Easy Christmas Decorating Ideas Kids

Christmas Ornaments

A little glue, some glitter, and a few basic craft supplies equal loads of easy Christmas ornaments for kids to make. These homemade Christmas ornaments add a special touch to your tree. Let them show of their crafty side with our 20-plus creative personalized ornament ideas.

Handprint Ornaments

Credit: Matthew Clark

Children of any age can help make these sweet keepsake handprint ornaments. Older kiddos can help mix up the salt dough, but all they really need to do is press their handprint into the finished ornament. Be sure to write the year on the back of the finished ornaments that make a sweet gift for grandparents or other family members.

Personalized Chalkboard Ornament

Christmas Ornaments

What kid wouldn't want their name displayed on the tree? Start with a round papier-mache ornament and spray with chalkboard paint. Cut out a snowflake from patterned paper for the center and a length of pom-pom trim for the edges. The piece de resistance? Your child's name written in white marker (or chalk if you'd like the chance to redo it).

Drawing Wood Slice Ornament

Marley homemade wooden ornament

This adorable homemade Christmas ornament showcases your child's coloring skills! Have them color on a plain wood slice ornament. Cover the drawing with a light coat of decoupage and let dry. Use a Cricut or other cutting machine to add a name and date with sticker vinyl. Hang the finished DIY ornament with plain twine.

Pretty Paper Ornaments

paper glitter angel ornaments

Paper Christmas decorations are inexpensive, easy, and beautiful! Add a homemade touch to your tree with these glittery angel ornaments. They start with a white faux leaf and paper. From there, let each child decorate their own Christmas angel!

Surprise Ball Ornaments

Holiday Fox Popper christmas ornament

Credit: Matthew Clark

Help the little ones fill these DIY surprise ball ornaments with small gifts and candies before covering the surface in crepe paper streamers. Then, use cardstock and markers or paint to add additions like ears and tails.

Adorable Pine Cone Ornament

pinecone man ornament

Add a whimsical touch to your tree with these adorable DIY pinecone ornaments. They all start with pine cones collected from the back yard. Have each child make a personalized ornament by adding a wooden bead face, felt cap, and colorful scarf!

Wrapped Cookie Cutter Ornaments

Cookie Cutter Ornaments

Even the littlest of hands will have no problem creating these easy ornaments. Wrap inexpensive cookie cutters with ribbon until covered; hang with a loop of patterned twine or narrow ribbon.

DIY Llama Ornaments

cardboard and felt painted llama handmade ornament

Credit: Brie Passano

Add a festive touch to your tree with these DIY painted llama ornaments. Use our free pattern to cut out the llama shape, then let the kids decorate however they like with markers, ribbon, and glue.

Geometric Diorama Ornament

hanging diorama ornament with fawn

It's easy to make your own ornament. Think 3D with this easy Christmas craft for kids. A tiny box and some flat embellishments make a wintry view you hang from your tree.

Filled Ornaments

Christmas Ornament

Little kids will love making their own holiday scenes with these easy-to-assemble ornaments. Insert small bits of greenery, faux snow, miniature pinecones, or other accents (even small toys) into one half of a sphere-shape plastic ball. Seal the second half using hot glue and hang with a ribbon.

Baked Applesauce Ornaments

cookie ornaments

Bring back the classic dough ornaments with these fragrant (and pretty!) cinnamon-applesauce ornaments. These homemade baked Christmas ornaments start with a rolled dough and cookie cutters. Bake them up and decorate with puffy paint to create a personalized ornament.

Stamped Felt Ornament

Flat ornaments plaid decoration

Credit: Adam Albright

Use a homemade striped stamp to add color to plain sheets of felt, then have the kids cut the felt into ornament shapes and add a hanging ribbon. Felt sheets start at just $0.39 at Michaels so you can make a whole tree-full of ornaments on any size budget. Plus, these easy ornaments also make fun Christmas gift tags!

Straw Ornaments

REF Christmas Ornament Crafts

Inexpensive straws give a kid-friendly twist to the creation of these Scandinavian-inspired ornaments. You'll need metallic or patterned straws, cotton string, a dull-point needle, and beads. Help younger kids cut the straws into four 5-inch lengths; four 3-inch lengths; and four 2-inch lengths. Cut a 5-foot length of string and thread with a beading needle. String one 2-inch straw, two 5-inch straws, and another 2-inch straw. Push the straws toward the end of the string (leaving a 3.5-inch tail), and pull the two tails of the string taught to create a diamond shape. Hold strings tight and tie off with a square knot, leaving a 3-inch tail at the beginning end. String one 2-inch straw and one 5-inch straw onto needle, then tie it off at the top of the diamond. Repeat to create the fourth side of the geometric shape, tying off at the bottom of the diamond. Thread the needle back through one of the 2-inch straws, and bring the string out between the long and short straws; tie off. Thread a 3-inch straw horizontally; tie off at corner. Repeat for all four sides. Finish by adding a gold bead to the 3-inch string tail; secure with hot glue if desired. Trim any excess string.

