Christmas Crafts Ideas That’ll Actually Make You Want to Get Crafty
This post was created with help from AI tools and carefully reviewed by a human. For more on how we use AI on this site, check out our Editorial Policy.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Additionally, we might earn affiliate commissions from other websites when you click on links and make purchases. This means that whenever you buy a product on Amazon or other affiliated sites from a link on our site, we get a small percentage of its price at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting us!
Christmas Crafts Ideas That’ll Actually Make You Want to Get Crafty
Look, I get it.
You see those perfect Pinterest Christmas crafts and think “yeah, I’ll totally do that” and then December rolls around and suddenly you’re panic-buying decorations at Target on Christmas Eve. Been there, done that, got the glitter burns to prove it.
But here’s the thing about 2025’s Christmas crafting scene – it’s gone totally wild in the best way possible. Paper chains are back (yes, really), people are making ornaments out of toilet paper rolls, and TikTok is exploding with crafts so easy you can finish them while watching Hallmark movies. The whole vibe has shifted from “perfectly curated Pinterest board” to “let’s just have fun making stuff.”
Let me walk you through what’s actually trending right now and what you can realistically pull off without losing your mind.
Still scrambling for gift ideas? We’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Check out our Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide with 50+ unique gifts sorted by who you’re shopping for—from that picky teen to your impossible-to-shop-for boss. Trust us, it’ll save you hours of scrolling.
Paper Chains Are Having a Massive Comeback (No, I’m Not Kidding)
Remember making paper chains in elementary school?
Well, they’re the breakout star of Christmas 2025. I know what you’re thinking – paper chains? Really? But trust me, these aren’t your kindergarten craft project anymore.
People are using thick crafting paper, wallpaper samples, and double-sided designs to create chains that look way more impressive than they have any right to be. The best part? All you need is paper, scissors, and something to stick them together – staples, tape, or a glue stick. That’s it.
You can knock these out in an afternoon while catching up on your shows. They’ve become whimsical decorations that show up in Country Living homes, which means they’ve officially graduated from “craft fair project” to “actually stylish.”
Pro tip: Go chunky and short rather than long and skinny. The chunky chains have more presence and honestly look better hanging around your living room.
Salt Dough Ornaments (The Craft That Keeps on Giving)
Salt dough ornaments are like that reliable friend who always shows up.
They’re easy, kids love them, and they create actual keepsakes you’ll treasure for years. These Victorian-era Christmas ornaments make your house look pretty and smell good too. Plus, there’s something weirdly satisfying about watching kids roll, cut, and paint their own designs.
The recipe is stupid simple: flour, salt, water. Mix it up, roll it out, cut shapes, bake them, then let everyone go wild with paint. Done.
My favorite part? Ten years from now, you’ll pull these out of storage and get all emotional about how tiny those handprints were. That’s the real magic – not the craft itself, but what it becomes over time.
Pipe Cleaner Christmas Trees (Fancy AF for Zero Effort)
Here’s a craft that looks way harder than it actually is.
You just need a foam cone and pipe cleaners – cut them into four equal sections, fold them in half, and hot glue them to the cone starting at the bottom. Work in rows, overlapping each row by about half, and then fold the pipe cleaners upward so they look like tree branches.
That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
But people will think you spent hours on it. The trees look sophisticated enough to fool your mother-in-law into thinking you’re actually good at crafting. Sometimes that’s all you need in life.
You can make these in different sizes and colors too. Go traditional green, or embrace that trendy pink Christmas aesthetic that’s been everywhere this year.
Mason Jar Everything (Because We All Have These Lying Around)
Let’s talk about mason jars for a second.
You probably have three sitting in your cupboard right now doing absolutely nothing. Time to put them to work.
The “flocked” ornament look using baking soda is genius. You spray paint ornaments in your desired colors and can even create a two-tone effect with painter’s tape. For mason jars specifically, you can paint them to look like baseballs for the sports fan in your life, or create snowy winter scenes with cotton and small bottle brush trees inside.
