Holiday Gift Wrap Ideas

Ready to get creative with gift wrapping?  Check out these holiday gift wrap ideas:

Unique Gift Wrapping Ideas

Have you been using the same ol’ holiday gift wrapping paper for years and are ready for something new?  If you take the time to create your own wrapping paper is it a really great way to show someone that you really took the time to make their present special.

Some great items for creating gift wrap are: scissors; ribbons; glue; glitter; small Christmas balls and rubber stamps

Tissue Paper:

Choose the color you’d like to wrap your gift up in and wrap it up in tissue paper.  You can use a ribbon of a similar or matching color or combine different colors of ribbons and tie them around it.

Tin Foil:

Get really creative and wrap a gift with tin foil.  After you’ve wrapped the present you can glue a gift card with a poem; rhyme; sentiment or picture to the middle of the gift to add an extra special touch for the person you are giving it to.

Paper bags:

Most people have some paper bags at home.  If you do, creating adorable wrapping paper is easy and affordable!  This is a great activity with the kids and you can use many of their arts and crafts supplies to spice up the bag.  Use markers, paints, crayons, glitter, rubber stamps and whatever else you can think of to add personalize the gift bag for the recipient.

Personalized wrapping paper:

Take printed photos of the recipient and print them on your computer, then glue them to the gift.  You can cover the whole gift package with pictures or add just one or two for an added touch.

Cellophane:

Another popular idea is to use colored cellophane as wrapping paper.  There are so many things you can do to wrap a gift in cellophane.  For example, a popular idea is to take homemade cookies on a plate and warp them up with cellophane and a ribbon.  Candies in a mug wrapped with cellophane is another popular gift.

Make a curly cue bow:

Open your scissors up so that you have one blade to work with.  After you have tied your ribbon onto the gift by simply using a knot or bow, place the blade at the bottom of the bow where there is extra ribbon and press firmly with your thumb on the inside of the ribbon and place your index finger on the blade on the outer side of the ribbon.  Then run the blade up to the top of the ribbon, now you’ve made a curly cue.

There are so many different kinds of wrapping paper you can buy, literally thousands, but there is only one creative holiday gift wrap idea, and that is one made with love and care.

Yard Decorating Ideas For Christmas

We spend lots of time decorating the inside of our homes, but other then putting up the lights outside have you thought of decorating the outside?  If not, consider bringing it outside with these yard decorating ideas for Christmas.

Decorating Your Yard For Christmastime

Christmas holiday time is a great time to drive around the neighbourhood to look at the enchanting homes.  As you see the decorations you get inspired to get creative and decorate your own yard.

Here are some get ideas for decorating the yard for Christmas:

Of course the tried and true outside decoration is to run Christmas lights around the eaves and sides of your house, and along the outer edges of your windows.  Consider placing a nice wicker basket full of Christmas balls (plastic ones if you have small children) on your front porch.  Take garland and wrap it around or all over your mailbox also.  Of course, if you have a large tree on your front yard you can decorate it with lights, and even add ornaments and garland too.  Life sized Santa or Snowmen add a wonderful touch to your front yard if you have the room.  You can also put up an animated Santa that has a sensor and will sing greetings like “Merry Christmas” as people go by.

Poinsettias on each step next to the railing of your stairs will add great holiday decor on the outside.  See if you can find yourself a large boot belong to Santa and fill it with gifts and place on the front lawn.  Any yard will be light up nicely by a large Merry Christmas sign if you have one.

If there’s not much chance it will be a white Christmas then spray the outside window pans of your home with snow.  A Santa and reindeer would look great on any front lawn, but if you can’t afford the traditional one you could buy or make your own sleigh and then fill it right to the top with empty wrapped presents.  No Christmas scene is complete without the Nativity Scene, be sure to choose a special place for this.

Decorating your yard for Christmas can be lots of fun and a great time to have special family time.  Make a plan, get together and draw up what you need to do and where everything will go on your front yard.  When you’re finished, stand back and admire your hard work and don’t be surprised if a few neighbours slow down to have a look at your decorations, too.

Christmas Wreath Decorating

A Christmas wreath always seems to add the final touch to the front door or any room decor.  Here are some ideas for Christmas wreath decorating or how to make your own.

