25 Creative Christmas Decorations You Can Make With Household Items

Staying abreast of the stunning Christmas decor trends that'll be taking over this season is an excellent way to ensure your decorations are on point. However, if you're working with a tight budget, it can be difficult to spend a significant chunk on just decor. Fortunately, there are several household items you can use to bedeck your home to avoid burning a hole in your pockets. For instance, your toilet paper rolls are perfect for crafting ornaments for your Christmas trees while you can design gorgeous snowflakes out of Q-tips.

Similarly, your unassuming glass bowl is ideal for crafting an elaborate Christmas wonderland and a transparent jar is suitable for a snow globe. Cardstock, aluminum foil, cupcake liners, twine, wine cork, wooden spoon, plastic bottle caps, and golf balls are a few other items you can use to DIY stunning Christmas decorations. Besides being budget-friendly, most of the handicrafts on our list don't require too much time or effort. The best part, though? You don't have to be an expert crafter to create these decorations. Beginner-level DIY-ers will find plenty of options to their liking. Ready to put your DIY hat on and embellish your interiors? Here are 25 creative Christmas decorations you can make with household items.

Adorn your home with origami snowflakes this holiday season. You just need to head into your kitchen and grab a couple of cupcake liners to create chic DIY paper snowflakes for your holiday decor. Now, use a sharp pair of scissors to shape the paper per your preferences and stack a couple of papers together for a fluffy snowflake. Stick them together with glue or pin the center to keep them in place. Hang them from your Christmas tree, string a couple to form a garland, or set them against your glass windows.

You might be using Q-tips to remove wax from your ears. However, if you want to add a little oomph to your Christmas decor, use them to DIY glowing snowflakes. You'll need a pack of Q-tips, your hot glue gun, some craft paper, and battery-operated string lights. You could color the cotton tops of your Q-tips to make it pop. A bit of glitter and some reflective beads around the string lights will ensure your DIY stands out when you turn on the lights.

Candles make your home look more inviting with their warm glow. But if you'd rather not use these open flame sources as decor, grab a few of your paper roll sleeves. You'll also need your trusty hot glue gun to add texture to your makeshift candle. Give your candles a coat of paint and they're ready for display. Worried about the flame part? Buy a few battery-operated tea lights, like Homemory's set of 48 LED Fake Candles, the same width as your candles' mouth and pop them in for a secure display.

There are various ways you can repurpose wine corks around the house and put your collection to good use. One more way you can use them this holiday season is to craft miniature Christmas trees. You just need a sturdy and conical base, like Dollar Tree's Floral Foam Craft Cones, to stick your corks, too. Splitting the corks in half (lengthwise) will also help you adhere them to the base easily. Tie it all together with an adorable tree topper. You can even spray paint the corks to hide your high-end tree's humble origins.

Don't use wrapping paper to just wrap your gifts this Christmas. Use them to craft pretty 3D decorations for your home. A sharp pair of scissors and some craft glue will help you finalize the store-bought decorations. Use varied colors, patterns, and textures to make the decorations pop, or stick with a single design if you're going with a theme. However, this DIY requires a considerable amount of time and patience, so keep that in mind before you sit down to craft a few wrapping paper decorations.

Christmas won't be Christmas without a few glowing stars twinkling all around your house. So, if you have some twine lying around the house, grab it and some Mod Podge (a water and glue concoction works, too). Shape the twine into a star shape and brush glue on top to harden them. Feel free to go as big or as small as you want. In case you aren't a big fan of the industrial decor, dye your roll of twine beforehand. Add some battery-operated string lights along the edges to make them glow bright.

Want fancy balls hanging from your Christmas tree but don't want to spend much money on them? Grab a few toilet paper sleeves and turn them into a fancy ball. You'll just need a ruler and a scissor to shape them into hollow balls. While you can hang them up as is, a coat of spray paint will make them look expensive. You can also embellish them with stones, pearls, and glitter to let them shine when you turn on the lights on your holiday conifer.

