Making Ornaments
Style Editor Sherell Williams

Decorating for the holidays can be a fun experience, but if you’re short on cash, it can be stressful. Here are three cheap ornaments and holiday decorations that you can make to decorate your place. I suggest buying all the materials listed with each idea from your local dollar store to save some money.

Quick Craft Idea #1: Dough Ornaments
Instead of buying the usual boxes of multi-colored glass or Styrofoam ornaments to decorate your tree, make your own ornaments out of dough and decorate them however you like. To make these dough ornaments, you will need the following materials:

4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups water
Straws
Paint (Assorted Colors)
Paint brushes
Metal Hook Twists
Cookie Sheet

Once you’ve got your materials, mix the floor, salt, and water together to make your dough and roll it into a ball. If your dough begins to crack while mixing, just add more water until they’re gone. Then, break the big ball of dough down into as many 1-inch balls of dough as you can (the amounts above will give you about 25-30 1-inch balls of dough). Next, flatten the balls into disks with your hand and smooth out any cracked edges. Using a straw, poke holes close to the top of your disks and then place them on a cookie sheet. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and bake the dough for an hour. Once they’re done, let them cool for five minutes. Using paint, decorate your dough in either solid colors or with holiday phrases or words and drawings of your favorite holiday symbols and you’ve got some handmade ornaments for your tree.

Quick Craft Idea #2: Sock Snowmen
If you’ve got a pair of old baby socks lying around, turn them into snowmen ornaments with items you probably already own. To make the snowmen, you’re going to need the following:

Baby socks (preferably white for the body, colored for the hat)
Sewing Kit
Scissors
String
Cotton balls
Ribbon
Buttons
Permanent markers
Pipe cleaner

First, fill your sock with as cotton balls and divide the sock with string to create your snowman’s body and head. You can also use ribbon to divide the sock if you want to make your snowman even more festive. Leaving enough room at the top to tie off the head of the snowman, use scissors to cut off the cut of the sock tie the remaining edges with string. To make the hat, take the colored sock, gather it at the ankle, and sew it together or tie it with string to create the shape of the top hat, leaving room to create the hanging loop. Then sew the hat onto the head. Next, sew one or two buttons onto the body of your snowmen. Draw the eyes and mouth with your permanent marker. Cut about 1-inch of pipe cleaner for the nose and your snowman ornament is complete. If you’d like, you can wrap another piece of pipe cleaner around the head of the snowman for earmuffs and wrap the ends to create the puffs of the earmuffs.

Quick Craft Idea #3: Garlands
You can create garlands out of just about anything. Take any edible or inedible item and drill a hole into it, you can make a garland long enough to decorate your house or a Christmas tree. You’ll need the following to make a garland:

String, heavy-duty thread, or ribbon
Scissors
A dull needle or tapestry needle
Spray paint (optional)
Acrylic paint (optional)

Popcorn garlands are a favorite among families during the holidays. To create a popcorn garland, you will need string, a dull needle, and at least a bag of popcorn. Depending on how you big you’d like to make the garland, you may need an additional bag of popcorn. First, grab a bag of your favorite microwaveable popcorn. While it’s popping, prepare your needle and thread. You can use either heavy-duty thread, or ribbon in the color of your choice in place of string if you have it, but standard string will work. Thread the string, thread, or ribbon through the needle and tie a big knot at the end of the string. Once the popcorn is finished, let it cool. Next, taking one kernel at a time, push the needle through the center of the popcorn. Repeat this step until your string is completed filled with popcorn. You can also create food garlands out of other edible items like licorice, gumdrops, life savers, or any other candy items you can think of. Non-edible garlands can be made out of beads, charms, even key chains; whatever you want.