Easy, Cheap DIY Christmas Decorations to Make at the Last Minute

Christmas can be really expensive and when you are a single mom with a tight budget it can be hard to think of cheap ways to decorate so your house feels festive and you don’t break the bank. 

DIY Christmas Decoration ideas are so bountiful on Pinterest that it can be overwhelming. I’ve been searching for Christmas decorating inspiration to share with you. Here are some adorable ideas that are easy and inexpensive to make yourself. 

You can use them for your own frugal holiday decorating or make extra and give them as gifts to save money on buying gifts.

 

I’m not a very crafty person, but it is fun to make things that look nice with my own hands. It gives me a sense of pride and satisfaction. These projects are easy enough for the kids to help you and spend an afternoon making memories while you make your Christmas decor. If you have bored teens to keep busy they can make most of the projects by themselves or convince them to work with you and make it a family night activity.

Homemade Outdoor Christmas Decorations

Christmas Sway-Gardener’s Path

This would look beautiful on your front door. Many people who live here in Minnesota have a few acres of land with evergreen trees. If you have access to free evergreen branches this is a very economical way to decorate your front door and much cheaper than buying a wreath. Another selling point a swag is easier to make than a wreath.

Christmas DIY Room Decor

Merry Christmas Blocks-Coffee with Us 3 

This would be a fun project to make with the kids. Or if you have some children’s blocks like these around the house arrange them to say Merry Christmas and put them on your mantel, table or shelf.

Christmas Tree Decorations to Make Yourself

Salt Dough Ornaments-Julie Blanner

These are fun to make with your cookie cutters. You can leave them white or you can paint them.

Puzzle Piece Wreath Ornament-Rock-A-Bye Parent

I have two very similiar to this, but the red berries are paint instead of pompoms. They have the kids’ kindergarten pictures and they are two of my favorite ornaments.

Snow Ski Ornaments

These snow ski ornaments from Arts and Crackers are so cute and an excellent inexpensive way to make new ornaments for your tree. You could make some and give them as gifts or use them to decorate your Christmas packages. Your kids can use leftover craft sticks to build model houses and all sorts of fun things. 

Clothespin Snowflake Ornaments-Dream a Little Bigger

These are adorable and you can make small ones for Christmas tree ornaments or larger ones to hang on the wall. Any size would be fun to hang from the ceiling in the corner of a room to add a festive look. The directions above show you how to make a glittery snowflake ornament, but you could also make red, green or white ornaments to hang on the wall or the tree.

5 Ornaments in One Day

If you have little or no ornaments for your Christmas tree her are 5 options to make in an afternoon of crafting. Most of the supplies you will be able to find at the dollar store.

Super Cheap Christmastree Ornaments to Make

PomPom Gnome Christmas Ornaments-Dream a Little Bigger

I love these adorable little gnome ornaments with their felt hats.

Champagne and Wine Cork Ornament-Organized 31

These wine and champagne cork ornaments from would be especially meaningful if the wine or champagne was from a special celebration. Imagine how delighted a bride & groom would be if you arranged to make some of the corks from their wedding reception into ornaments and gave them as a gift on their first Christmas as husband and wife. If you start a new relationship and occasionally share a bottle of wine how fun would it be to date the corks. Then you can commemorate your first Christmas together with an ornament.

 

Peanut Snowman Christmas Ornaments-The Flying Couponer

These are cheap, allow for lots of creativity and easy enough for any child who can glue two things together.

Lego Christmas Tree-Creative Green Living

Here is an idea to make out of the kids’ legos. Use your imagination and see what other Christmas decorations you can make with Legos. Carissa at Creative Green Living also shows you how to use some of those Legos to make a cute candy cane ornament.

Christmas Pillow Cover-I Heart Naptime

If you have a Circut cutter this is an adorable craft. You can get plaid pillows and plaid pillowcases here or if you want to skip the DIY part here are some finished Christmas pillow covers to decorate your living room or family room.

Waterless Snow Globe-This Ole Mom

This cute waterless snow globe starts with an empty plastic container. It is a fun way to reuse something you would normally just throw out. There are so many fun ways you can fill your snow globe.

Christmas Sock Gnomes-Craft Bits.com

I’ve seen gnomes in the store and I think they are adorable, but I just can’t justify spending that kind of money on a gnome. I saw these on craftbits.com and just had to share them with you. Wouldn’t you just love to save some of your kids’ fancy socks that they’ve outgrown? This would be the perfect craft to save those cute little kid socks. 

Christmas Tablescape Ideas

If you love decorating your table for the winter holidays here are some fun ideas to make yourself for a fraction of the price of buying decorations.

Pinecone Wreath-A Piece of Rainbow

These adorable wreaths can be used as a centerpiece on your table or coffee table or hung on the wall. This one looks so beautiful I can almost smell the pine and spruce.

Ribbon Tree-Tikkido

These ribbon trees would look great on your mantel or as part of your Christmas tablescape.

 

Mason Jar Lid Snowman-Crafts by Amanda

This is a unique, adorable centerpiece. When you add some flameless tea lights it will look magical when the lights go down.

Rock Nativity-Crayons and Cravings

These are adorable and really cheap if you have a place you can pick up free rocks. There are so many cute pictures you can make with pebbles that you find. Etsy has some wonderful options for all kinds of pebble art here are some pebble nativity scenes to inspire you or you can buy one, but it is much cheaper to make it yourself.

Make Your Own Wrapping Paper

If you have a rustic Christmas theme at your house making your own wrapping paper with craft paper and Christmas stencils. You can even use the stencils to make Christmas signs from pallet board or use paper and frame them for some quick, cheap Christmas art.