If stockings are one of your favorite parts of Christmas decor, DIY them using craft paper. Use colorful paper with varied textures and patterns to make them pop against your decorations. Maximalists can use glitter-y paper for a brilliant look. A white strip at the top will make your stockings look classic. Embellish them with stones, tiny stars, or other decor items before displaying them around your house. You can even string them together and hang them up to adorn an empty wall. They'll also look great against your Christmas tree.

Although the stockings are a great idea to spread Christmas cheer in your home, they aren't sturdy enough to hold any gifts you might want to stuff inside. So, grab some yarn and a toilet paper sleeve to craft Santa Claus' boots. White fleece will serve as the velvety top of the shoes while white (or black) twine or ribbon will add some character to the shoe. You can also use buttons, stars, snowflakes, and fake snow to set the perfect scene. Once done, stuff it with candy or your loved ones' gifts and leave them near the tree for them to find.

Gnomes have a striking resemblance to Santa Claus — just look at their white beard, tall caps, and protruding belly — and are a popular Christmas decor item. So, if you want to display a few around your interiors this holiday season, grab some yarn and roll it around your toilet paper sleeve. Choose the color you want or mix and match a few shades for a striking yet adorable gnome. You can also place a few miniature gifts around them to play into the belief that they deliver gifts on Christmas Eve.

If you love a white Christmas but receive snow in the name only, use the associated decor elements to bring the essence home. And what's more quintessential than a handsome snowman? You'll need some foil paper and yarn to give your snowman the desired definition and enhance their appeal. Play around with yarn colors to DIY snowmen that match your aesthetic and design theme or stick to the classic white — your choice. Don't forget to add eyes and nose to make them look lifelike.

While your living and family room will be ground zero when decorating your home for the holidays, don't overlook your kitchen. After all, you'll be spending a considerable amount of time prepping meals and baking sweet treats in your cooking room. But you don't have to spend money to spruce it up. Just turn one of your wooden spoons into a snowman or snowwoman and hang it up at eye level. Paint the spoon per your preferences and add finishing touches with ribbons, bows, velvety hats, and the like.

Can't gather enough courage to brave the freezing temperatures and lie down on the pile of snow to make snow angels? Don't worry. Just get some cardstock and quick drying craft glue to DIY paper angels from the safety and warmth of your home. Pick a plain sheet of paper for a minimalist angel or go all out with a glitter-y cardstock to ensure they're the highlight of your Christmas decor. Display them as is or add a ribbon at the back to hang them from your chosen conifer.

Pine cones are a Christmas decor staple. So, it can be disheartening if you don't find any littering your local park's grounds and your acquaintance's yards. But instead of buying pine cones to decorate your home, DIY them on a budget with some cardstock. Simply cut it out in the desired shape and nestle one inside another to build your pine cone. Use colored, textured, or glitter-y cardstock to let your pine cones shine bright. You can also use foam eggs, like FloraCraft's 2.3 inch x 2.7 inch white set, to aid your cones in holding their shape.

This DIY is perfect for gingerbread lovers who can't get enough of this sweet treat. You just need some scrap fabric and pillow stuffing to make a gingerbread pillow. Sew the edges or use hot glue to join the two scrap pieces. Stand them against your glass windows or put them in decorative baskets to showcase them around your house. You could even make a garland and hang it above your mantel or along your staircase. Alternatively, use a few drops of essential oil(s), like cinnamon, vanilla, and clove, to help them imitate the sweet treat.

Do you like incorporating drums into your Christmas decor? Perhaps they're a medium to celebrate your loved ones' musical gift? Then, make them even more special this year by customizing them per their chosen instruments. You just have to use their favored sheet music and wrap them around a tape roll. You can use smaller cylindrical structures to craft tiny drums. Adorn your drums with lace, ribbon, faux berries, mini pine cones, and sprigs of rosemary or other evergreen. Plop them around your house or hang them from your Christmas tree.

