DIY Christmas tree toys: original ideas for children and adults

Very soon the pre-New Year bustle will begin, preparing for the festive fun, buying gifts, decorating Christmas trees and houses. Let's talk about how you can decorate a Christmas tree at home, in kindergarten and at school, and outside in the yard with your own hands. After all, from everything that is at hand, you can come up with and make amazing things on your own, including New Year’s decorations for the main beauty of the holiday.

In this article we will look at DIY Christmas tree decorations from scrap materials with detailed descriptions and photographs. We invite you to get creative and feel the spirit of the holiday now. Involve children in the process; they will be incredibly happy to make Christmas tree decorations together with their parents, and then hang them on the tree.

This time, let's not spend money on buying expensive Christmas tree decorations or materials for making them ourselves, let's use everything that can usually be found at home.

Let's use a little imagination and as a result we will get amazing, exclusive and incredibly beautiful Christmas tree decorations.

New life for old light bulbs

Surely many people have light bulbs at home, ordinary incandescent lamps, that have already burned out and are not used. They can be of any size and shape. They can be used to create amazing Christmas tree decorations. We decorate these light bulbs with paints, sparkles, fabric, turning them into icicles, balls or interesting characters: Santa Claus, penguins, dogs, gnomes, or anyone else.

Toys made from old light bulbs

Let's take a step-by-step look at how to create an interesting Christmas tree decoration with your own hands from scrap materials using a light bulb. This will be a funny snowman.

Let's prepare everything you need:

1. Bulb. You can take more than one.
2. A little fabric, whatever you have for the cap.
3. Braid (for the loop for which we will hang the toy on the Christmas tree).
4. Paints. It is better to use acrylic, but gouache will also work.
5. Brushes.
6. Glue. You can use a second or thermal gun.

Let's start the creative process:

1. Paint the light bulb white and let it dry completely.
2. Let's paint the snowman's face and hands with mittens. The muzzle can be made completely primitive or whatever you want. You can draw a snowman and a broom into handles and buttons on clothes.
3. Now the cap. We cut out a small rectangle from the fabric, fold it in half and sew it together, tie the top with a ribbon and a bow. We put the cap on the snowman light bulb and glue it carefully.
4. He attaches a ribbon for hanging toys.

That's it, the snowman is ready. Using this principle, you can make any toy - an animal from simple light bulbs.

Light bulb snowman

Moreover, you can simply decorate the light bulbs beautifully and attach a ribbon to them and send them to the Christmas tree. For example, a light bulb can be coated with PVA glue and thoroughly dipped in small glitter or any cereal, and then painted over with gold paint. Here are some simple and original DIY Christmas tree decorations for you.

Beautiful figures made of colored soap

One of the most popular types of handicraft is making handmade soap. Those who do this on a professional basis and those for whom homemade soap is just a hobby have a whole set of special accessories for soap making. But you don’t have to buy them to make an original Christmas tree decoration. Take regular white baby soap; It is desirable that it does not contain flavorings. To create the figures, you will again need cookie cutters or silicone baking molds.

Toy making process:

1. To make colored soap, add food coloring to it.
2. To prepare the base, take baby soap, grate it on a coarse grater and place in a water bath. Make sure that no air bubbles form during the dissolution process.
3. The soap only needs to be dissolved, but not brought to a boil.
4. Then pour the mixture into the molds, insert a string in the form of a loop on one side, and leave until hardened.

Using a clear soap base will expand your creativity. You can make a Christmas tree decoration with filling - put a slice of lemon or coffee beans inside. These toys are a wonderful New Year gift for friends. A few drops of aromatic oils are also added to this soap.

We use any thread for toys

Christmas tree decorations can be created from simple knitting or sewing threads. Don't be afraid, you won't have to sew or knit here. Everything is much simpler! Let's see what you can make from thread for a Christmas tree.

Option 1 – elegant, multi-colored, openwork balls made of threads

What you need for work:

1. Any thread, any colors.
2. PVA glue.
3. Air balloons.
4. Braid for loops.
5. Any decorations for decorating balls: rhinestones, sequins, artificial spruce branches, flowers made of fabric or plastic, in general, everything you can find at home.

DIY toy

Let's start creating balls:

1. First, let's make the base - the balls themselves. To do this, we inflate balloons of the required diameter. These can be very small balls or larger ones, for a street Christmas tree or for a school Christmas tree.
2. Wrap the inflated ball with regular plastic wrap. We pierce a tube of PVA glue and pass a thread through it. Now we simply wrap the inflated balloons randomly with glue and thread. We wrap it so that the threads cover the entire surface of the balls. We break the thread, hide the tip under any thread and coat the ball with glue again.
3. Let the balls dry overnight.
4. Now we burst the inflated balloons and take them out. We made filament openwork balls for the Christmas tree.
5. We tie a loop of braid to them and decorate them to your taste.
6. Such balls can be made in unlimited quantities and of different sizes and colors.

