Natural Christmas Decorations You Can Make at Home: 15 Simple Ideas

There is something about making Christmas decorations from the things we already have — or can gather outside — that I come back to year after year.

Dried oranges on the kitchen table. A basket of greenery brought in from the garden. Pinecones gathered on a walk. Cinnamon sticks tied with string. A few branches tucked along the mantel.

None of it needs to be particularly complicated.

In fact, I think that’s part of the appeal.

Christmas decorating can so easily become another invitation to buy more. Every year brings a new colour, a new trend and a new collection of things we’re apparently supposed to need before the house can feel festive.

But some of the Christmas decorations I love most are the simplest ones.

Things made from paper, fruit, greenery, twigs and things we’ve gathered outside.

Things made slowly at the kitchen table.

Things that aren’t perfectly symmetrical.

Things we can compost, reuse or simply make again next year.

So I’ve gathered together 15 natural Christmas decorations you can make at home, from dried orange garlands and old-fashioned pomanders to simple greenery, salt-dough ornaments and little twig stars.

You don’t need to make all fifteen.

Choose one that appeals to you, put the kettle on and make an afternoon of it.

1. Dried Orange Slices

If I were choosing just one natural Christmas decoration to make, it would probably be dried orange slices.

They’re inexpensive, beautifully simple and incredibly versatile.

Use them individually as tree decorations, thread them onto garlands, add them to wreaths, tie them onto gifts or simply pile a few into a bowl with pinecones and cinnamon sticks.

To make them, slice oranges fairly thinly and evenly, pat away some of the excess juice and arrange them in a single layer on a lined baking tray.

Dry them slowly in a low oven, turning occasionally, until the moisture has gone and the slices have taken on that lovely translucent, stained-glass appearance.

They’ll darken slightly as they dry, which is part of their charm.

RELATED: How to Make Dried Orange Slices – Your Step-by-Step Guide

And if you prefer using your air fryer, I have a separate guide for that too.

RELATED: How to Make Dried Orange Slices in an Air Fryer

2. Dried Orange & Popcorn Garlands

Once you have your dried orange slices, turn some of them into a simple garland.

Popcorn garlands have such an old-fashioned Christmas feel, and combining the creamy white popcorn with dried oranges makes them particularly pretty.

Thread popped corn carefully onto strong cotton or thread using a needle, adding dried orange slices at intervals.

You could also add cinnamon sticks, wooden beads or small pieces of greenery.

Drape the finished garland over a mantel, along a dresser or across the branches of the Christmas tree.

Don’t worry about getting the spacing perfect.

A little unevenness makes it look handmade rather than manufactured — which is rather the point.

RELATED: How to Make Dried Orange Slices in an Air Fryer and use them for popcorn garlands

3. Orange & Clove Pomanders

These might be one of the easiest Christmas crafts on the entire list.

Take a fresh orange and press whole cloves into the skin.

That’s essentially it.

You can cover the orange completely, create stripes and spirals or keep the pattern very simple. If pushing the cloves through the peel is difficult, make the holes first with a cocktail stick or skewer.

Pile several finished pomanders into a bowl, add a little greenery and perhaps some cinnamon sticks, and you have a beautiful natural Christmas decoration that smells wonderful too.

They also make lovely small handmade gifts.

RELATED: How to Make Orange & Clove Pomanders

4. A Simple Foraged Greenery Wreath

A Christmas wreath doesn’t need to be enormous or professionally arranged.

Start with a simple wreath base and use whatever suitable evergreen foliage you can gather locally or clip from your own garden.

Ivy, fir, pine and holly can all work beautifully.

Create small bundles of greenery and attach them around the base, overlapping each bundle so that the stems are hidden.

Then stop before you think you need to.

That is often my best decorating advice. 😂

A simple green wreath tied with velvet ribbon or natural twine can be far more beautiful than one covered with decorations.

A little note: only gather greenery where you have permission, and be sure you know what you’re handling before bringing unfamiliar plants or berries into the house. Keep potentially harmful plants and berries away from children and pets.

5. Cinnamon Stick Bundles

This is barely a craft, which makes it particularly appealing.

Take two or three cinnamon sticks, tie them together with twine or ribbon and tuck in a tiny piece of greenery.

Use the bundles as tree decorations, attach them to gifts or place one at each place setting on the Christmas table.

