Wooden Christmas Projects for Home Decorations

Create Christmas decorations from wood to adorn your home and create a festive environment.

Decorating your home for Christmas has come a long way from the days of hanging some metallic garland around the staircase, a string of lights on the tree and the stockings from the mantel. Finding the exact decorations to create the festive feeling you want can be challenging, though. One alternative is to create your own custom Christmas decorations from wood for your home and yard.

Wooden Letters

Unfinished wooden letters are ideal for personalized, custom Christmas decorations. Purchase letters to spell out holiday words or phrases, and decorate them with paint, decoupage or other embellishments. Your letters can be as detailed or simple as you want. For example, covering a letter entirely with glitter creates a dramatic and festive decoration. Choose large letters -- 12 inches high or larger -- to spell out a short word such as "Joy" or "Noel" to hang on a wall or smaller letters to adorn shelves and tables with larger phrases, like "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays."

Wood Pieces

Many hobby and craft stores sell customizable unfinished wood pieces for holiday decor. Look for wooden pieces shaped like sleds, stockings, Christmas trees and other holiday motifs. Paint the pieces and embellish with glitter, greenery or rub-on transfers. Hang your decorated wooden pieces on walls or the front door, or use them to decorate shelves and tables. Decorate other wooden pieces, such as boxes or containers, with holiday motifs to hold Christmas cards, cookies or other holiday treats.

Advent Calendars

Wooden advent calendars help your family count down the days until Christmas while adding interest to your holiday decor, and you have multiple options for creating a custom advent calendar. For example, purchase small wooden boxes and paint and decorate them with numbers 1 through 25. Fill each box with treats or small gifts to mark the days. Alternatively, create a custom advent calendar to hang on the wall. Cut a piece of plywood or medium density fiberboard to about 12 inches by 12 inches. Sand the rough edges and surface and paint the board. Add the numbers 1 through 25 around the board, either in order or in a random pattern that fits your design. Add a small hook to each number. Paint a small scrap of wood, approximately 1 inch square, to coordinate with the calendar, and add a small piece of wire or a hanger on the back of the wood. Each day as you count down to Christmas, move the marker piece to the appropriate day.

Outdoor Decorations

Wooden crafts can adorn your yard as well. Purchase a large sheet of plywood and cut it into a holiday shape using a jig or scroll saw. Sketch your design on the board before cutting, and sand the surface and rough edges before painting the decorations. Use a primer to prepare the surface, and paint them as desired. Seal your finished decorations with a weatherproof sealant to protect them from the elements and arrange in your yard to spread holiday cheer.

References

• Holiday Christmas Tree: Wood Patterns for Christmas Decorations -- Ideas
• Creative Homemaking: Making and Using an Advent Calendar