Inside: Take some time for yourself this holiday season and make this simple felt Christmas tree ornament to trim your Christmas tree.
Do you ever get a little depressed the day after Christmas?
Because the holiday season suddenly went into fast-forward mode and you feel like you missed it?
One minute you were prepping Thanksgiving dinner and the next you’re taking out the trash loaded with ripped Christmas wrapping paper and wondering where the time went.
You regret not enjoying the season enough.
You didn’t make cookies or go ice skating like you wanted to.
And every time you turned on Christmas music in the car and started singing along, you found yourself at a stoplight mentally going through your to-do list. Like emerging from a fog, you realize you were so busy planning when you’d fit gift shopping into your lunch break that you long missed everything after the first verse of Jingle Bells.
The Problem with the Never-Ending Holiday To-Do List
Checking off items on your holiday to-do list feels satisfying.
But you know what will make you feel even better? Actually enjoying this time of year.
You know, before the New Year ball drops.
That means not worrying about what’s in the future and paying attention to the here and now.
Being present. Not thinking about the presents you still need to buy.
Here’s Why Christmas Crafts Are What You Need Right Now
When I need to take time for myself and think about anything but those worries constantly nagging at me, I make a craft.
Because nothing makes you pay attention to the now like the brain power required to create something you’ve never made before.
So stop worrying about when that package will arrive, what gift to get your brother or not getting the Christmas cards mailed until Dec. 24.
Take some time for yourself and make a Christmas craft purely for fun. Full permission to not think about your to-do list.
Why a felt Christmas tree ornament is the perfect slow down craft:
- Easy-to-make
- Requires few supplies
- Create a handmade ornament that looks store-bought
The 8 Easy Steps to Make a Felt Christmas Tree Ornament
When I first tried to make a felt Christmas tree ornament based loosely on instructions from Pinterest, I failed miserably.
Five-year-olds can cut out Christmas trees from construction paper that look like masterpieces compared to the one I crafted out of felt.
The ornament probably turned out poorly because it was my first attempt. But I also blame the template I used. The template created a tree ornament that was much smaller than I wanted. And the branches weren’t well defined.
So, I made my own Christmas tree template that works much better. (And I’m sharing it with you!)
See the difference between my first and second attempt?
Ready to get crafting? Here’s what you’ll need to make your own felt Christmas tree ornament.
What you’ll need:
- Felt (In the color of your choice. Two 9×12 pieces will make three ornaments.)
- Embroidery floss (I used white.)
- Christmas tree ornament template
- Scissors
- Cardboard
- Needle
- Marker or pen
1. Cut out your template from cardboard
Using my free Christmas tree ornament template, trace and cut out the outline of the tree on a piece of sturdy cardboard. Cereal boxes, shoe boxes and the boxes soda cans come in all work well for this.
You’ll use this cardboard template over and over, so you want to make sure it holds up.
2. Trace the template onto the felt
Using a permanent marker, like a fine point Sharpie, trace the outline of the cardboard Christmas tree onto the felt. Repeat for a second cut-out.
3. Cut out your felt Christmas trees
Using super sharp scissors, cut out your traced Christmas trees. You’ll want sharp scissors or they won’t cut through the felt. I spent 10 minutes trying every pair of scissors in the house before finding a pair that was sharp enough.
4. Add embroidered stars
Make your felt Christmas tree ornament even more festive with embroidered stars.
Using embroidery thread, sew simple stars by first sewing a cross shape and then sewing an ‘X’ shape over the cross.
As you sew, think about making the stars a bit bigger than you initially think you should. I found that the stars I sewed were smaller in reality than the size I actually wanted to make them.
Embroider as many—or as few—stars as you like. I fit 16 stars on mine.
If you’re really feeling the stars, you can embroider stars on both pieces of felt. I chose to make mine one-sided.
5. Sew the sides together
Lay your two cut-outs on top of each other.
Using a whip stitch, sew the cut-outs together starting just below the tip of the trees. (You’ll sew that portion closed later.)
Stitch the two cut-outs together all the way along one side. When you reach the end of one side, cut and knot your thread.
6. Insert the loop
Next, cut a small length of twine, knot the ends together and insert your looped twine between the two cutouts. Right at the tip of the trees.
This will create the loop that you’ll use to hang your ornament on your Christmas tree. Putting a knot in the twine ensures it won’t pull out.
(Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this part.)
Once you have your loop of twine ready, sew the rest of the side you did previously and then sew all along the other side, connecting the two pieces of felt.
Make sure to leave the bottom open.
7. Stuff your stuffing
Next, you’ll fill your felt Christmas tree ornament with stuffing or batting to make it fluffy.
Because I like to reuse items instead of buying new, I stuffed my ornament with strips of old T-shirts that I had on hand from making a rag rug. It worked just as well as regular stuffing. You could also use rags or any other leftover fabric.
8. Sew it up
Now you’ll sew the bottom flap of your ornament closed. When you finish off, try to tie the knot in a corner to conceal it as best you can.
Once I got the hang of making the felt Christmas tree ornaments (I nearly have a forest of them now), I wanted to branch out.
So, I made the front of one out of an old plaid shirt. While I think it turned out cute, I struggled to make it.
The plaid fabric stretched and moved unlike the sturdy felt. And trying to trace the Christmas tree outline onto the dark plaid with a black marker strained my eyes.
If you want to try making a Christmas tree ornament out of a different fabric besides felt, I recommend something less stretchy. You may also want to choose a brighter color or pattern.
Now that you have a cute felt Christmas tree ornament in hand, you can get back to that to-do list. But do you even want to?
Make Your Own
Download and print my free template to make your own Christmas tree ornament out of felt.
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