Easy Christmas Crafts and Decorations: Quick holiday crafts and decorations you can do to get the house ready in a hurry

Oh my goodness, it’s already December 7th, and Christmas is all around — except in the homes of those of us who are just too busy to get the decorating done. So what do you do? Personally I like to make my family do all of the work for me. I invite them over for some glögg and Christmas cookies and have them make ornaments and decorations. It’s the easiest way I know how. And I can take lots of pictures for picture frame ornaments (or photo cards) and have everyone decorate my tree too.

Around the world there are many traditions for making your own Christmas decorations, and it really isn’t hard to do. The most work usually goes into making sure that you have all the materials you’ll need.

If you really don’t have the time to go running around all over town to get specialized craft materials, why not look to what you already have at home. I found this really neat idea that is both easy to make and pretty to look at: CD snow flake ornaments. Basically all you need is some old CDs, paper, glue, and string or fishing line. Voila! Another way to put scratched up old CDs to use is to turn them into snowman ornaments, however; these do require a few more materials.

Still looking at what can be found in most people’s homes, another great idea is these light bulb ornaments. They’re made from burned out light bulbs (who doesn’t have a couple of those), acrylic paint, and a few scraps of fabric. I think it’s an ingenious idea!

If you just want something that’ll look festive and keep the kids busy (without too much “Mooom, I need help!”), coloring pages and other ready-to-print activities are great. American Greetings has a nice selection of various create & print activities for Christmas — everything from bottle huggers to posters and garlands, and they’re all very easy to make.

For those who have a little more time and patience on their hands, Martha Stewart has some drop-dead gorgeous DIY ornaments, and at FamilyFun.com, they have a huge selection of crafts and activities for all ages and ambitions. One that really struck me as being particularly in tune with the season is the Christmas tree circle, which I think will become a wonderful and decorative tradition in my house from this year on.

In my family, we have always made candle decorations with various ornaments and greens arranged around one or two candles set in clay in a decorative flower pot. It’s very simple and, to us at least, it says Christmas like few other things.

And at last but not least, a very traditional Christmas activity in our household is braiding hearts. This is a craft that goes back to the earliest “modern” Christmas traditions. The great fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen is supposedly the first person ever to have made a braided Christmas heart. While his was green and yellow, I usually prefer to make mine in more traditional Christmas colors like red and white. It takes a little skill to make these delicate paper ornaments, but once you get the hang of it — and have a little more glögg — they’re easy-peasy. And why not try to make them from felt and fill them up with goodies?

Any way you choose to decorate your home this Christmas (the easiest way is of course to call someone and have them do it for you, but what’s the fun in that?), good luck and have fun doing it!