Easy Christmas Decorations

Swarovski 2013 annual edition crystal

Easy Christmas Decorations

Create your own holiday decor with these easy crafts and projects.

Give your guests a dramatic welcome: A pair of inexpensive plastic urns from the garden center instantly dress up a front doorway. Place a tall foam cone in each urn, anchor it with sand, then use florist sticks and wire to attach greenery and Christmas balls.

Make an Easy Table Topper

How simple is this centerpiece? Buy a garland of greenery (available at garden centers) to run down the length of your table. Send your kids out to collect pinecones, and use them as rustic toppers. (You can also buy pinecones at garden or craft stores.)

Go With a Simple Centerpiece

Another festive idea: Load a simple glass jar or bowl with multiples of the same fruit, nut, or monochromatic ornament. Here, trifle bowls are filled with red apples and green baby artichokes—the colors of Christmas—and walnuts. Or do bowls of lemons and limes.

Create Outdoor Decor

For a subtle outdoor decoration, gather pinecones of various sizes and arrange them in a window box or in pots on your porch, sprinkling the tiniest ones on top. The weatherproof display should last until spring.

Give the Kids a Holiday Craft

A perfect, zero-supervision craft for kids is making aluminum-foil ring chains. All you need to give them is squares of foil (cut up a roll yourself or buy a box of precut sheets): no scissors, glue, or—huzzah!—sparkles.

Spell Out Your Message

Stencil letters (available at the stationery store) will say it loud and clear. Back some—or all—of the letters with brightly colored construction paper, then attach with a removable adhesive so painted walls go undamaged.

String Up Some Starlight

Wind a strand of battery-powered fairy lights around a medium Styrofoam ball. Tie it off, then tape the end of the strand to the ceiling or loop it around a curtain rod. Suspend three or four balls of varying sizes together for an even brighter arrangement.

Related Article :