DIY New Year's toys: 45 ideas for beautiful and original decorations

Very soon the pre-New Year bustle will begin, preparing for the festive fun, buying gifts, decorating Christmas trees and houses. Let's talk about how you can decorate a Christmas tree at home, in kindergarten and at school, and outside in the yard with your own hands. After all, from everything that is at hand, you can come up with and make amazing things on your own, including New Year’s decorations for the main beauty of the holiday.

In this article we will look at DIY Christmas tree decorations from scrap materials with detailed descriptions and photographs. We invite you to get creative and feel the spirit of the holiday now. Involve children in the process; they will be incredibly happy to make Christmas tree decorations together with their parents, and then hang them on the tree.

This time, let's not spend money on buying expensive Christmas tree decorations or materials for making them ourselves, let's use everything that can usually be found at home.

Let's use a little imagination and as a result we will get amazing, exclusive and incredibly beautiful Christmas tree decorations.

New life for old light bulbs

Surely many people have light bulbs at home, ordinary incandescent lamps, that have already burned out and are not used. They can be of any size and shape. They can be used to create amazing Christmas tree decorations. We decorate these light bulbs with paints, sparkles, fabric, turning them into icicles, balls or interesting characters: Santa Claus, penguins, dogs, gnomes, or anyone else.

Toys made from old light bulbs

Let's take a step-by-step look at how to create an interesting Christmas tree decoration with your own hands from scrap materials using a light bulb. This will be a funny snowman.

Let's prepare everything you need:

1. Bulb. You can take more than one.
2. A little fabric, whatever you have for the cap.
3. Braid (for the loop for which we will hang the toy on the Christmas tree).
4. Paints. It is better to use acrylic, but gouache will also work.
5. Brushes.
6. Glue. You can use a second or thermal gun.

Let's start the creative process:

1. Paint the light bulb white and let it dry completely.
2. Let's paint the snowman's face and hands with mittens. The muzzle can be made completely primitive or whatever you want. You can draw a snowman and a broom into handles and buttons on clothes.
3. Now the cap. We cut out a small rectangle from the fabric, fold it in half and sew it together, tie the top with a ribbon and a bow. We put the cap on the snowman light bulb and glue it carefully.
4. He attaches a ribbon for hanging toys.

That's it, the snowman is ready. Using this principle, you can make any toy - an animal from simple light bulbs.

Light bulb snowman

Moreover, you can simply decorate the light bulbs beautifully and attach a ribbon to them and send them to the Christmas tree. For example, a light bulb can be coated with PVA glue and thoroughly dipped in small glitter or any cereal, and then painted over with gold paint. Here are some simple and original DIY Christmas tree decorations for you.

DIY Christmas tree toys made of felt

Korean felt is well suited for sewing Christmas tree decorations. This is the most durable material, it does not stretch or roll, maintaining its shape and beautiful appearance. If there are kids in the house, then soft Christmas tree toys are the best option.

So, what materials are needed for the work:

• small scraps of multi-colored felt;
• scissors and needle, acrylic threads;
• holofiber for filling;
• ribbons for making loops;
• decorations: sequins, snowflakes, beads.

To get started, take a template and enlarge it to the desired size. If you have plastic or metal cookie cutters at home, you can easily use them to cut out different shapes. Attach the pattern to a piece of felt and cut out two identical pieces. Using acrylic threads, connect the two parts using a loop stitch.

Leave a small hole through which you fill the toy with holofiber, and then sew it up. Attach a loop of narrow satin ribbon on top. Decorate the toy with embroidery, snowflakes, beads, felt leaves, beads and sequins.

We use any thread for toys

Christmas tree decorations can be created from simple knitting or sewing threads. Don't be afraid, you won't have to sew or knit here. Everything is much simpler! Let's see what you can make from thread for a Christmas tree.

