Make your own multi-denominational ornaments
Salt dough ornaments:
These are definitely the go-to DIY holiday decoration, and salt dough really is a wonderful thing. It costs pennies to make, but it makes really classy and expensive looking ornaments when you use it correctly. You can roll the dough very thinly and use cookie cutters to shape, or build, the dough up into three-dimensional decorations. Of course, the best part about salt dough is that it can be shaped into an ornament for any holiday or any season.
You’ll need:
4 c. flour
1 c. salt
1 ½ c. warm water
Rolling pin
Cookie cutters (optional; for shaping ornaments)
Paint (optional; for decorating)
Preheat your oven to 325*F.
Mix the flour and salt together; then, gradually add the water, stirring to combine. Finish the mixing of this dough with hands, kneading until soft and pliable.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut or build shapes for the ornaments, using a toothpick or pen to make a hole at the top of the ornament. Bake the ornaments until hard. This should take approximately one hour for cookie-cutter ornaments or two hours for three-dimensional ornaments.
Decorate to your heart’s desire!
Other options:
If you don’t have the patience or desire to bake your own ornaments, here are a few other (faster) options!
You can quickly and economically customize ornaments from the dollar store with metallic or colourful permanent markers. Many stores sell packages of ten or so, plain decorative balls for a dollar or two, and you can easily decorate these however you please.
You can also make a quick pom-pom garland using only yarn, scissors, and your fingers. Depending on the size of pom-pom you’d like, wrap yarn around two or four fingers approximately 100 times. Cut the yarn and tie to secure. Then, use an additional piece of yarn to tie the 100 wraps in the middle as tightly as possible. Finally, slip the yarn off your fingers and cut each end of the loop, fluffing out the pom-pom as you go. Repeat this process until you have as many pom-poms as you’d like, and then string them together.
If your place is too small for a three-dimensional Christmas tree, Hanukah bush, or other decorations, you can make two-dimensional versions out of paint chips. Head to the nearest hardware store to stock up on chips in various holiday hues; then, simply cut the paint chips into branch or ornament shapes, and stick them on your wall to create a holiday atmosphere that doesn’t take up space. Painter’s tape is great to use for this, as it won’t chip or scratch the paint on your walls.