Someone even wrapped yarn around a clear plastic Christmas ornament with hot glue until it was completely covered, then threaded cocktail picks through to mimic knitting needles. That’s the kind of creativity that makes you go “why didn’t I think of that?”
The beauty of mason jar crafts? They’re forgiving. Mess up? Just wash it off and try again. Can’t do that with most crafts.
Dried Citrus Garlands (Easier Than Making Toast)
Want to know the easiest craft on this entire list?
Dried citrus – just slice your oranges thin, place them on a lined baking sheet, and stick them in the oven at 175°F for 4 to 6 hours. You don’t even have to watch them. Go do literally anything else for a few hours.
When they’re done, string them up with thick ribbon and boom – you’ve got a garland that looks like you spent way more effort than you actually did. Plus your house smells incredible while they’re drying. It’s like a Christmas candle, but productive.
This is perfect for people who want to say they “made decorations” without actually, you know, working that hard. No judgment here.
3D Paper Stars (The Scandi Trend That Actually Rocks)
Paper stars are absolutely everywhere thanks to renewed interest in Scandinavian handicrafts. The 3D versions look impressive but aren’t actually that hard to make.
Or here’s the genius move: buy some store-bought stars and then customize them yourself. Add smaller handmade versions, layer them, embellish them. You get the structure without the frustration, and you still get to call it “handmade.”
Waldorf stars make excellent accent pieces. Hang them from the ceiling, string them into a garland, or scatter them around your mantel. When Christmas is over, they fold flat for storage. That’s the kind of practical magic we need.
Hot Glue Gun Crafts (Your New Best Friend)
Let’s be real about something: the hot glue gun solves about 90% of Christmas crafting problems.
Need to attach bottle brush trees to a headband? Hot glue. Want to make a wreath out of vintage Shiny Brite ornaments? Hot glue. Making a festive sweater by attaching felt leaves to a white sweater? Hot. Glue.
The only downside is you’ll probably burn yourself at least twice. One crafter joked they were “covered in hot glue gun burns and paper cuts but it was worth it”. That’s the Christmas spirit right there.
Just keep a bowl of cold water nearby when you’re working. Trust me on this one.
Toilet Paper Roll Crafts (Don’t Knock It ‘Til You Try It)
I know what you’re thinking. Toilet paper rolls? Really?
But hear me out. People are making TP roll Santas, TP roll snowflakes, TP roll gift boxes, and even TP roll Christmas crackers. These are perfect for kids because there’s literally zero pressure – if they mess up a toilet paper roll, you’ve got fourteen more in the closet.
The materials are free, the craft is easy, and kids actually enjoy it. That’s the holy trinity of Christmas crafts right there.
You can fill the TP roll Santas with sweets for an extra surprise. Or make them into gift boxes for small items. The versatility is way more impressive than the humble toilet paper roll deserves credit for.
Yarn-Wrapped Ornaments (Meditative and Pretty)
Here’s one for when you want to craft but also zone out a bit.
Wrap yarn around a clear plastic Christmas ornament, using a dab of hot glue to hold the beginning in place, until it’s completely covered. That’s the whole thing. No fancy techniques, no special skills, just wrap and glue, wrap and glue.
It’s actually kind of relaxing. Put on a Christmas movie, grab some yarn, and just wrap. You can color-coordinate with your decor or go wild with rainbow colors. Either way works.
These make great gifts too because they look way fancier than the effort you put in would suggest. That’s what I call a crafting win.
Velvet Ribbon Trees (Elegance Without the Stress)
Want something that looks expensive but costs basically nothing?
Wrap a foam cone with velvet ribbon from bottom to top, securing with T-pins along the way, and add a little ribbon bow at the top. Done. Finished. Beautiful.
The velvet gives it that luxe look that makes people think you know what you’re doing. The foam cone costs maybe two bucks, and ribbon is cheap if you hit up the craft store sales. You can make three of these in different sizes and create a whole display for under ten dollars.
That’s the kind of bang-for-your-buck crafting we should all be doing.
Vintage Shiny Brite Ornament Projects (Kitschy and Cool)
A colorful, slightly kitschy Christmas is trending, which makes vintage Shiny Brite ornaments the perfect craft medium. You can hot glue them onto a wreath form, cover a foam tree with them, or attach smaller ones to candleholders.