How To Make A Christmas Wreath

If you’re looking at purchasing a traditional Christmas pine wreath they are quite expensive and it seems that every year the price increases.  There are some simply ways to decorate or create your Christmas wreath at home, here are some ideas.

Decorate a Picture Wreath

Here’s a great idea:  Create a picture wreath.  Purchase a simple, undecorated, starter wreath from a local craft supply store.  Use your favorite family photos.  Take each photo and poke a small hole at the top of each picture, then put a different color ribbon through each photo.  Then tie each photo onto the wreath and hang it on your front door.  Your friends and family will love to have a look at your family photos and will marvel at how creative you got with your wreath.

Make Your Own Wreath:

Here is what you will need for this project:

- acorns, wire, candy canes, holly, pipe cleaners, can of snow and Christmas tree branches.

Take the wire and form it into a circle. Twist the two ends of the wire around each other to secure the circle.  Tie the Christmas tree branches around the wire using the green pipe cleaners.  Take candy canes, holly and the acorns and add them to the branches using wire or hot glue from a glue gun.  Use the can of snow to spray on the Christmas tree branches.  Now you’ve got a beautiful wreath to hang on the front door. Spray the Christmas tree branches with artificial snow. You have just created a beautiful Christmas wreath to hang on your front door.

Make a Popcorn Wreath

Another idea is to make a popcorn wreath with a Christmas photo of your family in the middle.  Take some thick thread and string popcorn together.  Decide how large you want the wreath so that you can determine how long the popcorn chain should be.

Form a piece of wire into a circle and secure it at both ends.  Double up your popcorn chain and wrap it around the wire.  Your Christmas family photo can be placed in the center of the wreath.

There’s no limit, you can make animal wreaths with photos of your pets; ornament wreaths, candy wreaths, jingle bell wreaths, Christmas ball wreaths or any kind of Christmas theme you’d like.

There are so many ways to make or decorate your own Christmas wreath you are only limited to your imagination.

Ways To Decorate The Christmas Tree

If you’re looking for inexpensive ways to decorate the Christmas tree here are a couple of creative ideas that don’t cost a ton.  Think of things you can use that you already have when trying to decorate on a budget.

Low Cost Decorating For The Christmas Tree

During the holidays some people can’t afford, or just plain don’t want to buy a lot of fancy decorations for the tree.  Decorating your tree doesn’t have to be expensive.  You can have a beautifully decked out tree on a budge without sacrificing style or beauty.

Snow Covered Tree

A great, inexpensive way to create a fantastic looking tree is to make a White Christmas Tree, or Snow Covered Tree.  Use cotton balls as big lumps of snow and place them on the tips of the branches.  Sprinkle the cotton balls with white glitter to give them a glistening snow effect, or cut silver garland into tiny specks to achieve the same effect.

Of course, you’ll need a tree top on your Snow Covered Tree.  A cookie snowman will work well.  Take a snowman cookie and cover it entirely with white icing.  You can use chocolate chips for eyes and an orange gumdrop for the nose.  Add a smile to his face by piping chocolate.

Add a tree skirt by taking a large piece of cardboard and cut it into an arc.  Then, take two or more cups of flour and mix in water to create a paste.  Paste the flour onto the cardboard to create the illusion of freshly fallen snow.  Add white glitter before it dries to create a sparkling effect.

Tree Covered In Cookies

Make a delicious tree covered in cookies.  You can get really creative with this and use all kinds of shapes and sizes.  Give the cookies an extra splash of color and appeal by using non-pariel ranbow sprinkles.  Prepare the cookies for hanging on the tree by inserting a piece of rolled cardboard (size of a dime) into the top of the cookie before baking.  This will make sure the hole stays open during baking.  After the cookies are baked and cooled, insert ribbons and hang them on the tree.

As a tree topper you could use a large gingerbread man with a Christmas light in the center.  Follow the same procedure as the cookies by inserting a piece of rolled cardboard into the center while the cookie is baking.  Dress up the gingerbread man by adding white icing with red food color.

Make an adorable tree skirt by using an apron that has a pattern or photo of images that fit with your theme, cookies would work well of course!

However you decide to decorate your tree this holiday season, remember it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to look beautiful.

Baseball Theme Decorated Christmas Tree

If you’re thinking of decorating your tree a little differently this year consider doing a Christmas Tree Decorated with a Baseball Theme.  You will likely be the only one doing this in your area and you will certainly have a unique and fun Christmas tree.

