DIY at Home: 4 Festive Creative Projects You Can Try Now
Just a peek into some of the creative magic we drum up at a workshop.
The holidays are officially here, which means it’s time for festive drinks, winter playlists, and creating decor that fits our vibes. To help you get into a creative mood, here are four quick, low-cost holiday projects you can make with just a few materials and a sprinkle of chaotic joy. Call a friend over to join you or send the materials to that DIY soulmate in your family and zoom craft your way through a perfectly synced holiday movie night.
Let’s spark a season of vibrant creativity, giving everyone a chance to unwind and reconnect through making. Pick one or do them all! And we’d love it if you show us your finished pieces.
1. Yarn-Wrapped Holiday Shapes & Letters
Materials
Cardboard, chipboard, or wood letters/shapes
Yarn (any color—holiday or not)
Scissors
Tape or hot glue (optional but helpful)
Ornament hooks and string for hanging (optional)
Straws (to cut and glue on back of letters for banners)
Steps
Cut your shape or letter (or grab pre-made ones if you’re not in a cardboard-cutting mood).
Tape or glue the end of your yarn to the back to secure it.
Wrap, wrap, wrap! Crisscross or go neat and tidy, what feels the most cathartic
Tuck or glue the end in place.
Add a loop of yarn on top if you want to hang it.
If you want to create a banner: cut straws into smaller pieces to glue onto the back of each letter, string letters.
Why We Love It
It’s cozy, tactile, and instantly festive. Its versatility is found in how you use them and they can coordinate or express individuality.
Who’s It For
The anthropologie loving type. The wholesome & classic, but still room for individuality in color choices and what they spell out.
2. Sparkly Pipe Cleaner Trees, Shapes & Snowflakes
The project that proves sparkle is never out of style.
Materials
Pipe cleaners (metallic or glittery = extra festive)
Scissors
Beads (optional)
Ribbon or string or ornament hooks for hanging (optional)
Steps
For trees: Spiral a pipe cleaner around your finger or a pencil to create a cone shape, then bend the bottom to make it stand.
For snowflakes: Twist 3 pipe cleaners together in the center to form 6 branches, then add tiny pipe cleaner arms or beads.
For stars/hearts/shapes: Bend into whatever shape delights your inner child.
Add ribbon loops or ornament hooks if you want ornaments.
Why We Love It
Zero drying time. Zero perfection required. Maximum sparkle. They look adorable on gifts, tables, trees, or literally anywhere.
Who’s It For
The sparkle loving, tactile seeking crafter. No matter how that final piece looks it will be perfect because it sparkles, it’s colorful, and you made it with your hands.
3. Paper Chain Garlands
Throwback to elementary school, but make it aesthetic.
Materials
Colored paper (holiday colors, magazine pages, kraft paper, felt strips, ribbon—anything goes)
Scissors
Glue stick, tape, or stapler
Steps
Cut paper into strips (1–2 inches wide works great).
Form your first strip into a loop and secure the ends.
Thread the next strip through and repeat until your chain is long enough to impress people.
Hang it across a mantle, doorway, tree, stair rail, across your ceilings, or around your loved ones
Why We Love It
Simple, meditative, and surprisingly chic when you use modern colors or metallic paper. A true nostalgia project.
Who’s It For
The one who needs a simple, one material creative endeavor that can easily keep them occupied through a series binge, holiday flick, or while listening to a new album.
4. Marbled Ornaments
Every ornament is unique, kind of like snowflakes, but with less melting.
Materials
Clear plastic or glass ornaments
Acrylic paint (2–4 holiday colors)
Disposable paper cup
Paper towels
Optional: glitter, confetti, ribbon
Steps
Remove the ornament cap.
Add small squeezes of paint inside the ornament (a little goes a long way).
Rotate and tilt slowly to swirl the colors into a marbled pattern.
Turn upside down into a cup to drain excess paint for 10–20 minutes.
Let dry, replace the cap, add ribbon, and you’ve made one-of-a-kind baubles.
Why We Love It
It looks fancy but is secretly one of the easiest holiday crafts ever.
Who’s It For
The ones that love the wow-factor without the effort. Ones that want to cultivate a color palette but still include some unexpected variety.
Ready for More Hollidazzled Magic?
Come create With Us!
These festive DIYs are some of the LOFI crafts we are doing at Rook on the rooftop of The Catbird Hotel on November 30th to kick off the holidays and decorate the space (together) for our series of Crafty A** Shenanigans.
At all of the creative holiday workshops we host you get:
✨ All the materials (the fun sparkly stuff and the weird unexpected stuff)
✨ Hands-on guidance from real humans who love ah-ha moments too much
✨ A cozy, joyful atmosphere
✨ A finished piece you’ll actually want on your tree or mantle
If these projects warmed up your creativity, hire us for your holiday shindigs, friend hangs, family get-togethers, festive events, and office parties. And come join us in person for the full, laughter-filled, holiday-making experience (and beyond) at Rook on every other Wednesday.