The key is to lean into the colorful kitsch. This isn’t the time for minimalism. Go bold, go bright, go full-on retro Christmas explosion.
These ornaments are still reasonably easy to find at thrift stores, estate sales, or even new reproductions if you can’t find vintage ones. The craft itself is just “glue ornaments to thing” which is about as simple as crafting gets.
Cookie Cutter Art (For When You’re Tired of Actual Baking)
Here’s a fun one that kids absolutely love.
Dip Christmas cookie cutters into non-toxic acrylic paint and press them onto paper. That’s it. That’s the craft. But kids will watch their festive designs come to life right before their eyes and think it’s magic.
You get all the fun of Christmas shapes without the hassle of actual cookie baking. No flour everywhere, no burned bottoms, no nephew eating half the dough. Just dip, press, repeat.
You can turn these into cards, gift wrap, or just frame them as art. The possibilities are way bigger than you’d think for such a simple technique.
Paper Bag Stars (Because Trader Joe’s Bags Are Cute)
This one made me laugh when I first saw it.
Someone took their Trader Joe’s bags, cut out star shapes, painted them with different patterns and colors, gave them cute little faces, and strung them together. That’s peak creative reuse right there.
You’re literally turning trash into Christmas decor. The planet is happy, your wallet is happy, and you get a cute garland. Everyone wins.
You can do this with any brown paper bags too. Cut them open to maximize material, paint them however you want, and get creative with the shapes. It’s one of those crafts where there’s no wrong answer.
The Real Talk About Christmas Crafts
Look, here’s what nobody tells you about Christmas crafting.
It’s not about making something perfect. It’s about making something with your hands, spending time with people you love, and creating memories that’ll stick around longer than any store-bought decoration ever could.
Will your paper chains be a little wonky? Probably. Will your salt dough ornaments crack? Maybe. Will your kids use way too much glitter and you’ll be finding it in July? Absolutely.
But that’s the point.
Long after the tinsel’s tucked away and the tree has bid farewell, it’s those shared moments – the laughter, the stories, the love – that linger. Your kids will remember these crafting sessions for years. They’ll come home for the holidays and immediately look for that wonky ornament they made when they were six.
That’s worth more than any perfectly curated Instagram aesthetic.
Making It Actually Happen
The secret to successful Christmas crafting isn’t having mad skills or a closet full of supplies.
It’s just showing up. Pick literally one craft from this list. Just one. Get the supplies. Set aside an afternoon. Put your phone in another room. Turn on some Christmas music.
And then just start.
Don’t worry about it being perfect. Don’t stress about whether it’s Instagram-worthy. Just make the thing.
The craft itself is almost beside the point. It’s the slowing down that matters. It’s the creating something with your hands instead of just buying it. It’s the time spent together instead of everyone staring at screens.
Your Christmas Crafting Game Plan
Here’s my advice for actually making this happen this year.
Start with the absolute easiest craft on this list. For most people, that’s probably the dried citrus garland or the paper chains. You literally cannot mess those up unless you somehow burn your house down, and even then, you tried.
Set yourself up for success. Don’t decide on Christmas Eve that you’re going to make fifteen elaborate ornaments. Pick one or two crafts total. Maybe three if you’re feeling spicy.
Get the kids involved if you have them. Give them the glue gun (supervised, obviously) and let them go wild. Some of my favorite Christmas decorations are the ones my kids made that look absolutely terrible but were made with so much love and enthusiasm.
And remember: craft stores have sales basically all of November and December. You don’t need to drop a fortune on supplies. Foam cones, ribbon, glue guns, paint – it’s all going to be 40-50% off at some point. Wait for the sale.
The Bottom Line
Christmas crafts in 2025 are all about getting back to basics and actually having fun with it.
Paper chains are cool again. Salt dough is eternal. Hot glue solves everything. And you don’t need to be a crafting genius to make something that matters.
So pick a craft. Make it this weekend. Rope in whoever’s around. Put on Elf or The Grinch. Make some hot chocolate.