Make a Baseball Theme Christmas Tree

Are you a fan of sports?  Ever thought about decorating your tree in a baseball theme?  Here’s how:

Get yourself a white tree and some white ball ornaments.  Turn the ornaments into baseballs using red paints or red marker.  Make baseball gloves to hang on the tree by having your child place his hand on a piece of cardboard and then insert the cut-out prints into brown gloves.  Attach some brown wool and hang them on the tree.

Add some baseball bats too.  Get out your favorite cookie recipe and shape the dough into small baseball bats.  Get out your favorite cookie recipe and shape the dough into small baseball bats.  There’s no need for food color, they’ll brown during baking.  Tie the bats at their neck with ribbon or wool and hang on the tree.  Personlize the bats with your kids names or names of your favorite players by using melted chocolate in a pastry gun.

Use the colors of your favorite team to make a tree skirt out of fabric.  If you shoose the New York Yankees, for example, take some white fabric and add a black border.  Then cut out and sew on the letters to spell New York Yankees.  Add sparkles of red.If you have a team logo blanket or sheet on hand you may want to use this instead.

Create your favorite teams’ logo to go on top of the tree.  Using the New York Yankees logo as an example again, follow these steps:

Decorate a piece of cardboard by painting it with your teams’ colors, for example black and white pinstripes.

Punch two holes in the cardboard and put black wool through the holes to attach to the top tree branch.

Or, an alternative would be to hang your team’s hat on the top of the tree.

Don’t forget to add lights, they could be in your team colors or a complimentary color.  Now you’ve got a one of a kind Christmas tree for your home.

Christmas Tree Decor For Small Spaces

If you live in a small space you don’t have to do without a Christmas tree.  There are many things you can do to create a holiday atmosphere.  Here are some Christmas tree decor ideas for those who live in smaller spaces.

How To Decorate a Christmas Tree in a Small Space

Are you short on space and have no room for a large tree, regardless if it’s real or fake?  This small space shouldn’t prevent you from buying a tree altogether, you just need to plan accordingly.   Here are a few ways to make the most of your small space this holiday season and create fantastic Christmas tree decor:

Ceramic Trees

Ceramic trees are beautiful accents for any part of your home.  There are some that light up, creating holiday cheer.  Place one in a child’s bedroom, in your home office or even on an end table in the living room.

Decorating

You can decorate a small tree yourself, or purchase one already decorated  For example, you could decorate your kitchen by using a white tree with ornatments that compliment the kitchen decor.  Using a tree skirt that matches your living room or den will accent the colors of that room.

Home Office

Small trees go well in an home office.  They are usually placed on a desk, counter top or filing cabinet.  Fun novelty trees such as those that sing and dance are popular for the office.

Upside-down Tree

Did you know about this?  You can get trees that hang upside down.  They are not new, but have increased in popularity as a space-saving way to decorate.  A couple of advantages include more space under the tree and ornaments don’t get shaken off by pets.

Even if you have a small place, are single or just don’t want to take up too much space with a large tree; you can have a Christmas tree that looks great using these holiday decorating ideas.

Christmas Tree Decorating Themes

Would you like to have a Christmas tree that looks a little more original this year?  The traditional look is great but why not consider changing it up.  Here are some great Christmas Tree decorating themes you might want to consider.

Great Themes For The Christmas Tree

The traditional tree is constantly evolving from the typical tree that many grew up with.  It now comes in a wide range of types, sizes, shapes and colors.  Here are some ideas and some of the most popular themes for Christmas trees:

Musical Tree

A musical tree is very popular.  You place different musical ornaments throughout the tree on the branches and use a piano tree skirt.

Candle Tree

The candle tree has been around for many, many years.  To set one up you put candles in holders and tie the holders to the tree branches.  You can then use white lights around the tree and a simple gold colored tree skirt.  Never leave a candle tree unattended though as it can be a safety hazard.

Angel Tree

Another popular Christmas tree decorating theme is the angel tree.  Use a white tree and adorn it with golden-winged angels that are placed on the branches.  Us gold garland to garnish, and place an angel atop the tree.  A golden tree skirt makes a beautiful finishing touch to this tree.

