1. Winter Scene in a Mason Jar

2. Snowy Jar Candle Holders

Snowy jar candle holders and ornaments are the perfect Christmas DIY and craft. They are also a great way to upcycle unused jars.

3. Christmas Floating Candles

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Try these easy candles for Mason jar crafts you can make in bulk for gift-giving. Wrap the jar with wide plaid ribbon and secure with three jute strings tied in a bow. Hot-glue a pinecone and artificial greenery to the bow. To add a finishing touch to this easy Christmas craft, wood-burn a snowflake or polka-dots onto four wooden beads and thread onto four string ends. Place a tall, slender pillar candle in the jar.

5. Winter Wonderland Centerpieces

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Use bottles and jars as flower vases to make elegant centerpieces…

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you’ve heard of Christmas lights before, but have you ever heard of Christmas lights in a wine bottle? Find this clever craft and many other glass bottle ideas below. We have plenty of fun recycled craft ideas that you and the kids can make together.

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It can feel challenging to gather fresh inspiration year after year, so we’ve rounded up the best Christmas mantel decor ideas — everything from garlands, string lights and stockings to entire Christmas villages and DIY advent calendars.

Start scrolling to find your favorites!

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Winter Wonderland

Snowflakes, mini Christmas trees, pinecones, birch wood — this mantel is full of nature-inspired decor. The best part: this look could carry you through winter, just take down the Christmas stockings.

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Citrus Garland

Don’t feel guilty if traditional Christmas decorations aren’t your style. Spruce up your mantel with dried citrus garland, which can stay on all winter long.

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Village Scene

If you’ve always been obsessed with the Christmas village scenes you’ve seen in movies, bring a dose of that charm right into your living room with mini houses in different sizes and colors.

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Cozy With Candles

For a warm winter feel, create a monochromatic display of candles with various heights and sizes. Layer in sprigs of greenery and neutral stockings with rustic ribbons.

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Red Stockings

Secure a garland to your mantel with adhesive hooks, and warm up the space with bright red stockings. Tip: dress up store-bought stockings by gluing ball fringe or ribbon.

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1. Chocolate and Peppermint

Peppermint bark. Peppermint hot cocoa. Mint chocolate chip ice cream. If there’s a better combination than chocolate and peppermint, I’ve never found it. When you use this mint chocolate cookie dough recipe as the base for this year’s gingerbread house, you’ll finally understand the whole Hansel and Gretel story.

2. Sugar Cookies

At my house, it just isn’t Christmas until we roll out my great grandma’s cut-out cookies. The recipe famously calls for “between 2 and 12 cups of flour, or until the dough looks right,” and I almost broke my stand mixer trying to recreate it one year. Don’t be like me: Use this Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen-approved recipe for (almost) guaranteed success.

3. Sticky Toffee Pudding

Don’t bring me the figgy pudding — sticky toffee is the real star at my table. This British export consists of a warm, moist date cake drizzled with a decadent toffee-pecan sauce and topped with a sizeable dollop of fresh whipped cream. Take a page out of Charles Dickens’ book and add this to your dessert table.

4. Brie Cheese

Baked brie is creamy, gooey, a little funky and tastes great when spread on tiny toasts with apples and pomegranate seeds. At my house, I have to beat my younger brother to the brie wheel or I won’t get any for myself. This simple, festive tart made with the star of the cheese tray will really up the ante on your app spread.

5. Gingerbread

The slightly sweet, spice-studded flavor of gingerbread tastes like the platonic ideal of the holiday season. But to me, biting the head off a man-shaped cookie is a little dark for the most wonderful time of the year. These gingerbread wands are both easier than rolling and cutting and less cannibalistic. You can also use this recipe for the classic shape cookie, for the traditionalists in the crowd.

6. Roast Beef Tenderloin

At the end of The Grinch, the title character carves a many-limbed “roast beast” as the guest of honor. My mouth starts to salivate every time I watch him passing that platter. If you’re also a meat-eater, there’s just no better dish for a big holiday feast than a showstopper of a roast.

7. Chocolate Bark

Chocolate bark looks fancy but truly couldn’t be easier. That’s my kind of treat: Maximum reward, minimal effort. You can’t go wrong with the peppermint classic (see above), but switching it up with different chocolate flavors and your favorite mix-ins gives it a fun personalized element. It also makes a personal, affordable gift.

8. Sweet Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are tasty and all, but mashed sweet potatoes? That’s my carb go-to, every time. They’ve got the creamy goodness of the traditional mash, with about a hundred times more flavor. Add a little rosemary and sprinkle the whole shebang with roasted pecans and watch your guests scrape the bowl clean.

9. Gingerbread Men

I love a gingerbread cookie, and we already know chocolate wins my heart. What I do not love is fiddly decoration. These mocha men solve that problem because they need nary a sprinkle; just a quick dunk in melted chocolate makes them ready for the ‘gram (not to mention your belly).

10. Baked Ham

We love the way this glazed ham looks and the easy steps it takes to cook. Glaze your ham with (yes!) root beer and serve this main with zero fear. I really like this Christmas ham, but not as much as I like yams.

11. Stuffing

I wait all year for stuffing season, but it wasn’t until I began making my own that I really fell in love with it. Ditch the box and tear your own bread, chop some veggies, toss some fresh herbs in there and you’ll see what I mean. Some years, I’m tempted to skip the turkey altogether and fill up on this classic side.

12. Turkey and Gravy

Many households swear by ham, lamb or another protein for Christmas dinner since it follows Thanksgiving so closely. But I still love a turkey centerpiece. Others (like my husband) consider the majestic bird too boring. If your turkey is bland, try this simple recipe that will make your kitchen smell amazing.

