How to Make Your Own Yule Decorations

The old carol tells us to "Deck the hall with boughs of holly" and it's still pretty good advice when thinking about Yule decorations for the home. Our ancestors didn't have access to craft stores or large retail outlets selling metallic glass balls and spun angel's hair for their Yuletide decor, and with a little effort you can make pretty, homemade decorations that can help feed the birds and squirrels in your backyard, become family keepsakes or make your home smell like Yule smelled a hundred years ago, or more.

Things You'll Need

• Evergreens--pine, holly, ivy, mistletoe
• Small log
• Drill
• Candles
• Ribbons
• Needle
• Thread
• Popped popcorn--plain
• Cranberries
• Pine cones
• Scissors
• Walnuts
• Paint
• Glue
• Oranges
• Whole cloves
• Cinnamon sticks--long

Instructions

1. Get the kids involved. They'll think it's great fun and you'll be building happy holiday memories that will last the rest of their lives. Even little ones can help make these decorations with some help from Mom and Dad.

2. Bring in the green. Our ancestors did it, but with artificial trees and garlands so cheap and available, hardly anyone has real holiday trees any more. If you can afford it, find a tree farm that will not only let you cut down your own tree (fresh trees are much less of a fire hazard), but might even let you dig the tree up and take it home to decorate and plant later in your yard. Some greenhouses have trees with root balls for sale at this time of year, too.
   There are time limits for how long the tree can stay indoors before you need to take it back outside and replant it; ask the tree farm owner or person at the greenhouse what is recommended for your area.
   Bring in other greenery--holly branches, rosemary sprigs, and English ivy--and entwine it around the base of pillar candles for a festive, natural look. Don't forget to hang the mistletoe, and don't forget to kiss your sweetie underneath it!

3. Make a Yule log. Even if you don't have a fireplace, you can still have a Yule log. Take a short log, 15 inches long maximum by 6 to 8 inches in diameter, and determine which side the log must lay on to be the most stable and least likely to roll. Drill three taper-candle-wide holes in the "top" side of the log. Add red candles, arrange some greenery around the base of the candles, and add some ribbon/ribbon bows to be really festive, and you have your very own Yule log. This looks great as a centerpiece on the dining room table, especially when the candles are lit.

4. Feed your wild neighbors--and decorate your tree at the same time. Pop some plain popcorn, thread a needle, and string a long popcorn garland to encircle your tree. Raw cranberries make a pretty garland too, but get a strong needle--they can be tough to pierce all the way through. When you take the tree down after the holiday, wrap your popcorn and cranberry garlands around the bushes or trees in your yard. The birds and squirrels will really appreciate the midwinter food source.

5. Make your own ornaments. Gently crack open English walnuts, remove the nut meat, and glue the two halves back together with a thread loop between them for hanging on your tree. Paint or otherwise decorate the hollow walnut "balls" once the glue dries, or leave them plain for the "natural look." Use the nut meat in a batch of Yuletide cookies or fudge.
   Tie a loop of thread to the top of a perfect pinecone, paint or leave plain, and hang it on your tree. Better yet, hang a dozen, and have fun finding the pinecones throughout your neighborhood or town.
   Take an orange and stud it with cloves by piercing the peel with the sharp stem of the whole clove, and hang it on your tree. Your house will be filled with the lovely orange/clove scent throughout the season.
   Gently sand short cinnamon sticks with sandpaper to release the scent. Tie two or three in a bundle with a bit of ribbon, and hang on your tree for even more lovely holiday smell. Save to decorate with again next year, or use to mull some cider on New Year's Eve.

Tips & Warnings

• If your mistletoe has real berries, remove them and make sure they all end up safely in the trash. Mistletoe berries are deadly poison to pets and small children. Be sure to hang your clove-studded orange out of your dog's reach. Citrus fruits can make dogs sick.