We love decorating our homes for Christmas and sprinkling festive joy… but storing Christmas decor for the other 10 months of the year can be a challenge! Whether you want to limit the amount of decor you store, keep your festive styling within budget, or simply be more sustainable, we’ve curated our favourite DIY fireplace Christmas decor ideas using everyday items. Truth be told, most of these easy Christmas DIYs can be used anywhere in your home!
It’s time to get Christmas crafting — read on for our favourite (and affordable) ways to decorate your fireplace mantel this festive season.
Related article: Decorating your entry for Christmas
Related article: 8 easy ways to make your home smell like Christmas
1. Turn old jars into luminaries
Christmas and magical lighting go hand in hand — and one of the easiest ways to bring that soft, festive glow into your home is with DIY luminaries. These charming lights create a warm ambience that’s perfect for your fireplace mantel, dining table, or entryway.
Take inspiration from store-bought designs or browse online tutorials to see just how simple it is to transform a humble glass jar into a stylish Christmas decoration. Add a coat of frosted paint, wrap with twine or lace, or decorate with cut-out stars and snowflakes.
Pop in a tealight or LED candle, and you’ll have beautiful handmade Christmas luminaries that make your home feel cosy and festive.
2. Paper sandwich bags become giant snowflakes
It doesn’t get much cheaper or simpler than this Christmas DIY idea! All you need are some brown paper sandwich bags, glue stick and scissors. Glue 8 bags together and cut out different shapes following the instructions in our tutorial.
These snowflakes look great clustered together, so make at least 5-8 and suspend them at different heights around your fireplace mantel.
Paper snowflakes are incredibly lightweight and can be suspended using a single removable hook, making this a renter-friendly and budget-friendly Christmas decorating idea.
Follow our tutorial here
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3. Make gnomes out of socks
Gnomes are adorable and one of the most popular Christmas fireplace decorations, and these DIY sock gnomes couldn’t be easier to make! We love the idea of creating a whole family of them to line your mantel, mixing up the sizing and colours.
This no-sew Christmas craft uses simple materials — just one sock per gnome, a small piece of faux fur fabric, string, and a wooden bead (or any small round item) for the nose.
Follow the video tutorial below or experiment with your own technique. You may also like to check out our concrete gnome tutorial for a more minimalist look.
4. DIY artwork using old music sheets
The term ‘DIY artwork’ may make you cringe but we’re sure you’ll admit, this idea to frame a Christmas carol looks elegant. If you don’t have vintage music sheets at home, you can print your own from free online archives.
Another quick and affordable idea is to frame a beautiful piece of Christmas wrapping paper. Choose designs with hand-illustrated details to give your artwork an elevated look. It’s an effortless Christmas DIY that would look great on your fireplace mantel, entry table or hallway display.
5. Make your own wreath from oranges, succulents or anything!
Wreaths are a fab focal piece to style above your fireplace. If there’s one thing we learnt when pulling together our roundup of the best Christmas wreaths, it’s that you can make a festive wreath out of almost anything!
Going for a coastal Christmas aesthetic? Make a wreath out of drift wood. Prefer a traditional Christmas vibe? Turn left over ribbons or excess baubles into a wreath.
Get the best DIY wreath ideas
Image via Restyle Relove
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6. Turn a piece of cardboard into a Christmas village
This Christmas craft idea is so clever! Costing almost nothing, this DIYer turned a piece of cardboard into a stylish, Scandi-inspired Christmas village. Adding fairy lights behind, creates a lantern effect that further adds to the festive look. This project is definitely on our to-make list!
7. Make a natural garland
Similar to the wreath idea above, a natural Christmas garland is a stunning way to decorate your fireplace mantel. You can forage for greenery in your area (we like to call this civil pruning) and add festive touches like dried orange slices, pine cones, and cinnamon sticks.
This approach is sustainable, stylish, and virtually zero cost — not to mention it smells incredible! Layer in eucalyptus, olive branches, or whatever foliage grows locally for that effortless, organic look.
It’s one of our absolute favourite DIY Christmas fireplace decorations, bringing warmth and the smells of Christmas into your home.
And there you have it, 7 creative, affordable and achievable ways to make your fireplace the festive heart of your home! Whether you’re making natural garlands, creating cosy luminaries, or crafting some Christmas decorations, these Christmas fireplace DIYs offer plenty of inspo.
If you make any of these projects, or perhaps have your own DIY Christmas hack, we’d love for you to show us! Tag us on Instagram or email it to us so we can admire how you styled your fireplace or pocket of your home.
