How to Make Almost Any Piece of Wood into a Christmas Decoration

Why spend hundreds of dollars on Christmas decorations when there are so many fabulous ones you can make at home? Everything from ornaments to table decorations to window themes can be made by you, and not only will your decorations look fantastic, they'll also save you a ton of money. In addition, when you make the decorations yourself, you have one-of-a-kind decorations unlike anyone else's.

Lots of things can be made into Christmas decorations. Empty tin cans can be decorated to make candy and small gift holders, an old sheet can become a fabulous tree skirt, and most any piece of wood can become any number of impressive Christmas decorations or gifts.

The shape and the size of the wood is not really important, since most any piece of wood can become some sort of decoration. Obviously, if the wood piece you have is a full sheet of plywood, it's going to take some time and effort to change it into a decoration, but smaller pieces of wood can, after being decorated, become inside or outside decor for the holidays.

A chunk of wood, like a piece of a garden timber or something similar, can become a cute snowman for inside or outside the home. Clean the wood then paint with flat white paint. Add a second coat of white glitter paint. Tie a piece of flannel around the neck for a scarf, then use your hot glue gun to make the snowman a nightcap, or purchase a baby sock cap for the snowman to wear. Use buttons for eyes and the tip of an orange crayon for a nose, or just draw on a face. Stand him on the front porch or set him on the hearth.

A wooden slat can be used for several different holiday theme projects. Paint it and write "Merry Christmas" on it, then add magnets to the back and stick it to the fridge. Or, drill a small hole at the end of three or four slats, then thread a satin ribbon through the holes. The slats can be painted, then hung together on the front door, to spell out "Happy New Year" or a different message. Spread the slats apart, then glue the areas where the slats overlap, and this will prevent the slats falling behind each other and hiding part of the message.