Salt-Dough Snowflake Ornaments

Salt-Dough Snowflake Ornament

Though these snowflake ornaments aren't edible, they're a sweet addition to any Christmas tree. Kids can roll out the ornament dough like cookie dough, then give them colorful designs with marking pens.

To prepare the dough:

Mix 1/2 cup of salt, 1 cup of flour, and 1/2 cup of water until sticky.

Roll the dough to a 1/4 inch-thick sheet and cut out snowflake shapes with cookie cutters.

Use a skewer to make a hole for hanging.

Bake for 4 hours in a 200˚F oven.

Glittery Cookie Cutter Kids Ornaments

Cookie Cutter Christmas Ornament

Kids can transform retired Christmas cookie cutters into sparkling homemade ornaments for the Christmas tree. Paint the cookie cutters and sprinkle them with glitter while the paint is still wet. Make the ornaments a winter white, or mix it up and let the kids pick their favorite colors.

Paper Evergreen Tree Ornament

ornaments

Kids will love making this simple paper Christmas tree ornament this year. With a few basic supplies, you'll spend some quality time with the kiddos with this easy craft.

Paper Pinwheel Ornament

Paper Pinwheels

These cute pinwheels come together with just a few cuts and folds. They can be used as ornaments or Christmas present decorations.

Wooden Snowflake Ornaments

snowflake ornaments

Our contemporary take on classic Swedish straw ornaments combines crafts sticks (or clothespins) with wooden rounds to create a variety of snowflake forms.

Ribbon Candy Ornaments

Create paper Christmas decorations that resemble classic ribbon candy. Thread a needle with embroidery floss and knot at one end. Thread on one clear acrylic bead, then poke the needle through the end of a 1-inch-wide paper strip. Thread on two more beads and loop the paper (as shown). Poke the needle back through the paper. Repeat until the entire paper strip has been looped. Finish by running the floss twice through the top bead, and make a loop for hanging.

Felt Rosette Christmas Ornament

For a sophisticated look with cut-and-paste ease that kids can enjoy, turn your holiday into a felt affair. This simple ornament only needs three materials: your favorite color felt, fabric glue, and string.

Pretty Painted Ornaments

Painted Glass Ornament

Swirl crafts paint diluted with water inside a clear glass ornament, dry it upside down, and add adhesive scrapbooking letters to share words of peace, joy, and good cheer this holiday season. Kids will love helping you make these Christmas ornaments—let them choose the color of the paint and adhere the letter stickers.

Candy Cane Ornament

Candy cane ornament

When these hard peppermint candies are laid close together and baked, they melt into each other to create a fun candy cane.

Scrap Snowflake Ornaments

Scrap Snowflakes

Give your kids a few scrapbook supplies and watch these easy snowflake ornaments flurry to life. Using a snowflake paper punch, punch shapes from different-color papers. Place a 3-D sticker in the middle of each snowflake, then adhere the snowflakes to an ornament with crafts glue. Let dry.

Alien Spaceship Ornament

Kids' Christmas Ornament: Cute Alien Spaceship

Personalized ornament ideas don't get cuter than this. A recycled tomato container is this little alien's ship. Kids will love making an out-of-this-world Christmas craft!

Mini Birdhouse Ornament

Christmas Ornaments

Make a cone "hat" for a cork, attaching with hot-glue. Wrap a metallic pipe cleaner around the bottom of the cork, insert a toothpick near it, and glue on a small button as the birdhouse entrance. A 20-gauge wire hanging loop makes a pretty home for some plastic beads and serves as a hanger for your Christmas tree ornament.

Washi Tape-Covered Ornaments

Christmas tree ornament

There are no rules—and no straight lines—in these decorative DIY ornaments, made by covering clear, plastic balls with bits and pieces of washi tape. This homemade Christmas ornament can be customized with any pattern or color scheme you like.

Personalized Christmas Ornament

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Let kids personalize plain ornaments with letter stickers found at crafts stores. We used striped ornaments, but solid-color ones work just as well. Or paint your own stripes—just let paint dry before adding the letters.

Paper Ornaments

Oversize Poster Board Ornaments

Let kids pick their favorite brightly colored scrapbooking papers to help create these pretty, yet super simple DIY ornaments. Cut oversize ornament shapes from poster board, or let older kids cut them themselves. Have kids decorate the fronts with one or multiple pieces of paper, gluing them in place. Punch a hole at the top and hang the ornaments from red cording or yarn taped to the top of the window frame. These paper Christmas decorations create a stunning holiday display.

Chalkboard Ornaments

REF Christmas Ornament Crafts

Let your kids personalize ornaments with this easy idea. Spray unfinished wooden shapes with chalkboard paint. Then let kids use chalk and chalk pens to create warm holiday wishes of their own.

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