Option 1 – elegant, multi-colored, openwork balls made of threads

What you need for work:

1. Any thread, any colors.
2. PVA glue.
3. Air balloons.
4. Braid for loops.
5. Any decorations for decorating balls: rhinestones, sequins, artificial spruce branches, flowers made of fabric or plastic, in general, everything you can find at home.

DIY toy

Let's start creating balls:

1. First, let's make the base - the balls themselves. To do this, we inflate balloons of the required diameter. These can be very small balls or larger ones, for a street Christmas tree or for a school Christmas tree.
2. Wrap the inflated ball with regular plastic wrap. We pierce a tube of PVA glue and pass a thread through it. Now we simply wrap the inflated balloons randomly with glue and thread. We wrap it so that the threads cover the entire surface of the balls. We break the thread, hide the tip under any thread and coat the ball with glue again.
3. Let the balls dry overnight.
4. Now we burst the inflated balloons and take them out. We made filament openwork balls for the Christmas tree.
5. We tie a loop of braid to them and decorate them to your taste.
6. Such balls can be made in unlimited quantities and of different sizes and colors.

Do-it-yourself openwork ball of thread

cotton wool

This material is very easy to get at the pharmacy. You can even find colored rolls dyed with aniline dye.

The simplest version of a cotton wool toy is a snowman. We roll three balls of different sizes, cover them with a thin layer of PVA glue using a brush (if desired, you can mix it with small glitter) and fasten them together with two toothpicks.

We bend a loop from the wire and strengthen it at the base of the snowman's head - a thread will eventually be tied through it. The carrot nose is made according to the same principle as the body, only you need to mix orange watercolor paint into the glue without sparing it.

When the glue is completely dry, you can continue working. You can tie a scarf made of fabric or satin ribbon around your neck. Eyes and buttons are made of black beads or beads. If you don't have them, you can use a simple black gel pen or felt-tip pen. Small twigs or thin black wire are suitable for handles.

For toys with a more complex shape, the process changes slightly - a wire frame appears. Cotton wool lightly moistened with PVA glue is wound over it and individual parts of the body are sculpted in parallel.

The face is sculpted separately - you need to make the eye sockets, nose, mouth and ears in advance. Later they will be drawn more accurately. We string the head on top of the figure and combine it, smoothing out the joints. After the figure is formed, we send it to dry for 10-15 minutes in a preheated oven, then simply on a radiator or in a warm place.

Then we paint with watercolors and finish the small details - it is better to paint them with acrylic paints rather than watercolors, so they will be more expressive and clear.

Photos of cotton wool toys:

Master class on video:

Option 2 – openwork stars and Christmas trees made of threads

You can make such DIY Christmas tree toys from scrap materials for children or together with them, using the instructions in the photo below and the description. The photo shows how to make a star. But using this principle, you can make a Christmas tree or any other figures.

DIY Christmas tree toys

Let's prepare everything you need for work:

1. Knitting threads of any color.
2. PVA glue.
3. A small bowl where you pour glue and soak the threads.
4. Foam base for work. You can use a disposable food tray.
5. Pins or simple matches.

We begin the process of creating an openwork star from threads:

1. Pour PVA glue into a bowl and soak the threads there.
2. We prick the shape of the toy on a foam base. In this case it is an asterisk.
3. First, we form the outline of the toy using pinned matches (or pins) by wrapping them with thread from a bowl.
4. Now we fill the middle of the figure with thread, laying it chaotically, making fancy curls.
5. Afterwards, you can blot the figurine with a sponge and glue again and leave it to dry overnight.
6. When our toy has dried, we tie a loop to it and hang it on the tree.

Openwork star made of threads

Beautiful snowflake made of cardboard

You don't need to buy expensive craft materials to make an original Christmas tree decoration. Every home has rolls of toilet paper or paper towels. And from the cardboard sleeves that are inside each roll, it is easy to make a beautiful snowflake for the New Year tree.

In addition to cardboard sleeves, you will need materials and tools:

• acrylic paints or spray paint;
• glue gun or PVA and brush;
• pencil and ruler;
• glitter and beads;
• rope or satin ribbon for a loop.