And just create something.
It won’t be perfect. It might not even be good. But it’ll be yours, and it’ll be made with your own hands, and twenty years from now you’ll pull it out of storage and remember the afternoon you made it.
That’s the real Christmas magic right there.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some pipe cleaner trees to make before my hot glue gun gets cold. Happy crafting, and may your glitter burns be minimal!Look, I get it.
You see those perfect Pinterest Christmas crafts and think “yeah, I’ll totally do that” and then December rolls around and suddenly you’re panic-buying decorations at Target on Christmas Eve. Been there, done that, got the glitter burns to prove it.
But here’s the thing about 2025’s Christmas crafting scene – it’s gone totally wild in the best way possible. Paper chains are back (yes, really), people are making ornaments out of toilet paper rolls, and TikTok is exploding with crafts so easy you can finish them while watching Hallmark movies. The whole vibe has shifted from “perfectly curated Pinterest board” to “let’s just have fun making stuff.”
Let me walk you through what’s actually trending right now and what you can realistically pull off without losing your mind.
Paper Chains Are Having a Massive Comeback (No, I’m Not Kidding)
Remember making paper chains in elementary school?
Well, they’re the breakout star of Christmas 2025. I know what you’re thinking – paper chains? Really? But trust me, these aren’t your kindergarten craft project anymore.
People are using thick crafting paper, wallpaper samples, and double-sided designs to create chains that look way more impressive than they have any right to be. The best part? All you need is paper, scissors, and something to stick them together – staples, tape, or a glue stick. That’s it.
You can knock these out in an afternoon while catching up on your shows. They’ve become whimsical decorations that show up in Country Living homes, which means they’ve officially graduated from “craft fair project” to “actually stylish.”
Pro tip: Go chunky and short rather than long and skinny. The chunky chains have more presence and honestly look better hanging around your living room.
Salt Dough Ornaments (The Craft That Keeps on Giving)
Salt dough ornaments are like that reliable friend who always shows up.
They’re easy, kids love them, and they create actual keepsakes you’ll treasure for years. These Victorian-era Christmas ornaments make your house look pretty and smell good too. Plus, there’s something weirdly satisfying about watching kids roll, cut, and paint their own designs.
The recipe is stupid simple: flour, salt, water. Mix it up, roll it out, cut shapes, bake them, then let everyone go wild with paint. Done.
My favorite part? Ten years from now, you’ll pull these out of storage and get all emotional about how tiny those handprints were. That’s the real magic – not the craft itself, but what it becomes over time.
Pipe Cleaner Christmas Trees (Fancy AF for Zero Effort)
Here’s a craft that looks way harder than it actually is.
You just need a foam cone and pipe cleaners – cut them into four equal sections, fold them in half, and hot glue them to the cone starting at the bottom. Work in rows, overlapping each row by about half, and then fold the pipe cleaners upward so they look like tree branches.
That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
But people will think you spent hours on it. The trees look sophisticated enough to fool your mother-in-law into thinking you’re actually good at crafting. Sometimes that’s all you need in life.
You can make these in different sizes and colors too. Go traditional green, or embrace that trendy pink Christmas aesthetic that’s been everywhere this year.
Mason Jar Everything (Because We All Have These Lying Around)
Let’s talk about mason jars for a second.
You probably have three sitting in your cupboard right now doing absolutely nothing. Time to put them to work.
The “flocked” ornament look using baking soda is genius. You spray paint ornaments in your desired colors and can even create a two-tone effect with painter’s tape. For mason jars specifically, you can paint them to look like baseballs for the sports fan in your life, or create snowy winter scenes with cotton and small bottle brush trees inside.
Someone even wrapped yarn around a clear plastic Christmas ornament with hot glue until it was completely covered, then threaded cocktail picks through to mimic knitting needles. That’s the kind of creativity that makes you go “why didn’t I think of that?”
The beauty of mason jar crafts? They’re forgiving. Mess up? Just wash it off and try again. Can’t do that with most crafts.
Dried Citrus Garlands (Easier Than Making Toast)
Want to know the easiest craft on this entire list?
