California-Inspired DIY Holiday Decor to Make This Season

Sweater weather is our favorite weather because it signals that the holiday season is finally here and we get to add cheer with our favorite holiday decorations. And, what better way to fill your home with love and magic than by getting the whole family to participate in making DIY holiday decor items? It doesn’t matter if you’re planning a virtual celebration this year, you can still get crafty this Christmas and wow everyone with your creative skills.

Deck your door with a gorgeous wreath or the dried orange garland you made yourself. Thanks to your California-inspired holiday decorations, you’ll immediately find the holiday spirit even if you’re not feeling it. Time to spruce things up and make un-fir-gettable holiday decor.

Holiday Decorations You Can Make At Home

You can easily recreate stylish and seasonal decorations to add real Christmas cheer to your home this year. Head over to holiday markets for a bit of inspiration, tap into the deepest parts of your imaginative side, and check out what California bloggers are DIY-ing. There are so many things you can do yourself—scented candles, DIY holiday wreaths, popcorn garlands, string light lanterns, and customizable holiday ornaments, to name a few.

Making your own Christmas decorations means you get to save time and money to finally focus on what’s important during the holiday season—love, family, and good food. When you’re not volunteering during the holidays or looking for California-made gifts for everyone on your list, here are DIY Christmas decoration ideas you can bring to life. We guarantee your loved ones will give you a round of Santa-plause.

DIY Holiday Wreaths From The Golden State

Minimal Christmas Wreath With Bells

Nothing says “Christmas is here” like a classic DIY holiday wreath hanging on your front door. Putting a modern twist on the favorite holiday decoration, Modern Glam makes a minimalist wreath that is both super easy to assemble (no tools required) and absolutely beautiful to look at. Hey, you don’t even need previous DIY experience to bring this holiday wreaths idea to life!

What you need
1 faux or fresh evergreen wreath
Large gold bells
Velvet ribbon 
Accent ribbon

DIY Heart Wreath

Want to make your holiday wreath idea the unconventional way? Make a DIY heart wreath like the super creative and talented Janine of Happy Happy Nester. Filling your space with festivity and love, this DIY Christmas decoration is the holiday perfect project.

What you need
1 grapevine heart-shaped wreath
2 bunches of pink pepper berries
Glue gun
Ribbon 

Holiday Wreath DIY

Last but not least, for those who want to make a good old, classic holiday wreath, the tutorial by Design Love Fest is the one to follow. If you follow the directions well, you’ll have the textbook version of this beloved holiday decoration perfected. Later, if you want to add, take away, or customize your DIY holiday wreath in any way, it’ll be easier to do so.

What you need
Grapevine wreath base
Cedar
Balsam fir
Acacia
Pine
Hemlock

Customizable Holiday Ornaments The Whole Family Will Adore

Easy Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments

Very easy and simple, these salt dough ornaments by A Piece of Rainbow are a delight to make. And the best thing about them? These are totally customizable holiday ornaments, so you can stamp them with any picture or text you like!

What you need
Salt dough
Stamps
Inkpad
Round cookie cutters
String

3D Snowflake Ornament with Circuit

If you have enough time and energy to spend on your Christmas crafts, you should totally attempt the 3D snowflake ornaments by Red Cottage Chronicles. Intricate, beautiful, and striking against the backdrop of a dark green tree, these DIY Christmas ornaments are well worth the effort.

What you need
Cricut design space
Cricut maker
Cricut double scoring wheel tool
Cricut premium fine point blade
Metallic poster board
Standard grip cutting mat
Glue gun
Silver string

DIY Photo Ornaments

Want to add a personal touch to your DIY Christmas ornaments? Homey Oh My’s photo ornaments are the perfect holiday decorations to make; you probably have everything you need to make them at home already.

What you need
Your favorite photos (ideally 2x3” in size)
Pieces of wood cut into 2x3” pieces
Decorative tape
Glue gun
Ribbon

Holiday Centerpieces You Won’t Believe You Didn’t Think To Make Sooner

Gingerbread Tree

Combine your Christmas dessert and holiday decor into one and make a centerpiece you can actually eat. This gingerbread tree by Sugar and Charm will not only look super cute on your dinner table, but it’ll double as your post-dinner dessert in all its sugary goodness.

What you need
Cookie cutters
Rolling pin
Parchment paper
Piping bag
Mixing bowls
Plastic wrap
Butter
Dark brown sugar
Light molasses
Ground cinnamon
Ground ginger
Ground cloves
Baking soda
All-purpose flour

Tabletop Garland of Mistletoe and Meyer Lemons

Sure, the food might be the rightful star of a Christmas dinner table, but that doesn’t mean you should do without a proper tablescape. Be careful though, if you make something as beautiful as the mistletoe and lemon tabletop garland by Remodelista, it might end up stealing the attention from your culinary masterpieces (unless that’s exactly what you want).

What you need
A good bunch on mistletoe (about 2 pounds)
6 or 7 Meyer lemons with leaves
Andromeda (or other green that won’t wither quick)
Clippers
Wire

Holiday Garlands That Bring The Festive Spirit To Your Home

DIY Popcorn and Cranberry Garland

You like kitschy popcorn garlands and you like classic cranberry garlands, why not combine them into one and make easy and cheerful cranberry popcorn garlands? If you have kids at home, you can put them to work on this one; Salty Canary’s tutorial is as easy as one-two-three.

What you need
White popcorn kernels
Fresh cranberries
26 gauge floral wire
Scissors
Shellac

Holiday Garland Made of Star Anise

If you’re tired of seeing popcorn, cranberry, and dried orange garlands, you should try making one out of beautiful star anise! Remodelista shows you two different ways you can make this. One is more dainty with raw cotton balls and a lot of space between each star anise. The other is bolder and involves more star anise being stuck together.

What you need
½ pound star anise
4 or 5 raw cotton balls
Several yards of silver thread
Glue
Wax paper