The holidays are a busy and hectic time of year, especially when you're rushing around buying gifts for friends and family. But if you take some time to decorate and get creative, the stress of the holidays will melt away before you know it. Here are some ways to create the DIY holiday décor of your apartment-living dreams!
Start with Your Front Door
One of the first places you can start with DIY décor is right at your front door by creating a holiday wreath! Pick up a wreath frame, garland, ornaments, and a hot glue gun from your local craft store. Start by wrapping your wreath frame in the garland. Once you have covered your frame in garland, start hot gluing various ornaments around the wreath. You can choose whatever color of ornaments you like. Just make sure the ornaments are secure. Once you’re done gluing big ornaments on your wreath, fill in the gaps with smaller ornaments. After you have finished gluing every ornament down, congrats! You have completed your first holiday DIY of the season. Place a removable hook on your front door and proudly display your new wreath, letting everyone in the community know you’re in the holiday spirit!
Decorate Your Tree
Another way you can bring in the holiday joy with your DIY skills is by decorating your tree! Once you have put up your tree, it’s time to start decorating it. If you don’t have a tree or can’t afford one, check out Decorating for the Holidays on a Budget for money-saving tips.
You can start decorating your tree with strings of popcorn, cranberries, and dried oranges you strung yourself. Once you have decorated your tree with garland, it’s time to start on DIY ornaments!
For your first DIY ornament, make some popsicle-stick snowflakes. Pick up some popsicle sticks at your craft store and shape them into snowflakes. Once you have decided on the shape of each of your snowflakes, hot glue your popsicle sticks together and either paint or spray paint them whatever color you like. After the paint dries, hot glue an ornament hook to the top of each snowflake, and then they’re ready to hang on the tree!
If you would like to add some natural elements to your holiday décor, go outside and gather some twigs. You can use the twigs in place of popsicle sticks for this DIY, just make sure you have some branch cutters so your snowflakes can be the perfect size.
If you’re looking for a kid-friendly and mess-free DIY, consider making some marbled ornaments. All you need are clear, plastic ornaments, paint in your and your kids’ favorite colors, and a hot glue gun. Start by removing the lids and filling the clear ornaments with paint. Choose at least three colors and squirt them down the sides of the ornaments. After filling them with paint, make sure an adult uses the hot glue to glue the lids back on the ornament. Hand your kids the ornaments to shake and roll around until every part of the ornament is covered in paint. You can also coat the inside of the ornaments with mod podge and follow these same instructions but with glitter. Once it’s fully coated, go ahead and write the year you made these on the bottom of the ornament in permanent marker so you can always look back on the year you created holiday cheer and memories with your family!
Finally, another great DIY ornament that's also kid-friendly is a beaded star ornament. To complete this project, you will need pipe cleaners of any color and beads of multiple colors. Start by stringing beads onto the pipe cleaner, leaving a little space at each end to twist them together. Form five points of the star with your hands. Use a twisted end as your top point then attach a small piece of pipe cleaner to the top of the star to use as a hook for the tree. Repeat this process and before you know it, you’ll have plenty of new ornaments to hang on your tree.
Deck the Halls and the Walls
If you receive a ton of Christmas cards from all your family and friends, consider creating a card display in the shape of a tree on your wall. Start by saving and collecting all of the Christmas cards you get in the mail. Tape them on your wall in the shape of a tree. Once you get to the top of the tree, cut a gold or yellow star out of construction paper to be the tree topper. Finally, place a basket below it to fill with the gifts you buy for your friends and family.
Stitch Your Own Stockings
In need of a place for Santa to place small gifts? Well, fear not! You can use your DIY skills to create festive felt holiday stockings! Start by collecting 3/4 yd. of felt in various colors for each stocking, pins, scissors, colored thread, a sewing machine, and craft glue. Start by cutting out two shapes of the stocking and then cut a 14” x 7” for the cuff of the stocking. Pin the stocking front to back along the curved edges, then stitch around the edges of the stocking, allowing for the top of the stocking to be open for gifts. Pin and stitch the short ends of the cuffs together to form a tube. Put the cuff inside the upper edge of the stocking, placing the cuff seam at the back of the stocking. Pin and stitch, then fold the cuff out. Once you’ve completed your stocking, glue on some decorations like pompoms, small bells, and any other decorative items you have cut out of felt. After completing your stockings, choose a nice spot on your apartment wall to display them.
Bring the Outdoors Indoors
Even though if you live in an apartment and may not have direct access to a back yard, you can still bring the outdoors in this holiday season by getting creative and making your own natural décor.
The first DIY you can try is a Mini Wreath Garland. Start by collecting some pine branches or something similar from outside. Then you will need floral wire, string, ribbon, and scissors. Decide how big you would like your wreaths to be by forming your branches into circles, cutting off any excess. Remember, this should be a garland of mini wreaths so don’t make them too big.
Once you have decided on the size of your wreaths and formed them into circles, secure each end with floral wire. Then wrap some ribbon around the floral wire and tie it into a bow. Once you have created all of your wreaths, slide them onto a long strand of string and hang the garland wherever your heart desires!
If you love decorating your apartment with mirrors, add a holiday touch to them by hanging your new garland above or around the mirrors. Such an easy idea that will add so much character to your home!
If you’re looking for another activity to do with your kids, send them outside, go on a family hike, or take them to a park and tell them to collect anything they would like to be an ornament. They’ll gather pieces of nature such as pinecones, evergreen branches, and twigs. Once they’re done collecting everything, you can decide what you would like to glue a hook on and hang on your tree. This easy DIY is a great way to bring some holiday cheer while making your kids feel like they’re involved in decorating.
Decor in a Time Crunch
If you don’t have the time for DIY projects with everything you have to do this holiday season, consider fast, easy ways you can spruce up your apartment and deck the halls! First, start with all those gifts you bought for your friends and family. Go ahead and pull those shopping bags out of the closet and start wrapping them with pretty holiday wrapping paper and large bows. You can even add a sprig of garland if you want to get fancy. Once you’re done wrapping and labeling your gifts, display them under your tree or in the corner of your apartment. No matter where you place the gifts, they’ll bring some holiday spirit into the space.
Another easy and quick DIY is to create tea-light candle holders that will bring holiday cheer and coziness right into your home. Start with an empty glass jar, cranberries, cedar clippings or fake greenery, white tea light candles, and water. Once you have collected all the materials, place a small amount of cedar inside the edge of the jar, then add a small handful of cranberries. After placing your cedar and cranberries in the jar, fill it to almost the top with water, ensuring the cedar is fully submerged, then place your tea-light candle so it can float on top. If you’re concerned about a potential fire hazard, you can buy battery-operated, waterproof tea lights. After creating your candle holders, place them throughout your apartment to bring the holiday spirit into every room.
No matter how you choose to celebrate the holiday season, make sure you’re ringing in the holidays right with plenty of DIYs and holiday cheer!
Happy Holidays, renters!
Published December 6, 2022
