These Yarn And Twig Christmas Tree Ornaments are fun for kids of all ages to make. All you need are some twigs from the yard, a few buttons and some scrap yarn to make them.
You know it’s December when my daycare hooligans crank out the Christmas Crafts at the rate that they are these days. Our latest Christmas craft is an adorable and super-easy twig and yarn Christmas tree ornament.
We’ve made a ton of little Christmas tree crafts here in my daycare over the years.
In fact, a few years ago, this same bunch of kids made these wool-wrapped wrapped Christmas trees, but their fine-motor skills and co-ordination is much more advanced now, so today’s ornaments are a little more sophisticated.
You may also like: our Yarn-Wrapped Initial Christmas Tree Ornaments.
Some colour suggestions
I love the funky, vibrant colours the kids chose for these ornaments, but they’d look beautiful made with neutral colours and wooden buttons, or white yarn with colourful buttons. You could also use traditional Christmas colours and use red or green yarn with silver buttons.
You may also like our Fabric Scrap Christmas Tree Ornaments.
Supplies:
- twigs gathered from the yard
- gardening sheers (to cut twigs)
- white paint
- yarn
- colourful buttons
- hot and low heat glue gun
- metallic thread
How to Make your Twig and Yarn Christmas Trees:
Start with a twig hunt in the yard. It’s a good excuse to get outside and get some fresh air. We have a ton of twigs in our yard at the moment because we’ve had a windy fall, so finding enough twigs for this project wasn’t a problem at all.
You’ll want sturdy twigs, a little thicker than a pencil.
Trim your twigs to the correct length
With a sharp pair of gardening shears, trim your twigs to the correct length. For each tree, you’ll need:
- Two longer twigs for the sides of the tree
- One shorter twig across the bottom
- One very small twig for the trunk of the tree
Paint and Glue your twigs
We used acrylic craft paint to paint our twigs because that’s our paint of choice whenever we’re crafting. You can use poster paint for this step if that’s what you have on hand.
Don’t worry about perfect coverage with the paint. I think it looks nice when some of the real wood is showing. It gives the ornaments a rustic look.
Next, you’ll glue your twigs together. You’ll want to use your hot glue gun for this step so the twigs really hold. If you use a low heat glue gun, you may find the twigs separate when the kids start wrapping their yarn around them.
Decorating your twig Christmas trees
Starting at the top of your twig, begin wrapping your yarn, being sure to trap the beginning tail of your yarn as you wrap.
Let the kids know to not wrap their yarn too tightly as this can cause the twigs to warp or even disconnect. Trim your yarn when you get to the bottom of your tree, and stick it in place with a drop of hot glue.
Now your kids can use a low-heat glue gun to attach their buttons.
Finish by looping a length of metallic thread under a strand of yarn at the top of the tree, and secure with a knot.
Adorable, don’t you think?!
More Kids’ Christmas Crafts with Yarn
Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