For children's creativity, only PVA glue is used. Hot glue can burn your hands, so only adults use a glue gun.

The simplest snowflake made from cardboard tubes is made from six elements:

1. To begin, squeeze the roll, lightly pressing it against the table surface.
2. Then use a ruler and pencil to mark. Each piece should be 1 cm wide.
3. Cut the cardboard according to the markings and start gluing the parts.
4. When the glue is dry, paint the snowflake or decorate it with glitter glitter on top.
5. Glue beads on top and tie a loop.

Paper toys

We must not forget and push into the background the good old paper snowflakes and toys. But today they can sound in a new way if modern techniques are used to create them. In general, DIY Christmas tree decorations made from scrap materials, in particular paper, are a great idea for children in kindergarten. They can decorate a Christmas tree in a group.

And the kids will be happy to look at the festive outfit of the forest guest and boast that they themselves and their mother made this or that toy.

Let's look at how you can make Christmas tree decorations using the quilling technique with your own hands.

Paper toys

For work we need:

Strips of paper, 1.5 or 2 cm wide. You can cut them yourself from thick colored double-sided paper or buy them ready-made in craft stores.

1. Scissors.
2. Thread or braid for a loop.
3. PVA glue.

Making a ball:

1. Take a strip of any color 20 centimeters long and close it into a circle, gluing the ends together.
2. We do this with several more stripes of different colors.
3. Now we thread each circle into one another randomly, changing and alternating colors. We do this in such a way as to form a ball. We glue the strips together at the points of contact.
4. We attach a loop to the ball. That's it, the ball is ready.

Original do-it-yourself toys

Making an icicle:

1. Take a strip of light color 6 cm long, bend it in half and glue the ends. The result is a loop.
2. Now take the next strip, darker and a couple of centimeters longer. We bend it into a loop around the previous loop and glue the ends on the sides of the ends of the small loop.
3. We do this with several more stripes of different colors and each time we take a strip 2 centimeters longer.
4. We wrap a strip around the junction of the loops and attach the braid.

In addition, you can make snowflakes out of paper by cutting them out according to a template and hanging them on a ribbon. And also, openwork snowflakes can be made from ordinary pasta, which is found in almost every home.

Paper snowflakes

Plywood or wood

New Year's toys made of wood always create a festive atmosphere. The process of making them is very fascinating.

You will need:

1. Sheet of plywood.
2. Paper and scissors.
3. Jigsaw (manual or electric).
4. Drill and set of drills.
5. Fine sandpaper.
6. Glue gun.
7. Acrylic paints and clear acrylic varnish for fixation.
8. Other decorations.

We prepare a stencil on a sheet of paper (see photo). We trace it on plywood and, armed with a jigsaw, cut it out. In this case, an electric jigsaw is much more practical than a manual one - you will have to tinker with the second one much longer to cut out small parts, since it is more difficult to control. The cut areas should be treated with sandpaper, focusing on fragments and other irregularities. Use a drill to drill a hole in the top of the figure.

If the decoration is intended to be wooden in color, then all that remains is to tie a thread and hang it on the tree. In another case, we cover the workpiece with white acrylic enamel. When it dries, you can apply the design with colored paints and decorate it with other decorations to your taste. But there is a third option - paste (PVA glue 1:1 with water) a ready-made picture, if you have absolutely no strength left.

You can decorate a whole garland using a long rope, tying knots to fix the position of each toy.

Stencils of Christmas tree decorations made of plywood for printing:

Pasta for the Christmas tree

You can create amazing Christmas tree decorations from ordinary pasta of different shapes. Let's see how you can make a snowflake.

Snowflake made from pasta

Pasta snowflake in the shape of shells

Let's prepare everything you need:

1. Shell-shaped pasta (several large and one small).
2. Hot glue.
3. Gold acrylic paint (you can use an aerosol or regular acrylic in a jar and a brush).
4. Braid for loop.

