Working wonders with wood
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Get creative this Christmas! Making your own Christmas wood crafts is a lot of fun, and the possibilities are endless. With this guide, you’ll learn how to make wood Christmas decorations with just a few basic tools and materials.
Homemade wood Christmas decoration ideas
Making your own Christmas wood crafts is the perfect way to add a personal touch to your Christmas decorations. While you can use all kinds of materials to make Christmas decorations, wood is ideal for making a room feel cosier. Many homemade wood Christmas decorations are also surprisingly straightforward to make – you don’t necessarily need carpentry skills or tools!
Here are some simple ideas to get you started:
- Use wooden beads to make ornaments. Paint the beads white and string them together to create snowflakes, or paint them in festive colours to make pretty beaded Christmas tree decorations.
- Create decorations from scraps of wood. Paint wooden sticks and decorate them with short Christmas messages using stamps or stencils. Attach bells and ribbons and hang them up on your tree.
- Make sleds out of ice cream sticks. Paint some sticks, glue them together and attach a piece of string to make a cute wooden sled.
- Cut out Christmas trees. Draw a tree stencil on a piece of wood and use a saw to cut it out. Sand and varnish the surface and your natural, minimalist wooden Christmas tree is ready!
Christmas wood crafts: how to make simple decorations
Wondering which wood Christmas decorations to make? Start simple with this step-by-step guide.
- Print or make a template. Stars or Christmas trees are the easiest to make – try reindeer or Father Christmas if you’re feeling more adventurous! Trace the template onto wood using carbon transfer paper.
- Cut out the shape. Use a coping saw or jigsaw if you’re working with a thin piece of wood. For thicker wood, we recommend a small power saw such as a scroll saw.
- Sand the edges. Smoothen the edges using a piece of sandpaper.
- Decorate your shape. For a minimalist look, you can keep the natural colour – simply add a coat of wood stain to make it look more polished. You can also use acrylic paint for a more colourful decoration.
If the wooden shape is small and light, drill a hole at the top and attach a piece of string or ribbon to make an original Christmas tree decoration.
To make a larger, more complex decoration, you could even glue multiple shapes together using super glue.
The best tools and products for making Christmas wood crafts
If you want to make Christmas decorations out of wood, you’ll need a few basic materials, tools and products, such as:
- Wood (any kind of wood – even small bits of scrap wood can be used creatively!)
- Pencil and paper for drawing, tracing and making templates
- Knife or saw for cutting wood
- Super glue
- Acrylic paint
- Any extra decorative materials (glitter, ribbons, bells etc.)
Cutting thicker pieces of wood is much easier if you have the right tools to hand. We recommend using a jigsaw or scroll saw – they’re cheap, easy to use and versatile. Alternatively, try using a coping saw for basic designs.
Choosing the right glue is also an important part of making Christmas wood crafts. You need a strong super glue that’s easy to use, so you don’t risk making a mess and having to start from scratch. Loctite Super Glue Liquid Brush On is perfect for precise application, especially if you’re working with larger surfaces. If you only need to apply small spots of glue, try Loctite Super Glue Liquid Control. Both adhesives bond in just a few seconds and dry transparent, so the glue on your finished decoration will be invisible.