Do-it-yourself openwork ball of thread

Option 2 – openwork stars and Christmas trees made of threads

You can make such DIY Christmas tree toys from scrap materials for children or together with them, using the instructions in the photo below and the description. The photo shows how to make a star. But using this principle, you can make a Christmas tree or any other figures.

DIY Christmas tree toys

Let's prepare everything you need for work:

1. Knitting threads of any color.
2. PVA glue.
3. A small bowl where you pour glue and soak the threads.
4. Foam base for work. You can use a disposable food tray.
5. Pins or simple matches.

We begin the process of creating an openwork star from threads:

1. Pour PVA glue into a bowl and soak the threads there.
2. We prick the shape of the toy on a foam base. In this case it is an asterisk.
3. First, we form the outline of the toy using pinned matches (or pins) by wrapping them with thread from a bowl.
4. Now we fill the middle of the figure with thread, laying it chaotically, making fancy curls.
5. Afterwards, you can blot the figurine with a sponge and glue again and leave it to dry overnight.
6. When our toy has dried, we tie a loop to it and hang it on the tree.

Openwork star made of threads

Glamor ball with sequins

Shiny sequin jewelry is back at the peak of popularity. Designers use them to create luxurious dresses and decorate fashion accessories with them. There is a great idea - decorate a Christmas ball with multi-colored sequins. As with buttons, you can create here using two methods - pricking shiny elements onto the ball or gluing them. The result is amazingly beautiful decorations for the New Year tree.

For work you will need materials:

• balls of different sizes made of polystyrene foam or polystyrene;
• pins or “Moment” glue;
• plastic fastening for loops and ribbon;
• multi-colored or plain sequins.

Round sequins are an excellent material for creating a fish scale surface. There are also shiny snowflake-shaped elements that can be attached on top of other sequins.

It is very convenient to work with hexagonal sequins. They are like a honeycomb, adjacent to each other without gaps. This is painstaking work, but the result is worth the effort. Make several balls: plain, with a pattern in the form of a mosaic or stripes. An interesting idea is a two-color ball, when the top is one color and the bottom is a different shade. You can attach a ribbon in the center with the inscription “Happy New Year!” or with snowflakes. At the top of the ball, glue a fastener for a loop and tie a bow from a satin ribbon.

Paper toys

We must not forget and push into the background the good old paper snowflakes and toys. But today they can sound in a new way if modern techniques are used to create them. In general, DIY Christmas tree decorations made from scrap materials, in particular paper, are a great idea for children in kindergarten. They can decorate a Christmas tree in a group.

And the kids will be happy to look at the festive outfit of the forest guest and boast that they themselves and their mother made this or that toy.

Let's look at how you can make Christmas tree decorations using the quilling technique with your own hands.

Paper toys

For work we need:

Strips of paper, 1.5 or 2 cm wide. You can cut them yourself from thick colored double-sided paper or buy them ready-made in craft stores.

1. Scissors.
2. Thread or braid for a loop.
3. PVA glue.

Making a ball:

1. Take a strip of any color 20 centimeters long and close it into a circle, gluing the ends together.
2. We do this with several more stripes of different colors.
3. Now we thread each circle into one another randomly, changing and alternating colors. We do this in such a way as to form a ball. We glue the strips together at the points of contact.
4. We attach a loop to the ball. That's it, the ball is ready.

Original do-it-yourself toys

Making an icicle:

1. Take a strip of light color 6 cm long, bend it in half and glue the ends. The result is a loop.
2. Now take the next strip, darker and a couple of centimeters longer. We bend it into a loop around the previous loop and glue the ends on the sides of the ends of the small loop.
3. We do this with several more stripes of different colors and each time we take a strip 2 centimeters longer.
4. We wrap a strip around the junction of the loops and attach the braid.

In addition, you can make snowflakes out of paper by cutting them out according to a template and hanging them on a ribbon. And also, openwork snowflakes can be made from ordinary pasta, which is found in almost every home.

Paper snowflakes

DIY Christmas tree decorations: garland of buttons

The simplest New Year's decoration can be made from ordinary buttons. A Christmas tree garland made from sewing accessories looks very interesting. This is an excellent alternative to store-bought Chinese garlands of shiny balls.

For work you will need materials:

• needle for hand sewing;
• strong sewing thread;
• satin ribbon;
• colored flat buttons of various sizes.

You can make this Christmas tree decoration with your children. The main thing is that they are 6 years old; at this age, children already know how to handle needles correctly. In order for the button to stay on the garland in a certain place, it must be secured. Just pass the needle and thread through the holes several times. This garland can be of any length. At its ends, sew loops approximately 14 cm long from satin ribbons. This is necessary so that the garland can be conveniently attached to the Christmas tree branches.

Pasta for the Christmas tree

You can create amazing Christmas tree decorations from ordinary pasta of different shapes. Let's see how you can make a snowflake.

Snowflake made from pasta

Pasta snowflake in the shape of shells

Let's prepare everything you need:

1. Shell-shaped pasta (several large and one small).
2. Hot glue.
3. Gold acrylic paint (you can use an aerosol or regular acrylic in a jar and a brush).
4. Braid for loop.