Let's get started:

1. Place a small shell in the center, and around 6 large pasta in the shape of shells. Glue the pasta together at the joints.
2. Cover with golden paint and let dry.
3. Attach the braid.

Pattern of pasta snowflakes

Openwork snowflake made of round pasta

Round pasta with veins.

1. Hot glue.
2. Gold acrylic paint (you can use an aerosol or regular acrylic in a jar and a brush).
3. Braid for loop.

Let's get started:

1. Place the pasta in rays from the center. Glue the pasta together at the joints.
2. Cover with golden paint and let dry.
3. Attach the braid.

Openwork snowflake of their macarons

This way you can make snowflakes of any shape using various pasta that you have at home.

You can also paste pasta onto any foam plastic ball, attach braid to it, cover it with paint and safely send it to your Christmas tree. Let's see how else you can decorate foam balls or any other regular old Christmas tree balls.

Snowflakes from pasta master class

Christmas balls decorated with buttons

A polystyrene ball with multi-colored buttons is an excellent decoration for a Christmas tree.
This decoration is easy to make, and the result will delight both you and your children. There are two options for making a ball: the first is that the buttons are glued; in the second case, they are secured to the ball with pins. Materials needed for work:

• a foam or polystyrene ball;
• narrow satin ribbon;
• pins with colored tips;
• glue for plastic;
• flat buttons with holes;
• optional - shiny sequins.

A Christmas ball with pins is not a safe option if there are kids in the house who, out of curiosity, will begin to disassemble a beautiful toy. This decoration is suitable for children 6-7 years old and older. They will be happy to participate in the creation of the ball.

First, glue a ribbon to the surface of the ball, which will serve as a loop. And then attach buttons to the ball in random order using pins. You can use one or more pins with colored heads for one button, depending on the number of holes on it. The more shiny pins, the more beautiful the finished ball will be. Use buttons of different colors and sizes, and also insert pins into the free space between them.

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Sequins attached on top of the buttons will make the Christmas ball even brighter and more original. You can also attach small buttons on top of large ones, combining different colors.

A ball with buttons glued on top is a safe option. You can create it together with your children, the main thing is to choose non-toxic glue for this. To create a monochromatic Christmas tree decoration, it is better to paint the ball in the color of the buttons. Attach a ribbon of the same color, or make it contrasting so that it stands out beautifully against the background of the toy and serves as an additional decoration. There are many color options, for example, a popular design is a combination of red and green, white and blue.

Balloon decor using improvised materials

Any old ball can be decorated with improvised objects. To do this, you just need to glue what you found at home onto the ball, and if necessary, cover it with paint or glitter.

Decoration of balls

You can decorate a Christmas ball with these available materials:

• buttons and buttons;
• disk fragments;
• pasta;
• coffee beans or any cereal;
• beads, sequins, rhinestones;
• pieces of newsprint;
• feathers;
• fabric flowers;
• even nuts and gears.

You can use everything you can find at home; the more unusual the parts you find, the more creative the toy will be.

Delicious toys for the Christmas tree

Returning to the topic of edible and tasty decoration for if, we suggest creating toys using cinnamon sticks, bergenia stars and orange slices. These will be stylish decorations. They will not only add beauty and sophistication to your Christmas tree, but also add a touch of refined and refined aroma.

Gingerbread decoration

To make them, you just need to dry the cut oranges and combine the above ingredients in any composition. This could be a pair of cinnamon sticks with a star anise star glued to them, or just a round orange on a string.

You can also glue a cinnamon stick and a few coffee beans to an orange slice. The entire composition can be decorated with small bows or ribbon or jute rope.

Delicious DIY toys

Below is a selection of photos for inspiration for similar DIY Christmas tree decorations made from scrap materials. In addition, you can take regular candies in candy wrappers and hang them on the Christmas tree by a string. And tasty and beautiful and New Year's style. And on a lazy New Year's weekend, you can enjoy one piece of candy straight from the Christmas tree.

DIY New Year's toys