You can also combine cinnamon sticks with dried orange slices for simple hanging decorations.

They’re small, inexpensive and easy enough to make while you’re sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea.

Sometimes that’s exactly the level of Christmas crafting I want.

6. Pinecone Decorations

Pinecones are one of the loveliest free Christmas decorating materials.

Gather them on autumn and winter walks and allow them to dry thoroughly before bringing them into your decorations.

Tie twine or ribbon around the top and hang them individually from the tree.

Group several together with greenery.

Add them to wreaths and garlands.

Pile them into a bowl.

Or add just a tiny amount of white paint to the tips if you like the look of a little winter frost.

They don’t need glitter, spray paint or elaborate embellishment.

A pinecone already knows perfectly well how to look Christmassy.

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Make Something for Christmas: Our Free Christmas Crafts Companion

If you enjoy making a few things by hand at Christmas, I’ve created a free Christmas Crafts Companion as part of our Christmas Printable Library.

It’s designed for exactly this sort of afternoon — a little festive creativity without turning December into an enormous craft project.

The companion gathers Christmas craft inspiration and simple seasonal projects in one place, with beautifully illustrated pages you can print at home and keep in your Christmas binder.

Free Christmas Crafts Companion

A little collection of festive craft ideas, handmade decorations and simple seasonal projects to enjoy at home this Christmas.

Download the Free Christmas Crafts Companion

You’ll find it inside my complete Christmas Companion Library, alongside free collections for Christmas decorating, baking, traditions, family activities, Advent, Christmas Eve and more.

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7. Salt-Dough Christmas Ornaments

Salt dough is one of those crafts that works at almost any age.

Mix a simple dough from flour, salt and water, roll it out and cut it into shapes with cookie cutters.

Stars, hearts, trees and little houses all work beautifully.

Remember to make a hole for hanging before drying or baking them.

Once completely dry, leave them natural or decorate them.

You can stamp patterns into the dough before drying too — try using leaves, evergreen sprigs, lace or the end of a wooden spoon to create texture.

And although we tend to associate salt dough with young children, there’s no reason it can’t become a lovely, simple craft with teenagers too.

A collection of plain white or natural salt-dough stars tied with velvet ribbon can look surprisingly grown-up.

Safety note: salt dough is for decoration rather than eating, and its high salt content can be particularly dangerous for pets if swallowed. Keep finished ornaments and unused dough safely out of reach.

Easy Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments
Salt dough ornaments are one of the simplest homemade Christmas decorations to make, and they work beautifully with a natural decorating style. Leave them plain, stamp them with greenery or decorate them once completely dry.

You’ll need:
250g plain flour
125g fine table salt
125ml warm water, approximately
A little extra flour for rolling

Method:
Mix the flour and salt thoroughly in a large bowl.
Add the warm water gradually, mixing as you go. You may not need every drop — stop when the mixture comes together into a firm dough.
Knead for about 5 minutes, until smooth. If it feels sticky, add a little flour; if it’s crumbly, add water one teaspoon at a time.
Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 5mm thick. Avoid rolling it too thin, as the ornaments can become fragile.
Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Stars, hearts, trees and simple circles work particularly well.
Make a hanging hole near the top of each ornament using a drinking straw. Make it slightly larger than you think you’ll need, as the hole can tighten a little during drying.
Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
Bake at 100°C fan / 120°C conventional
for approximately 2–3 hours, turning them over halfway through. You’re drying rather than baking them, so low and slow is best.
Switch off the oven and, if convenient, leave the ornaments inside as it cools. Allow them to become completely cold and dry before decorating or hanging.

To decorate: Keep them beautifully simple with natural twine or ribbon, press sprigs of rosemary or evergreen gently into the dough before baking to create botanical impressions, use alphabet stamps for names, or paint the dried ornaments with a little acrylic paint.

A few tips for reliable salt dough:
Use fine salt rather than coarse salt for a smoother dough, don’t increase the oven temperature to speed things up as this can cause puffing or cracking, and make sure the ornaments are completely dry before storing them. If they still feel slightly soft underneath, return them to the oven for another 30–60 minutes at the same low temperature.

