Robin's Reflections on Personal Growth

Making homemade Christmas ornaments and greeting cards will not only help you save money, but you will also be able to have a fun time creating them with your family and friends. Giving personalized or handmade greeting cards also lets the recipient know you put a lot of work and effort into making them. If you are planning to do your own Christmas decor and cards this year instead of buying them, here are a couple of ideas to help you out.

1. Make strings of popcorn to use as decoration for your Christmas tree or house. First, you need to pop some regular popcorn and allow it to completely cool down. Once you have your popcorn ready, cut some fishing line or string to a length of at least one yard. Tie a triple knot on one end and on the other end thread a needle which you will use to poke through the popcorn as you string it together. After creating this string of popcorn, you can use it to decorate your tree, banisters or entranceways. You can further embellish the popcorn garland by painting it, adding leaves or glitter or tying on decorative ribbons to make it more festive.

2. Another great idea for Christmas tree decor is photo ornaments. First buy some medium-sized styrofoam balls or any other type with a diameter of about four or five inches. Then try cutting them in half using a craft cutter or a knife. On the flat side, paste a picture of a member of your family or a picture of your whole family and on the other side (the round one), place some foil or metallic paper or glitter. Once the adhesive has dried out, thread a string on the top portion of the ornament so that you can hang it on your Christmas tree. This is an excellent way to personalize your tree. It also gives you the opportunity to showcase some of your family pictures. These photo ornaments also make great memoirs that your family can cherish for years to come.

3. You can also buy some basic plastic ornaments or balls and then decorate them yourself through using a variety of embellishments such as sequins, glitter, ribbons, lace and other trimmings. This is an especially good solution for dressing up gently used ornaments bought from yard sales or flea markets.

4. Try making snowflakes with paper. Buy paper that is a bit thicker than ordinary bond paper so the snowflakes will be more durable. Once you have a piece of blank white paper, fold it in two and then in two again so you have one fourth of the size of the paper that you started with. Cut out shapes on the paper’s edges. You can use regular scissors or specialty scissors to create edges with patterns. The cutouts can be squares, squiggles, triangles or any shape you can think of. Now fold the paper and cut out the edges again. Afterward, when you open up the paper, you should be able to see a unique snowflake shape. You can make several of these and hang them on the Christmas tree or you can string them together and drape them around the house. This would also make an excellent activity for your kids.

5. As for making a homemade greeting card, create one using your computer, printer and greeting card software or you can bring out your paints and colored pencils and start getting creative by doing it manually. Buy some hard paper (card stock) and then paint pictures related to Christmas such as snowmen, Christmas trees, Christmas lanterns, gifts and candy canes. You can even ask your kids to do the same thing, making for a wonderful time of family bonding.

Christmas does not always have to entail big expenses for decorations, ornaments and greeting cards. Through these simple tips, you can enjoy Christmas even on a limited budget while having fun with your family and friends.