Homemade Christmas Decorations That Don’t Look Cheap

All the best homemade Christmas decor and gifts that add nostalgia to your home without looking cheap

This is just my opinion but I think the best homemade Christmas decorations are the ones you can’t really tell are homemade.

Don’t get me wrong, all the things my toddler makes for Christmas will be showcased like he created the Mona Lisa. But when I am homemaking Christmas decor or gifts I don’t necessarily want them to look like I made them.

Basically I don’t want the decor to look cheap or like I went a little crazy with a glue gun in my hand.

I want our homemade Christmas decorations to have all the nostalgic feels but also look classy and well done.

Homemaking Christmas decor not only creates a sentimental touch to your home but it can also save you a ton of money.

So I thought it would be fun to roundup a bunch of homemade Christmas decorations and gifts that you could easily DIY yourself.

Some affiliate links have been provided for your convince, see our privacy policies here

Homemade Christmas Tree Decorations

Here are some homemade Christmas tree decorations that are easy and budget friendly to make.

Clay Christmas Ornaments

Supplies: Air Dry Clay | Cookie Cutter | Faux or Real Greenery | Rub n Buff | Ribbon

We made these DIY clay ornaments just a few Christmases ago and we still use them every year.

I love that you can imprint any design on them and they work with multiple styles of Christmas tree decor.

Check out the complete tutorial here!

DIY Hymnal Christmas Ornaments

Supplies: Old Christmas Ornaments | Mod Podge | Hymnal Sheets

Our church was giving away a bunch of old hymnal books so I of course grabbed a few. There are so many DIY crafts you can make with sheet music and if you don’t have a hymnal book laying around you could easily print out a few pages.

I transformed these plain ornaments with some of my favorite Christmas hymnals and some Mod Podge.

See the complete tutorial here!

DIY Textured Christmas Ornaments

Supplies: Old Christmas Ornaments | Plaster of Paris | Rub N Buff | Paint

These DIY textured ornaments are always my go to when I have old plastic Christmas ornaments that no longer fit my trees theme.

Textured ornaments are so simple to DIY all you do is spray the old Christmas ornaments with a dark base color spray paint and let dry. Next I mix up Plaster of Paris with a lighter color paint until I have a chalky, thick mix. Paint that mixture onto the ornaments and let dry. For some added flair I lightly dry brush Rub n Buff onto the ornament and to the ornaments top cap.

Dried Orange Slice Ornaments

Supplies: Dried Orange Slices | Twine

You only need two things for these nostalgic ornaments: orange slices and twine!

Check out the easiest way to dry orange slices here!

Homemade Christmas Garland

I love Christmas garland! There are so many different types and ways you can use garland to decorate your home for Christmas.

Dried Orange Slice Garland

Supplies: Dried Orange Slices | Twine | Hot Glue Gun

There is no better smelling Christmas garland than dried orange slice garland.

Dried orange slice garland looks beautiful on a Christmas tree or paired with any greenery garland.

Here is the complete DIY dried orange slice garland tutorial!

Hymnal Chain Garland

Supplies: Hymnal or Sheet Music | Glue

Clearly I am a big fan of decorating with hymns during Christmas time.

This is a super simple DIY Christmas garland idea that looks beautiful on a holiday table or Christmas tree.

Make these the same way you used to make paper chains in school. Cut strips of hymnal or other music sheets and attach together with glue to make a chain.

Free Homemade Greenery Garland

Supplies: 16 Gauge Wire | Floral Tape | Floral Wire | Faux or Real Stems

Our family gets a real Christmas tree every year, it’s a tradition Adam and I started when we were just dating.

Whenever they wrap up the real Christmas tree there are always branches that come off in the process and we like to take them with us too. That’s how I create this easy and technically free (girl math) Christmas garland!

Check out the FREE homemade Christmas garland tutorial here!

Homemade Christmas Stocking Tags and Holders

Here are some budget friendly homemade Christmas stocking name tags and stocking holder ideas.

Gingerbread House Stocking Holders

Supplies: White Paint Marker | 3-1/2″ Shaker Pegs | Scrap 2×3 Pieces | Scrap 2×4 Pieces

Last year I saw these beautiful gingerbread house stocking holders from Pottery Barn and immediately fell in love with everything about them except for the price…

So I DIY-ed my own version that came out pretty darn cute if I do say so myself.

Gingerbread House Stocking Holder Tutorial

Wood Plank Stocking Holder

Supplies: Pine Board | Decorative Knobs | Greenery or Ribbon

This easy homemade wood stocking holder is great if you don’t have a ton of mantel space or if you want to hang your stockings from a buffet or table.

Wooden Plank Stocking Holder Tutorial

DIY Wooden Stocking Name Tags

Supplies: Small Trim Wood | Paint Panel | Vinyl or Stickers

These simple and custom DIY wooden stocking name tags are such a sweet way to label everyone’s stockings or gifts.

Custom Stocking Name Tags Tutorial

DIY Christmas Signs and Art

Make these easy DIY Christmas Signs or grab these free vintage Christmas art prints to add to your Christmas decor.

Large Wood Christmas Sign

Christmas Sign, Deck the halls challenge, diy, wood sign, large sign, large Christmas sign, holiday decor, Christmas decor, Christmas mantle decor, Christmas mantle.

Supplies: 1/2 Plywood | Pine Boards | Vinyl or Stickers | Paint

This large wooden Christmas sign was a simple DIY that saved me a ton of money.

DIY Large Christmas Sign Tutorial

Homemade Christmas Scroll Sign

Supplies: Brown Craft Paper Roll | Twine | Vinyl or Stickers

This homemade Christmas scroll sign is simple, sweet, and easy to make. Simply cut out the Bible verse or Christmas saying you want to use out of vinyl and apply it to a brown craft paper roll. I used twine to hang it from and also paperclips at each end to hold the rolls in place.

