How to make stylish Christmas ornaments?

The history of modern Christmas trees began back in the 16th century in the German lands. Even then, it was a tradition rooted in pagan customs. It took quite some time before the tradition truly settled into our homes. The invasion of Christmas conifers didn't peak until the 19th century.

Initially, trees were decorated with nuts and fruit. My grandfather used to recall that the highlight of their tree was sugar cubes wrapped in aluminum foil! In the mid-19th century, there was a poor apple harvest. A clever German glassblower, out of desperation, blew glass spheres to replace the apples, and thus baubles—or Christmas balls—were born. Since then, we've put practically anything on the tree. Nowadays, the possibilities are virtually limitless.

But we are a bunch of sci-fi, fantasy, comic, horror, and who-knows-what-else fans. So why not decorate your tree with something you love? We've tested a few simple tips for inspiration "on our own needles." With a little bit of skill, you can create a custom Christmas ornament.

Do you have your own idea for a Christmas ornament? Help us decorate our Christmas tree and win!

Christmas paper snowflakes

We had our fill of paper snowflakes in kindergarten, but today it's quite easy to take this fun to the next level. The Anthonyherreradesigns website offers a range of patterns from the worlds of Star Wars, Frozen, Harry Potter, or Guardians of the Galaxy. The patterns are available for free as PDFs, which you just need to print and cut out. It's definitely not complicated.

You can finish such a snowflake in ten minutes if you really take your time. You can handle most of the cutting with regular scissors, but for smaller details, I recommend using a scalpel or a hobby knife. A classic utility knife works too, but with a hobby knife with a thin blade, you'll achieve better results and cleaner cuts.

Golden Snitch bauble

Today's baubles aren't the fragile spheres you use to defend your house from the Wet Bandits like in Home Alone. Modern baubles can withstand quite a lot. For example, almost endless possibilities for modification and customization. You can paint them, glue them into larger units, stick other decorations on them—there are certainly no limits to your imagination.

Making a Golden Snitch for your tree is very easy. Ideally, you need a gold bauble. If you don't have a gold one, you can paint it with gold paint. I used the Army Painter: Colour Primer Greedy Gold spray. If you have a bauble of the right color, you can print wings on paper (see the image below). You can then paint those too, or decorate them with glitter. Glue the wings to the bauble, and you're done!

After all, you can deal with baubles and ornaments in many ways. The internet is full of interesting tips. You can paint a classic bauble, or cut out various patterns and jokes from paper. Often, all you need is glue, aluminum foil, a piece of cardboard, and a famous scene from the "Christmas" movie Die Hard is born.

How about a famous Borg cube assimilating Christmas?

Bilbo's door wreath

A lover of home, good food, and a loyal friend—these are the qualities Bilbo Baggins can boast. If you want to be reminded of some of that positive mood every time you walk through the door, we have a tip for a seasonal wreath for you. Naturally, fully inspired by the magical Shire.

To make it, you'll need tempera paints, a cardboard box, writing supplies, glue (or a hot glue gun, or wire), and scissors. And then one very pleasant walk outside. So take your child, partner, or pet on a trip and look for anything that reminds you of the beauty of autumn and winter! Moss, acorns, oak leaves, conifer twigs, rosehips, pinecones, chestnuts, and much more are all suitable.

How you decorate your door wreath is entirely up to you! Don't be afraid to experiment and use different materials. But above all, enjoy creating the door wreath. And at the end, rejoice in your new decoration that will brighten your home with a true hobbit atmosphere.

The tree is decorated, a fairy tale is playing on TV, it's time to put your feet up and enjoy some Christmas cookies.

A Christmas tree is a nice tradition that reliably conjures up a true festive atmosphere anywhere. Just be careful it doesn't go wrong like in my favorite Christmas short film. Warning! It's not exactly a film for the faint of heart 🙂

authors Eva Lassler and Karel Krajča