Hummel Ornaments

If over the years you have been purchasing or been given Hummel ornaments, these make a great tree theme since they are beautiful and delicate.  Each ornament can be placed on a branch and use a larger ornament as a tree topper.  Add white lights and an elegant and simple tree skirt such as a brown skirt with a nice lace border.

Doll Tree

Using a doll on top of the tree with a flowing gown would be a beautiful addition to the Christmas tree decor.

Candy

Who doesn’t want a tree decorated with candy?  Your kids will have a blast trying to figure out which candies to use and you’ll have lots of fun trying to stop them from eating them all before they get to the tree.  Candy canes work great on the branches, use lifesavers to create a garland.  If you have a white tree to decorate, take red vines on each of the branches or ties kisses in silver wrapping on the branches to look like bells.

Cookie Tree

Another favorite tree decorating idea is a cookie tree.  Bake your favorite cookies and remember to leave a hole in the middle for the ribbon to go through.  You can also add your favorite cookie cutters to the tree.  Make Christmas cookie balls with a hole in the center for string and create a garland with them.  The biggest problem with a cookie tree is, like the candy tree, you’ll have to watch for people trying to eat the ornaments!

Toyland

Young and old kids enjoy the popular toyland tree.  A great idea is to do something along the lines of your “favorite things” like the song from the movie Sound of Music. For example, use dolls in white dresses with blue satin sashes; ornaments of cream colored ponies; sleigh bells, and crisp apple strudels.  Turtledoves can be used to represent “the wild geese that fly” , use white construction paper to cut out and past “the moon on their wings”.

No matter how you decorate your Christmas tree, have fun, and remember that it doesn’t have to be the traditional tree to create a beautiful holiday atmosphere.

Christmas Tree Theme Ideas

Many people are bored with the traditional look of the tree at Christmas.  Here are some great Christmas tree theme ideas to really spice up the season.

Unique Christmas Tree Ideas

Christmas has so many wonderful traditions, one of course being the Christmas tree.  Many people are now using the tree to express their personality and so it has become very popular to create themed trees.

Here are some examples of themes you could do:

1940’s Tree

Find old black and white photos from your parents era and use them to trim the tree with.  Old jewelery, 45’s of favorite songs, vintage ornaments and cars all make great trimmings that reflect that time.  You can use a lace tablecloth as a tree skirt.  To top the tree, how about a 5 by 7 inch black and white photo of a favorite singer or band leader of the 40’s.  Now you can rock around the Christmas tree.

Patriotic Tree

For those who are patriotic a white tree decorated with red and blue ornaments will work well.  You can use a flag for the tree skirt and a flag or maybe an eagle as the tree topper.

Elvis Tree

If you’re an Elvis fan and happen to have collected 45’s of your favorite songs you can tie a ribbon through the centers and hand them on the Christmas tree branches.  Most Elvis fans will have a doll or some sort of memoribilia that will go well atop the tree.  No doubt you’ll want to have a ‘blue’ tree.  Try to find some material with a guitar or a guitar pattern on it to use as a tree skirt.

Some other unique ideas for Christmas trees:

• Decorated in all gold or all silver using ribbons and ball ornaments.
• Covered in white turtledoves.
• Full of musical instruments.
• Full of angel decorations.
• Candle tree (but be very careful with fire near a tree!)
• All the characters from the Muppet show.
• All kinds of shapes and sized of stuffed animals.

If you like to have the traditional Christmas tree then why not too both?  Showcase your themed tree in your front window and keep the traditional tree in your living room.  The possibilities are really endless with creating a themed tree.  Involving the whole family is a great way to create a special memory for everyone involved.

For the patriotic person, a white tree with red and blue Christmas ornaments.  Add a red, white and blue flag blanket as a tree skirt, and at the top of the tree you may want to place a small flag or perhaps an eagle.

An Elvis fan who has a collection of his 45’s may want to trim the tree by putting white  ribbons through the center of the 45’s and hang them on the branches.  Surely, an Elvis fan would have a doll or some other Elvis memorabilia to place on the top of the tree.  Of course, the tree would have to be “blue.”  As for the tree skirt, try to find a blanket or fabric which features a single guitar or several guitars.