Dried citrus – just slice your oranges thin, place them on a lined baking sheet, and stick them in the oven at 175°F for 4 to 6 hours. You don’t even have to watch them. Go do literally anything else for a few hours.
When they’re done, string them up with thick ribbon and boom – you’ve got a garland that looks like you spent way more effort than you actually did. Plus your house smells incredible while they’re drying. It’s like a Christmas candle, but productive.
This is perfect for people who want to say they “made decorations” without actually, you know, working that hard. No judgment here.
3D Paper Stars (The Scandi Trend That Actually Rocks)
Paper stars are absolutely everywhere thanks to renewed interest in Scandinavian handicrafts. The 3D versions look impressive but aren’t actually that hard to make.
Or here’s the genius move: buy some store-bought stars and then customize them yourself. Add smaller handmade versions, layer them, embellish them. You get the structure without the frustration, and you still get to call it “handmade.”
Waldorf stars make excellent accent pieces. Hang them from the ceiling, string them into a garland, or scatter them around your mantel. When Christmas is over, they fold flat for storage. That’s the kind of practical magic we need.
Hot Glue Gun Crafts (Your New Best Friend)
Let’s be real about something: the hot glue gun solves about 90% of Christmas crafting problems.
Need to attach bottle brush trees to a headband? Hot glue. Want to make a wreath out of vintage Shiny Brite ornaments? Hot glue. Making a festive sweater by attaching felt leaves to a white sweater? Hot. Glue.
The only downside is you’ll probably burn yourself at least twice. One crafter joked they were “covered in hot glue gun burns and paper cuts but it was worth it”. That’s the Christmas spirit right there.
Just keep a bowl of cold water nearby when you’re working. Trust me on this one.
Toilet Paper Roll Crafts (Don’t Knock It ‘Til You Try It)
I know what you’re thinking. Toilet paper rolls? Really?
But hear me out. People are making TP roll Santas, TP roll snowflakes, TP roll gift boxes, and even TP roll Christmas crackers. These are perfect for kids because there’s literally zero pressure – if they mess up a toilet paper roll, you’ve got fourteen more in the closet.
The materials are free, the craft is easy, and kids actually enjoy it. That’s the holy trinity of Christmas crafts right there.
You can fill the TP roll Santas with sweets for an extra surprise. Or make them into gift boxes for small items. The versatility is way more impressive than the humble toilet paper roll deserves credit for.
Yarn-Wrapped Ornaments (Meditative and Pretty)
Here’s one for when you want to craft but also zone out a bit.
Wrap yarn around a clear plastic Christmas ornament, using a dab of hot glue to hold the beginning in place, until it’s completely covered. That’s the whole thing. No fancy techniques, no special skills, just wrap and glue, wrap and glue.
It’s actually kind of relaxing. Put on a Christmas movie, grab some yarn, and just wrap. You can color-coordinate with your decor or go wild with rainbow colors. Either way works.
These make great gifts too because they look way fancier than the effort you put in would suggest. That’s what I call a crafting win.
Velvet Ribbon Trees (Elegance Without the Stress)
Want something that looks expensive but costs basically nothing?
Wrap a foam cone with velvet ribbon from bottom to top, securing with T-pins along the way, and add a little ribbon bow at the top. Done. Finished. Beautiful.
The velvet gives it that luxe look that makes people think you know what you’re doing. The foam cone costs maybe two bucks, and ribbon is cheap if you hit up the craft store sales. You can make three of these in different sizes and create a whole display for under ten dollars.
That’s the kind of bang-for-your-buck crafting we should all be doing.
Vintage Shiny Brite Ornament Projects (Kitschy and Cool)
A colorful, slightly kitschy Christmas is trending, which makes vintage Shiny Brite ornaments the perfect craft medium. You can hot glue them onto a wreath form, cover a foam tree with them, or attach smaller ones to candleholders.
The key is to lean into the colorful kitsch. This isn’t the time for minimalism. Go bold, go bright, go full-on retro Christmas explosion.
These ornaments are still reasonably easy to find at thrift stores, estate sales, or even new reproductions if you can’t find vintage ones. The craft itself is just “glue ornaments to thing” which is about as simple as crafting gets.