13. Thumbprint Cookies

As a kid, I couldn’t understand why my mom always resisted making thumbprint cookies. Rolling dough between your hands, sticking your thumb right in the center, dusting with powdered sugar – it made the best mess. Now that I have to clean my own kitchen, I understand why she didn’t want to still keep digging sugar out of the countertop grout a week later. They’re not in my top five cookie choices, but still worth the effort.

14. Cranberry Sauce

In the cranberry category, nothing beats homemade. If your family serves cranberry sauce at Christmas as well as Thanksgiving, level up for the second round with this tonsil-tingling orange-apricot cranberry compote. Or just go for the homemade version both times. It’s that much better and it doubles as a glorious kitchen aromatic.

15. Roasted Carrots

Even during the holiday season, you really shouldn’t eat candy all day long. That’s where these slightly spicy, slightly sweet roasted carrots come in. They pair beautifully with your holiday main and even the kids won’t be grinches about eating their veggies.

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1. Ornament Storage

If you find yourself constantly buying new ornaments because last year’s are now broken, save yourself some money in the long run by getting an organizer.

2. Egg Carton Storage

Short on cash or just don’t want to allocate money towards organizers? No worries, you’ve got all the organizers you need in your fridge! Take your empty egg cartons and place your ornaments inside of them. Just make sure they’re clean first!

3. Lights Storage

To make sure your lights don’t break by getting all tangled up before the next holiday season, just wrap them around a box and you’re good to go.

4. Cookie Cutter Pancakes

Make breakfast fun for the family by using your Christmas cookie cutters to make the cutest pancakes ever.

5. Cranberry Ice Cubes

Keep your guests’ water cold and flavorful by using frozen cranberries at dinner.

6. Stovetop Potpourri

Make your home smell amazing the natural way this year; no toxic chemicals are wanted!

7. Crack Nuts with Hand Tools

The holiday season can bring out varieties of nuts for guests to enjoy but what if you don’t have a nutcracker around? Hand tools can help crack nuts. We suggest some pliers to get the job done.

8. Holiday Light Hangers

Instead of poking nails into aluminum soffits and fascia when you’re hanging holiday lights, clip the wires to the bottom lip of the fascia with clothespins.

9. Illuminated Holiday Jars

Create illuminating holiday jars with cranberries, greenery and floating candles. Place the greenery (we trimmed ours from a bush outside) followed by fresh cranberries in a jar. Fill the jar with water allowing the cranberries and greenery to float. Add a floating candle to the top, and voila–you have a simple and inexpensive centerpiece to add color and light to your holiday table.

10. Easy-Clip Tree Ornaments

The wire hooks that come with Christmas tree ornaments can be hard to use and can scratch the ornaments. Instead of wire hangers, use plastic-coated paper clips to hang your ornaments. The paper clips are stronger and easy to use, and best of all, they won’t scratch the ornaments, so you can leave them attached when you pack the ornaments away at the end of each season.

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13 Handmade and DIY Christmas Gift Ideas.

1. Festive Soy Candles

This may be these easiest candle recipe because they’re made right in your slow cooker! No messy clean up required. Some peppermint striped twine and fresh pine will make these candles the perfect handmade Christmas gift for your friends and family.

2. Holiday Cookie Box

Constellation Inspiration does a homemade Christmas cookie box every year and they are always beautiful and filled to the brim with yummy cookie recipes.

3. Sugar Cookie Sack

They are classic and beautiful and the perfect, DIY Christmas gift. Your loved ones will enjoy being able to make their own cookies!

4. Dried Stove Top Potpourri

Stove top potpourri is such an easy and natural way to get your home smelling cozy for the holidays.

5. Mulling Spices

These mulling spices can be used for so many different things including spiced apple cider, potpourri, coffee, tea, and more; they are a great DIY Christmas gift.

6. Milk Bath

The holidays can be hectic and stressful, so your loved ones will appreciate the opportunity to relax afterwards

7. Honey Mint Lip Balm

Honey Mint Lip Balm are the perfect gift to throw in all your stockings this year or to add along with any of the other gifts here.

8. Handmade Christmas Gift Basket

You can go all out this year and gift your loved ones a whole basket of handmade goodies.

9. DIY Painted Mug

Make this cute as can be, DIY Painted Mug for someone this year. Be sure to give them some hot cocoa mix and marshmallows to go along with it!

10. DIY Flower Infused Milk Soap

How beautiful is this flower infused milk soap! It would be hard to use it, its too pretty. All of your lady friends would love a bar of this soap this Christmas.

11. Nourishing Body Butter Recipe

who doesn’t love a good body butter in the winter months?! I don’t know about you, but my skin gets SO dry in the winter.

12. Flavored Salts

Make these homemade, flavored salts for all of the cooks in your family. There’s a salt for any kind of dish, they’ll be dying to get in the kitchen to use these.

13. Terrarium Kit

Do you have a someone who has a green thumb in your family? They’ll love having something to grow and enjoy even after the holidays.

What handmade gifts are you going to make this year?! Happy gift giving!

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8 Alternative DIY Christmas Tree Ideas

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Use Green Garlands to create a Christmas tree on the wall.

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Just using string lights can easily create a beautiful Christmas tree. You can add Christmas balls, snowflakes and stars like a traditional Christmas tree.

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Create your own alternative tree using artificial pine branches needles tied together.

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This Christmas ball arrangement also makes a beautiful one worth trying.

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Use existing tree branches, you will be surprised with the results!

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Use this arrangement of string lights and a bright Christmas tree will appear.

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The best DIY Christmas tree ideas work indoors or out, on a tabletop, or in a child’s bedroom. Because some of them double as holiday crafts, they can also be a great way to get the whole family involved in a seasonal quality-time activity.

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