There’s nothing like swapping out your usual home decorations for Christmas-themed decor to get you in the holiday spirit. Colder days make you want to stay inside crafting, and our ideas for DIY Christmas decorations are relatively easy to make while still looking great. You’re sure to find a few things you want to make.

Rustic Light-Up Christmas Sign

Rustic signs are all the rage, and they look great in any home that has a shabby chic or farmhouse style. This rustic Christmas sign idea takes it to the next level by adding lights. Since the lights are fed through holes from the back, it has a surprising glow rather than feeling too flashy. Creating it requires a drill, but it’s still pretty easy.

Sparkling Centrepiece

With a quick trip to the craft store and about 15 minutes, you can have this absolutely gorgeous DIY Christmas centrepiece just in time for your dinner party. All you need are some gold and silver Christmas balls, candles and candlesticks, a few sprigs of evergreen, and a tray to contain them. The gold and silver balls will reflect the flickering candlelight, creating a beautiful glow. Best of all, you can easily adjust this design to the size of your table.

Monogrammed Christmas Wreath

If you’re looking for something a bit different than the traditional Christmas wreath, try a monogrammed wreath instead. Rather than using the circular wreath form that you can buy at any craft store, you purchase one of the large monogram forms for your family’s last name. Alternatively, make a form from cardboard. Use a hot glue gun to cover it with evergreen, then hang some Christmas ornaments or ribbons to complete the look.

Shooting Star Outdoor Lights

These outdoor shooting stars from Martha Stewart are far from tacky. Wrap white Christmas lights around a metal star-shape, then create a trail of lights coming from behind. Since this can be fairly large, you need to have the outdoor space for placement. It works best when you can put them up in trees, but you can use stakes or other things as well. 

Outdoor Christmas Planter

Now that your flowers have died, the front of your home may be looking a little bare. Think about creating these lovely Christmas planters. Using the same planters that you use in the summer, you stuff them full of evergreen branches. With large red ribbons, white lights, and other Christmas-themed details, you’ll create a great look without a lot of effort.

Candy Cane Vase

Fresh flowers go a long way toward brightening up a room, and this candy cane vase will make them stand out even more. Simply start with a cheap vase, then glue candy canes around the vase, and finish off the look by tying a ribbon around it. Pay attention to the height of the vase and how that will look with the size of the candy canes. A bouquet of red and white flowers will look especially nice here.

Christmas Township Candle Holders

For this Christmas candle craft, you need a fair amount of artistic skills along with a hefty dose of patience, but the effect is quite nice. You cut silhouettes out of black paper, then glue it to the outside of a mason jar. Spraying it with a nice coating of “spray snow” creates an even better effect. Once it’s finished, you can place a candle inside. Use an electric candle if you prefer.

Christmas Shadow Box

Dust off your Cricut machine and put it to good use by making your very own Christmas shadowbox. Shadowbox frames are typically inexpensive at craft stores, and you can fill them up with anything you want. Using your Cricut machine allows you to print an elaborate design for the inside, then you can fill the box with things like fake snow, bells, or small Christmas ornaments.

Recycled Can Luminaries

One of the nicest things about these tin can luminaries is they allow you to recycle in a beautiful way. The key to getting clean holes when you pound the can is to have frozen water on the inside. It provides resistance from the back. It might take some practice to get all of the holes even, but the results are worth it. You can even dress it up with a ribbon when you’re done. Remember that placing real candles inside can heat the metal, so keep them out of reach of children or use electric candles instead.

You don’t have to spend a lot of time or money creating Christmas decorations that are classy. Pick the ones you like and head out to the craft store soon. You’ll be ready to craft on the next cold and blustery day.

Photo credits: pinecones & branches, rustic Christmas sign, monogrammed wreath, candy cane vase