4 of 12

Write now Article Tools

Pinecones are a versatile homemade Christmas decoration and a handy inexpensive gift idea too. Not only are they relatively easy to find and pick up from the ground at public places, you can also purchase them inexpensively at many craft stores.

One year, I made pinecone people'. Using buttons, fabric swatches, and twirly craft eyes, I picked a big pinecone, a smaller one, and two little ones to recreate my own family (father, mother, and two kids), and then used a hot glue gun to glue them to a piece of wood, where I then painted the names of my family on the wood.

My father still has these pinecone people sitting on his old rolltop desk in his house, even though it's been nearly 30 years since I made them! Pinecone people can also be hung with ribbon or Christmas decoration hangers from the tree.

If pinecone people don't suit your fancy, you can always use spray glue and sprinkle pinecones with glitter. If you'd like colored pine cones, you can spray paint them. Be sure to do this outside, or in a very well ventilated area, and put lots of newspaper or plastic drop sheets down where you will be spraying. If you'd like colored and sparkly pine cones, simply sprinkle glitter on them before the paint dries completely.

For younger children, a bit of glue along with strings, ribbons, buttons, and other scraps of material can be used to decorate pinecones and then hang them from the Christmas tree.

Pinecones can be soaked in a pan of liquid potpourri, to give them a wonderful scent. Simply purchase the liquid potpourri, place it in a large pan on the stove and bring to a boil and drop the pinecones into the pan. Let the pinecones soak for about five minutes before removing them from the pan and placing them on a cooking rack to dry. The pinecones should dry within 24 hours, and then not only are they ready to decorate for Christmas ornaments, but they smell good too!

For someone who has a fireplace, a nice Christmas gift might be to take a basket of pretty pinecones. After you have soaked them in your favorite scented potpourri and dried the pinecones, place them in a nice decorative bag or colored shrink wrap, and attach a gift card that explains they are for use for the fireplace. Pinecones smell wonder on their own, but will smell even better when burning in the fireplace after being soaked in potpouri. They also make popping and sizzling noises when you burn them in your fireplace!

Learn more about this author, Michelle L Devon.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about How to make Christmas ornaments from pinecones?
We want to hear your view. Write now!