Homemade Christmas Wreaths

Sweet and simple homemade Christmas wreath ideas.

Homemade Winter Wreath

Supplies: 24″ Wreath | Floral Wire | Greenery and Stems

Who doesn’t love a designer worthy Christmas wreath that you can make yourself for a quarter of the cost!

Homemade Winter Wreath Tutorial

DIY Small Rosemary Wreaths

Supplies: Fresh Rosemary | Floral Wire | Bowl

This was my first time making these wonderful smelling fresh rosemary wreaths and I can already tell they will be a yearly tradition!

Here’s how you make them: Place the fresh rosemary in a bowl to achieve the desired circular shape and size. Tie rosemary pieces together using floral wire. Continue adding rosemary until you achieve the desired thickness. Then add a cute little bow.

So simple and such a sweet homemade Christmas decoration!

DIY Christmas Centerpieces and Table Decorations

Some of my favorite DIY Christmas centerpiece ideas and homemade napkin ring ideas.

DIY Floral Napkin Rings

Supplies: Clear Shower Curtain Rings | Twine | Floral or Themed Clip

These Christmas napkin rings were made from things I found at the Dollar Tree and were super simple to put together. The perfect way to jazz up a Christmas place setting.

Dollar Tree Christmas Napkin Rings Tutorial

Scrap Wrapping Paper Napkin Rings

Supplies: Scrap Wrapping Paper | Double Sided Tape

I made a bunch of these super cute scrap wrapping paper napkin rings with leftover wrapping paper last year. I could not part with this vintage nutcracker paper so I decided to make it work for our Christmas tablescape instead!

Check out the complete video tutorial here!

Wooden House Candle Holders

Supplies: Scrap 2x4s | 1″ Spade Drill Bit | 3/4″ Copper Coupling

These homemade wooden house candle holders are the perfect addition to any Christmas table and can be used all winter long!

Wooden House Candle Holders Tutorial

Faux Pear Centerpiece

Supplies: Real or Faux Pears | Large Bowl | Greenery | Fabric

Okay I don’t know if this one technically counts but I wanted to include it to remind you that seasonal fruit can be a centerpiece all its own.

All you need for an easy Christmas centerpiece is some real or faux seasonal fruit, a pretty bowl, some fabric to fill the bowl, and some greenery.

Check out how to make a completely free Christmas centerpiece here!

Wood Christmas Crafts

Fun and easy wood Christmas craft ideas.

DIY Wood Christmas Trees

Supplies: 2×4 Scrap Wood | Wood Screws

DIY wood Christmas trees are the perfect way to get rid of that scrap wood pile.

Plus they look super cute indoors or outdoors.

Here is the complete wood Christmas tree tutorial

Santa Cookie Tray

Supplies: 1×4 Boards| 1×3 Boards | Spray Paint | Vinyl or Stickers | Handles

Make this quick and easy DIY Santa Cookie tray using scrap wood and just one tool. The perfect beginner friendly Christmas decor or hostess gift project.

Here’s the complete Santa Cookie tray tutorial

Paint Stick Blanket Crate

Supplies: 5 Gallon Paint Sticks | 1 Gallon Paint Sticks | Rope

Can you believe this wooden crate is made completely from paint sticks?

Here’s the complete tutorial!

Repurposed Santa Cookie Tray

Supplies: Old Wood or Plastic Tray | Spray Paint | Painters Tape | Vinyl

I love repurposing items that are no longer my style. We had this old wooden tray laying around and with a little painters tape and spray paint I was able to transform it into this super cute cookie tray!

Homemade Present Gift Tags

Super simple and sweet homemade gift tag ideas for your Christmas Gifts

Clay Gift Tags

Supplies: Oven Bake Clay | Cookie Cutter | Rub n Buff | Ribbon | Small Stamp Set

These oven bake clay gift tags are very similar to the homemade clay ornaments. They are just a bit smaller and I used small stamps for the names.

The best part is that the tags can be used as Christmas tree ornaments after!

Check out the complete clay gift tag tutorial here!

Wax Stamped Gift Tags

Supplies: Wax Stamp | Wax | Gift Tags

I bought this wax stamp for our wedding envelopes and I still use it for all kinds of things. Adding our families’ initials in wax to these plain paper gift tags really elevated them and made them look elegant.

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

All my favorite homemade Christmas gift ideas that are perfect for anyone on your list.

Wood Bathtub Tray

Supplies: Common Board | Handles

I made this simple wooden bathtub tray for my mother-in-law last year so that she would have somewhere to set her book and a drink during a cozy bubble bath night.

Here’s the complete bathtub tray tutorial

DIY Gingerbread Tea Towel Gift Set

cricut, vinyl, diy Christmas gift, gifts, hostess gifts, cookie mix, mason jar gift, mason jar craft, diy crafts, mason jars, tea towel, diy tea towel, cricut tea towel, Christmas décor, kitchen décor, Christmas kitchen, diy cookie mix

Supplies: Mason Jar | Tea Towel | Vinyl | Cookie Mix

This sweet little cookie jar and recipe tea towel set is the perfect teacher or hostess gift.

Cookie set and recipe tea towel tutorial

Make a DIY Charcuterie Board

Supplies: 1×8 Board | Stain | Food Safe Oil

Make your hostess this beautiful DIY charcuterie board and gift it with your favorite wine or charcuterie board foods.

Here the complete Charcuterie board tutorial!

Homemade Fire Starters

Supplies: Wax | Candle Wicks | Essential Oil | Cinnamon Sticks

This homemade gift idea is one that I always make for someone else and myself. I love how easy these fire starters make actually starting a fire and how good they smell.

You can see the two different kinds I like to make here!