Storage: Once completely dry, keep them somewhere cool and dry between Christmases. Wrapping them individually in tissue paper and storing them in a sealed box helps protect them from moisture.
Optional lovely little addition for the post: For a particularly pretty natural look, press a small piece of fir, rosemary, cedar or a dried leaf into the rolled dough, remove it carefully to leave the imprint, and then cut the ornament around it. No painting needed — just add velvet ribbon or simple twine once dry.

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8. Twig Stars

This is another beautifully simple one.

Collect several small, fairly straight twigs and trim them to roughly equal lengths.

Arrange five into a star shape and secure the points with twine, thin wire or glue.

Leave the stars completely bare or add a tiny piece of evergreen, ribbon or dried orange.

Make small ones for the tree or larger versions for a wall, window or front door.

They’re particularly lovely when they look slightly imperfect.

You want made from twigs in the garden, not mass-produced Christmas geometry. 😂

9. Natural Dried-Leaf Ornaments

Don’t be too quick to leave autumn entirely behind once Christmas arrives.

Pressed or dried leaves can make beautiful Christmas decorations, particularly if you have oak, beech or other leaves that retain an interesting shape as they dry.

Use them individually with ribbon or twine, layer them into stars or small wreaths, or combine them with dried oranges and cinnamon.

You can also use a little paint around the edges if you’d like something more decorative while still allowing the natural texture of the leaf to show through.

It’s a lovely way of letting one season gently carry into the next.

10. Star Anise Decorations

Star anise is almost unfairly well designed for Christmas.

It already looks like a tiny wooden star.

Tie individual pieces with fine thread for very simple tree decorations, or group several together to create a larger ornament.

They also look beautiful attached to gift wrapping or combined with dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks.

A few scattered among greenery on a Christmas table add texture without making the table feel over-decorated.

And, of course, they bring another layer of that lovely warm Christmas scent into the house.

11. Clove-Studded Apples

If you like making orange pomanders, try the same idea with apples.

Press whole cloves into the skin in simple patterns and arrange the finished apples in a bowl with evergreen sprigs, pinecones or dried oranges.

The deep reds and greens can look particularly lovely together.

This is the kind of Christmas decoration I like on a kitchen dresser or table because it feels seasonal without looking as though the entire Christmas-decoration box has exploded across the room.

Again, keep decorated fruit and any loose cloves somewhere sensible if you have pets or very young children around.

12. A Simple Evergreen Table Garland

You don’t necessarily need to buy a Christmas centrepiece.

A few lengths of fresh greenery laid loosely along the centre of the table can be enough.

Add pinecones.

A few dried orange slices.

Perhaps some berries if you’re certain they’re suitable for your household.

Then weave candles or little jars of lights between the greenery.

Keep everything low enough that people can actually see each other across the table.

And keep fresh or dried plant material safely away from naked flames — battery candles are an easy option if you’re using lots of greenery.

The nicest Christmas table is still one where everybody can relax, pass the potatoes and have a conversation.

13. Dried Orange & Clove Hanging Decorations

This combines two of my favourite natural Christmas materials.

Use a dried orange slice as the base, then decorate it with cloves, ribbon, twine, cinnamon or a little evergreen.

Hang them from the tree, use them in windows or attach them to gifts.

They’re easy to make in batches, which makes this a lovely project for a quiet December afternoon.

RELATED: How to Make Dried Orange & Clove Christmas Decorations

14. Simple Natural Gift Toppers

Some of the prettiest natural Christmas decorations don’t actually go on the tree.

Use leftover pieces from your Christmas making to decorate gifts.

A dried orange slice.

A small pinecone.

A cinnamon stick.

A sprig of suitable greenery.

A little star anise.

Wrap gifts in plain brown paper or paper you already have, tie with string or ribbon and add one natural element.

The wrapping becomes part of the Christmas decoration while it’s sitting beneath the tree.

And you haven’t had to buy an enormous pack of plastic bows that will spend the next eight years migrating around the Christmas cupboard.

15. Little Winter Jars

Save a few small glass jars and create tiny winter scenes.

Add a little moss, pinecones, evergreen cuttings or dried natural materials and arrange them inside.

You could add a small wooden house or decoration you already own, but you don’t need to.

A little greenery and pinecone inside a simple jar can be lovely on its own.

Group several along a windowsill or dresser, or use them down the centre of a Christmas table.

If you’re making these with children, let them create their own tiny winter worlds.

There are no decorating rules.

