| Having homemade Christmas Tree Ornaments on | | | | they may eat more of the candy and icing |
| your Christmas tree is much more sentimental | | | | decorations than actually get put on the |
| than having store bought ornaments. It gives your | | | | ornaments! |
| home that warm, old-fashioned Christmas feeling | | | | If you like to recycle, there are many things you |
| and is a great way to bring the family together | | | | can use for homemade Christmas Tree |
| for the holidays. Show off your artistic side this | | | | Ornaments. Bottlecaps and light bulbs are just a |
| year! Everyone who comes into your home will | | | | few of the things you can use. Take different |
| feel that "special glow" that the holidays bring | | | | colored bottle caps and glue them together into |
| when they see your tree this holiday season. | | | | different shapes with a hot glue gun. For instance, |
| Most homemade Christmas tree ornaments can | | | | use one bottle cap for the middle, and glue the |
| be created with items found in or around your | | | | others around it in a circle. You can then use |
| home, with little to no cost to you. One idea that | | | | cotton, glitter, beads or anything you'd like to |
| my family would do every year when I was | | | | make a pretty ornament. With the light bulbs you |
| younger is to collect pine cones from outside and | | | | can make Rudolph or snowmen! For Rudolph, paint |
| decorate them. Growing up in the northeast, we | | | | the bulb brown or wrap it in brown felt. Glue on a |
| had plenty! We would collect a bunch of pine | | | | red pom-pom for the nose, glue on or color on a |
| cones and make different types of ornaments | | | | mouth, some googly eyes, and some cut-out |
| with them. My favorites were the glittery ones. | | | | antlers. Tie a string around the top to hang it with |
| We would take different color glitter glue and put | | | | and you have Rudolph! Use cotton balls or white |
| a line of glitter on the tip of each leaf on the pine | | | | felt material to make a snowman! Just glue them |
| cone. Do all one color or use different ones. Tie | | | | onto the bulb, add a cotton ball or another piece |
| string on the top to hang them with and you | | | | of felt material for the head and decorate as |
| have a beautiful, nature-made homemade | | | | you'd like. You can even do angels or Santas! With |
| Christmas tree ornament. Another pine cone idea | | | | a little imagination, you can make lots of beautiful |
| is to make angels using the cone for the body. | | | | glass ornaments with recycled light bulbs. |
| Just cut out some wings using paper or foils, add | | | | Do you have a lot of plain, glass ornaments but |
| a head and a halo with a hot glue gun and | | | | you want to spruce up your tree a little this |
| decorate. | | | | year? Take the top off of your plain bulbs and |
| Homemade Christmas garland can be made with | | | | swirl some acrylic paint on the inside! You can use |
| any number of things. Popcorn is probably the | | | | a brush, or just put a few drops of paint inside |
| most common choice. There are many other | | | | and swirl it around by tilting the glass ornament |
| things you can use though if you wanted to do | | | | around. Add some glitter if you like. Let dry and |
| something different. You can use any kind of food | | | | replace the cap. Another great idea for clear glass |
| that won't go bad and that is soft enough to pull | | | | ornaments is to put pictures inside. One of my |
| a string through, like certain types of dried beans, | | | | favorite gifts I ever received was a picture a |
| berries, candies or marshmallows. If you prefer | | | | relative had taken of my child inside one of these |
| not to use food items, you can use plastic or | | | | ornaments. They just put the photo inside, |
| glass beads, or artificial flowers or just about | | | | recapped the ornament, and tied some ribbon |
| anything you can think of that you can put a hole | | | | around the top. It's a beautiful addition to my tree |
| through. | | | | every year! These make great homemade |
| I think we all have seen the gingerbread man | | | | Christmas gifts! They're easy, inexpensive, and will |
| ornaments. Just bake hard gingerbread cookies, | | | | be kept as keepsakes for years to come. |
| decorate and hang from the tree with a string | | | | I hope you've gotten some good ideas from |
| pulled through a hole punched in the cookie. These | | | | these suggestions! Have a very Merry Christmas! |
| are really fun for the kids to help with, although | | | | |