Another great idea is to have a 1940’s Christmas tree.  Trim the tree with old pictures from mom and dad’s era; old 45’s of their favorite songs; shoe ornaments reflecting that time; vintage car ornaments; and jewelry as well.  For a tree skirt, you can use a lace table cloth.  Atop the tree, a framed 5×7 picture of mom and dad’s favorite band leader or singer would be perfect. Now you’re really rockin’ around the Christmas tree.

Learn How To Make a Gingerbread House

Gingerbread is a sure sign that the holidays are approaching.  You can learn how to make a gingerbread house from scratch or make one using a kit.  Just be sure to make one!

How to Make a Gingerbread House

If you’ve ever attempted to make a gingerbread house you’ll know that there are a couple of options.  You can either make it from scratch, a longer task that may take a day or two, or you can buy a kit that includes everything you’ll need to build this seasonal favorite.  Kids will have lots of fun with this no matter what you do, it is a fantastic way to get them creating and thinking.

If you don’t feel up for baking, then go buy a kit so that it’s ready to go and your kids can start in on having fun decorating.  To put the house together just follow the directions given with the kit, it’s pretty straightforward.  Many kits will come with an edible icing ‘glue’, but for those that do now see the recipe below.

Here’s a recipie for edible glue:

• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1-2 cups confectioners sugar

Mix the ingredients until you get a thick, glue-like consistency.  When it’s fully mixed, put the edible glue into a piping gun and you’re ready to start!

Now you’ll have to build the house.  It’s a good idea to put the walls and roof together in stages, allowing the glue to dry between each stage.  This ensures you build a strong base for decorating.

Once you’ve got the house built then the real fun begins!  Your kids can pick out decorations like licorcie, gum drops, candy canes, Smarties and more.

A few ideas:

• Use licorice squares to make a chimney.
• Gingerbread men (& women) make great people for around the front or inside the house.  Give them personality by deocorating and giving them faces.
• How about some trees out front?  Use pretzel sticks attached with greee candle leaves (you could use the edible glue for this).
• Use food coloring to add color to your glue.  Use colored glue to outline windows, doors and roof.
• Use a graham cracker as a name plate.  Pipe on the family name or name of the children who decorated the house.
• Put Santa on the roof by adding a Santa cookie.
• Ad a family pet by placing animal crackers outside the house.

Kids have a great imagination so let them put it to good use creating ideas for their gingerbread house.  Be sure to have the right toold available.  It doesn’t matter what size house you are making, the possibilites are endless.  Your kids will have plenty of fun while learning as well.

Christmas Photo Ornament Decor

Here’s a Christmas ornament decor idea, take photos to create different types of ornaments and add them to your tree.  You can match them into the tree decor so they fit right in.

Making Personalized Christmas Tree Ornaments

If you need ideas for making your own personalized Christmas tree ornaments to add to the holiday decor, here are some great ideas of things to do with photos.

Family photographs are a great way to tree your tree.  You can take the wallet sized prints and use a hole punch to make a hole at the top.  Then take red, white or gold ribbon to put through to photo and use that to hang it on the tree.  You can take the photos from past to present and adorn the entire tree with photos of your whole family.

Small picture frames made of light wood work really well for the tree.  You can paint them different colors to match the decor of the room or the tree.  Use your favorite photos of the kids and hang the frames on the tree by using a ribbon through the hook at the back or put the ribbon under the stand of the frame.  You can decorate thicker frames by covering the outer edges with fabric and decorating them with small objects or sparkles so they stand out and add to the look of the tree.

If you have a computer and a great photo printer, use a digital camera to take photographs of the whole family that can go on the tree.  Use software to generate the picture onto the computer and save them in a paint shop program.  There are so many things you can do from there to decorate the pictures.  You can add borders such as Santa, bells, reindeer, holly, trees, etc and even add the names of who’s in the photo.  After you’ve got the photo decorated you can reduce the size so that it fits perfectly into the frame and then hang it on the tree.   With larger photos, you can take a piece of cardboard the same size as the photograph and glue the picture onto the cardboard, punch a hole on the top and then hang the whole thing on the tree for all to see.

Get your children involved in the Christmas tree decor process by getting them to draw pictures of themselves or other family members on construction paper.  You can fill a whole tree with their drawings, get them to use different colored constuction paper.  Imagine the look on your kids faces when they see the entire tree filled with their drawings, they will be so proud!  Don’t forget to take a photo of them in front of the tree to put in the family scrapbook.

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