Natural Christmas Decorating Doesn’t Mean Decorating Everything

One of the reasons I like natural Christmas decorations is that they tend to encourage a lighter hand.

A little greenery over a picture.

A bowl of oranges and cloves.

A dried-orange garland.

A few branches on the dresser.

A wreath on the door.

It can be enough.

I don’t want every corner of our home to become a Christmas display.

I still want to see the things we live with all year.

The blue-and-white pottery.

The books and lamps.

The slightly battered pieces we’ve had forever.

Christmas can simply settle in among them for a while.

Use What You Already Have

Before buying supplies for any of these projects, have a look around.

You may already have ribbon saved from last Christmas.

A roll of twine.

Old jars.

Cookie cutters.

Brown paper.

A basket of pinecones.

Cinnamon at the back of the cupboard.

Greenery in the garden.

The point of natural Christmas decorating isn’t to replace one shopping list with a more aesthetically pleasing shopping list.

It’s partly about seeing what is already available to us differently.

A branch becomes a decoration.

An orange becomes an ornament.

A jam jar becomes a lantern.

A walk becomes an opportunity to gather a few pinecones.

That’s where much of the pleasure is.

Make the Decorating Part of Christmas

There is another reason I like making some of our Christmas decorations.

It gives us something to do in December.

Not another task.

Something slower.

There is a difference.

Sitting at the kitchen table threading oranges onto string is very different from rushing through a shopping centre looking for another box of decorations.

You can put some music on.

Make tea.

Let somebody join you.

Talk.

Or don’t talk.

Make one thing and leave the rest for another day.

The finished decoration is lovely.

But the hour spent making it counts too.

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If You’d Like a Slower Christmas Too

The making and decorating side of Christmas fits naturally into something I’ve been thinking about more and more over the years: how to enjoy the season without constantly racing ahead of it.

If that’s something you’re craving too, you might enjoy my free Slow Christmas Companion.

It’s a separate printable collection filled with gentle inspiration and reflections for slowing down and enjoying the Christmas you’re actually living, rather than trying to squeeze everything possible into December.

Explore the Free Slow Christmas Companion

A Few Practical Notes About Decorating With Natural Materials

Natural doesn’t automatically mean risk-free, so use a little common sense when bringing things indoors.

Make sure anything you’ve gathered is clean and dry before using it.

Only forage where you have permission and avoid gathering plants you can’t confidently identify.

Keep berries, dried fruit, salt dough and other tempting decorations away from pets and very young children where necessary.

And keep dried greenery, twigs, paper, ribbon and other flammable materials well away from candles, fireplaces and other heat sources.

Battery-operated candles can be particularly useful when you’re decorating with lots of natural materials.

Most of all, adapt everything to suit your own home.

More Handmade & Natural Christmas Ideas

If you’d like to keep making, decorating and enjoying a simpler Christmas, you might also like:

Those first four are already surfaced together in your Christmas Companion Library, so we’re strengthening an existing natural-Christmas cluster rather than manufacturing one from scratch.

Before You Go…

You don’t need to make fifteen natural Christmas decorations.

You don’t need to transform your home into some beautifully restrained Scandinavian Christmas cottage either.

Make one thing if you fancy it.

Dry some oranges.

Gather a little greenery.

Tie cinnamon sticks onto gifts.

Bring home three pinecones from a walk because you like them.

Christmas decorating doesn’t have to be another performance.

Sometimes it’s simply bringing a little of the season indoors.

A branch from the garden.

The scent of orange and cloves.

A star made from twigs.

Something slightly wonky made at the kitchen table.

And perhaps that’s why handmade Christmas decorations can feel so lovely.

They don’t just show us Christmas.

They remind us that we were actually there for some of it.

Chat soon,

Ciara x

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Explore the Christmas Collection Further

If you’ve enjoyed this printable, I’d love to invite you to explore the rest of our growing Christmas Companion Library. Each beautifully illustrated collection has been thoughtfully designed to help you create a calmer, more organised and more meaningful festive season. Whether you’re planning Christmas, preparing festive meals, embracing Advent, slowing down to savour the season or making magical family memories, there’s a companion waiting for you.

Explore the collection: Christmas Printables Hub, Free Christmas Planner Companion, Christmas Kitchen Companion, Christmas Eve Companion, Christmas Bucket List Companion, Slow Christmas Companion and Advent Companion

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