love your posts. So truly easy to do and truly great ideas of the budget is small.
Thanks Connie – Your family sounds very creative. The tumbleweed tree must have been one of a kind… very unique. :-)
Hi Diane – great pictures. Please tell us about the “tree” in the picture with the double wreaths.
Thanks,
Sheila
Hi Shelia –
I forgot to put the link to the post I wrote about the white tree with colorful ornaments. Here is the link to my post about it: https://inmyownstyle.com/2014/12/ideas-for-christmas-decorating.html
Thank you. That’s the prettiest tree in that style I’ve seen.
Sheila
Love these ideas. I went and got some garland ties. Love the idea of the garland tie and little ornaments around the candle holder.
Hi Joy – When I came across garland ties, using them around the candle holder was one of the first ways I used them besides hanging garland. They have become an essential item in my Christmas decorating stash of supplies.
Lovely.. and great ideas. I’ve been married since age 17 and right after high school. I’m still married so now married for 45 years and decorated each Christmas. I’m 62 and lucky enough to retire and now finally have 3 grandchildren. I’m so excited again about Christmas decorating. Your style is great and thanks for being a practical blogger who understands the word BUDGET.
Hi Barbara – Thanks. I enjoy finding affordable ways to decorate while using items I already own. Saves money and less need for an excess of storage bins. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your family and grandchildren.
Thank you for sharing your stair rails decorating.it was so easy and I put red bulbs on my rails. The tray is it made with cake, pie and pizza pans? On candles stick?
Hi Jonita –
The tiered tray was a gift from a friend. She bought it. I am not sure where, but you could make it with wood candle sticks and pie tins. Then spray paint white.