Cookie Cutter Art (For When You’re Tired of Actual Baking)
Here’s a fun one that kids absolutely love.
Dip Christmas cookie cutters into non-toxic acrylic paint and press them onto paper. That’s it. That’s the craft. But kids will watch their festive designs come to life right before their eyes and think it’s magic.
You get all the fun of Christmas shapes without the hassle of actual cookie baking. No flour everywhere, no burned bottoms, no nephew eating half the dough. Just dip, press, repeat.
You can turn these into cards, gift wrap, or just frame them as art. The possibilities are way bigger than you’d think for such a simple technique.
Paper Bag Stars (Because Trader Joe’s Bags Are Cute)
This one made me laugh when I first saw it.
Someone took their Trader Joe’s bags, cut out star shapes, painted them with different patterns and colors, gave them cute little faces, and strung them together. That’s peak creative reuse right there.
You’re literally turning trash into Christmas decor. The planet is happy, your wallet is happy, and you get a cute garland. Everyone wins.
You can do this with any brown paper bags too. Cut them open to maximize material, paint them however you want, and get creative with the shapes. It’s one of those crafts where there’s no wrong answer.
The Real Talk About Christmas Crafts
Look, here’s what nobody tells you about Christmas crafting.
It’s not about making something perfect. It’s about making something with your hands, spending time with people you love, and creating memories that’ll stick around longer than any store-bought decoration ever could.
Will your paper chains be a little wonky? Probably. Will your salt dough ornaments crack? Maybe. Will your kids use way too much glitter and you’ll be finding it in July? Absolutely.
But that’s the point.
Long after the tinsel’s tucked away and the tree has bid farewell, it’s those shared moments – the laughter, the stories, the love – that linger. Your kids will remember these crafting sessions for years. They’ll come home for the holidays and immediately look for that wonky ornament they made when they were six.
That’s worth more than any perfectly curated Instagram aesthetic.
Making It Actually Happen
The secret to successful Christmas crafting isn’t having mad skills or a closet full of supplies.
It’s just showing up. Pick literally one craft from this list. Just one. Get the supplies. Set aside an afternoon. Put your phone in another room. Turn on some Christmas music.
And then just start.
Don’t worry about it being perfect. Don’t stress about whether it’s Instagram-worthy. Just make the thing.
The craft itself is almost beside the point. It’s the slowing down that matters. It’s the creating something with your hands instead of just buying it. It’s the time spent together instead of everyone staring at screens.
Your Christmas Crafting Game Plan
Here’s my advice for actually making this happen this year.
Start with the absolute easiest craft on this list. For most people, that’s probably the dried citrus garland or the paper chains. You literally cannot mess those up unless you somehow burn your house down, and even then, you tried.
Set yourself up for success. Don’t decide on Christmas Eve that you’re going to make fifteen elaborate ornaments. Pick one or two crafts total. Maybe three if you’re feeling spicy.
Get the kids involved if you have them. Give them the glue gun (supervised, obviously) and let them go wild. Some of my favorite Christmas decorations are the ones my kids made that look absolutely terrible but were made with so much love and enthusiasm.
And remember: craft stores have sales basically all of November and December. You don’t need to drop a fortune on supplies. Foam cones, ribbon, glue guns, paint – it’s all going to be 40-50% off at some point. Wait for the sale.
The Bottom Line
Christmas crafts in 2025 are all about getting back to basics and actually having fun with it.
Paper chains are cool again. Salt dough is eternal. Hot glue solves everything. And you don’t need to be a crafting genius to make something that matters.
So pick a craft. Make it this weekend. Rope in whoever’s around. Put on Elf or The Grinch. Make some hot chocolate.
And just create something.
It won’t be perfect. It might not even be good. But it’ll be yours, and it’ll be made with your own hands, and twenty years from now you’ll pull it out of storage and remember the afternoon you made it.
That’s the real Christmas magic right there.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some pipe cleaner trees to make before my hot glue gun gets cold. Happy crafting, and may your glitter burns be minimal!