Let's get started:

1. Place a small shell in the center, and around 6 large pasta in the shape of shells. Glue the pasta together at the joints.
2. Cover with golden paint and let dry.
3. Attach the braid.

Pattern of pasta snowflakes

Openwork snowflake made of round pasta

Round pasta with veins.

1. Hot glue.
2. Gold acrylic paint (you can use an aerosol or regular acrylic in a jar and a brush).
3. Braid for loop.

Let's get started:

1. Place the pasta in rays from the center. Glue the pasta together at the joints.
2. Cover with golden paint and let dry.
3. Attach the braid.

Openwork snowflake of their macarons

This way you can make snowflakes of any shape using various pasta that you have at home.

You can also paste pasta onto any foam plastic ball, attach braid to it, cover it with paint and safely send it to your Christmas tree. Let's see how else you can decorate foam balls or any other regular old Christmas tree balls.

Snowflakes from pasta master class

Original pasta snowflakes

Horns and other shaped flour products are not only food products, but also excellent materials for crafts. What masters don’t do from simple pasta, their imagination can only be envied. The simplest decoration for a Christmas tree is a garland. It is made from pasta strung on a cord or strong thread and painted in different colors. They also make beautiful snowflakes from flour products.

It is very convenient to use hexagon-shaped pasta as elements for a Christmas tree decoration. The photo on the right shows such a snowflake. This form makes it easier for beginners to create original snowflakes.

To work you will need:

• figured products;
• pasta and horns;
• PVA glue, brush and paint;
• ribbon or cord.

So, get started: take one element and place it on a sheet of paper. Attach 6 elements around it with glue, and then 6 more. Then attach 6 long macarons, and to them - shells and other hexagons, as in the photo. The result is a beautiful and symmetrical snowflake. Paint the finished toy white or any other shade you like. Glue a ribbon or cord to one side.

Balloon decor using improvised materials

Any old ball can be decorated with improvised objects. To do this, you just need to glue what you found at home onto the ball, and if necessary, cover it with paint or glitter.

Decoration of balls

You can decorate a Christmas ball with these available materials:

• buttons and buttons;
• disk fragments;
• pasta;
• coffee beans or any cereal;
• beads, sequins, rhinestones;
• pieces of newsprint;
• feathers;
• fabric flowers;
• even nuts and gears.

You can use everything you can find at home; the more unusual the parts you find, the more creative the toy will be.

Creative ideas for toys made from pine cones

For the New Year, an ordinary pine cone can turn into a work of art if you show your imagination. One of the simplest ideas is to decorate this gift of nature with micro pompoms. Multi-colored pompoms create a festive mood, and making such a bright and original accessory is not difficult.

There are no limits to your creativity. The pine cones can be spray painted in a variety of colors, including silver and gold. A great idea is to decorate the edges of each scale with glitter. To do this, simply coat the cone with glue and sprinkle multi-colored sparkles on top. Carefully glue a small piece of twine on top in the form of a loop. In addition, various decorations will look beautiful on the top of the cone, for example, flowers made from narrow satin ribbons.

Delicious toys for the Christmas tree

Returning to the topic of edible and tasty decoration for if, we suggest creating toys using cinnamon sticks, bergenia stars and orange slices. These will be stylish decorations. They will not only add beauty and sophistication to your Christmas tree, but also add a touch of refined and refined aroma.

Gingerbread decoration

To make them, you just need to dry the cut oranges and combine the above ingredients in any composition. This could be a pair of cinnamon sticks with a star anise star glued to them, or just a round orange on a string.

You can also glue a cinnamon stick and a few coffee beans to an orange slice. The entire composition can be decorated with small bows or ribbon or jute rope.

Delicious DIY toys

Below is a selection of photos for inspiration for similar DIY Christmas tree decorations made from scrap materials. In addition, you can take regular candies in candy wrappers and hang them on the Christmas tree by a string. And tasty and beautiful and New Year's style. And on a lazy New Year's weekend, you can enjoy one piece of candy straight from the Christmas tree.

DIY New Year's toys

Soft felt snowflakes

New Year's toys are easy to make from felt. The snowflakes shown in the photo look very elegant.

For work, take materials and tools:

• artificial felt;
• acrylic threads for embroidery;
• beads and seed beads;
• glue gun, needle, scissors.

Below is a diagram for cutting out the details of a snowflake. The simplest element is a petal, which is what the snowflake on the left in the photo did.

The right snowflake looks original, the edges of the petals are cut out in the form of small triangles. To make one Christmas tree decoration, cut out 6 petals from white or multi-colored felt. If desired, create a curly edge on one side of each piece.

You can get very delicate snowflakes if you take a double-sided non-woven fabric and glue a thin Barbie-type fabric (polyester) onto it. This Christmas tree toy holds its shape perfectly.

Making such a toy is not difficult. First, embroider beautiful patterns on each piece, as in the photo, or come up with your own motifs and decorate with beads. Then fold the inner edges of each petal and secure with glue, and then glue all the petals together. Glue a shiny decoration or sew a beautiful button in the center.