Hoping to deck your Christmas tree to the nines on a budget? Grab some foil paper from your kitchen, a scrap cardboard piece, and your hot glue gun. Draw the shapes you want on the cardboard and cut them out. Now, encase them in foil paper or give your ornaments some definition with hot glue. Once you're done, color the foil paper with sketch pens or Sharpies. Glitter glue works, too. Experiment with the colors, designs, and patterns to decorate your conifer with varied ornaments. Finally, attach a looped ribbon to the back to hang them up.

There are multiple easy ways to repurpose your plastic water bottles around the house. But what about their caps? What do you do with them? If you're nearing the holiday season, turn them into holly ornaments for your Christmas tree. Simply upgrade the caps with some red glitter and to help them resemble the juicy holly berries. As for the leaves, use some green craft paper and trace the shape of a leaf prior to cutting it out. Draw veins around the leaves to make it look more realistic. Glue the two together, attach a ribbon at the back, and your ornament will be ready.

The holiday season is all about relaxing with a mug of hot chocolate in hand. Brownie points if it comes with some whipped cream, marshmallows, and candy cane (yum!). But if you can't enjoy the decadent mug yet, DIY a miniature cardboard and cardstock hot chocolate mug. You just need a piece of cylindrical cardboard for the mug. It can be as tall and wide as you'd like. You could even make it look lifelike to fool your kids and partner. Wrap it in white (or another shade) cardstock and your mug is ready. Use an A4 sheet for the handle, paper towel for the whipped cream, and a colorful straw for the candy cane.

Have an empty plastic or glass jar on hand and don't know what to do with it? Turn it into a snow globe. You'll just need miniature trees, gifts, Santa Claus, elves, or gnomes to make it seem festive. You could even cut out a holiday-specific graphic from one of your old Christmas greeting cards to serve as the backdrop to your snow globe. Stick the figures to the bottom of the jar so they stay in place; try to use a jar with a big mouth since it'll make inserting and gluing the figures easier. Finally, dust some fake snow, like Dollar Tree's Faux Snow, on top.

Traditional garlands and wreaths aren't the only things you can hang to decorate your home. This season, use golf balls to draw eyeballs. Paint the balls in a color of your choice and drill a hole in their center. Now, loop them through some jute rope. Add several balls to a single strand or craft multiple strands containing just one ball. You can also insert wooden beads of varying sizes. When you're satisfied, hang them up near your doors and windows, and add a few barks of your favorite evergreen for a garland-like look.

Similar to the golf ball hanging decor, you can create a centerpiece for your coffee table or entryway. Grab a few balls and give them one to two coats of spray paint. You can paint them all in a singular shade or use varying colors. Once the paint is dry, brush some Mod Podge on the balls and sprinkle a glitter on top to make them shine when the light hits them. However, this step is optional. Get a decorative tray or basket and fill them with the upgraded golf balls, pine cones, elaborate bows, and some seasonal greenery.

Do you like adorning your home with lights during the holidays? Then, this glass jar LED lamp DIY is for you. You just need to make your simple glass jar look high-end. Use ribbon, twine, crystal snowflakes, faux snow, tinsel, and bells and whistles to achieve the desired look. You can also stick Christmas-y tissue paper (just the thin decorative part) around the glass's surface. Once you're done, place a battery-operated LED tea light inside the jar and switch it on at night.

Need a show stopping centerpiece for your coffee table to complement your decor this holiday season? Just get a glass bowl from your kitchen to set the scene for the holidays. Use Christmas wonderland elements to customize it. Faux snow is a must and you might want to add a miniature conifer to subtly distinguish this centerpiece from other seasonal ones. Add items that you won't mind looking at day-in, day-out, or go with elements that hold a special place in your heart, like a family picture.

If you like to curate a winter wonderland every Christmas (complete with the nativity scene), you might want to position a few snow-decked houses to set the stage. You'll need a few cardboard rolls to serve as the base of each house. Flattened cardboard boxes will make great roofs. After the structure is ready, paint and decorate it per your preferences. Holly sprigs with berries, faux snow on roofs, canopies of evergreens, paper snowflakes, faux conifers, and related stickers are some of the items you can use. Add a ribbon to the roof to hang the houses from your Christmas tree.