4 Festive DIY Holiday Ideas

As winter rolls around, so do many major holiday seasons and festivals. Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa all take place in the closing months of the year, making it the perfect time to spruce up your home to celebrate the holidays. Our DIY ideas are easy, straightforward, and make it easy to find decor inclusive of everyone’s budget. With just a few crafting supplies and a lot of smiles, you can spread the joy no matter how you choose to celebrate.  

Bring in the new year with some DIY Lunar New Year decorations or a Kwanzaa harvest wreath. However you celebrate, enjoy the festive DIY holiday ideas below. We hope they bring you cheer.

Christmas 

In many cultures, oranges have an important role in Christmas. With about 64% of the American population identifying as Christian according to a 2020 survey from Pewresearch.org, you may have received an orange in your Christmas stocking or keep the tradition alive by giving an orange to the little ones each year. 

According to Campbell University, the real Saint Nicholas was a young man who inherited a great sum of money. He believed in helping others and sharing his wealth, according to Christian ideals of charity. In one story, he gifted a devout man with the funds to provide his three daughters with dowries so they could marry and begin a family. Saint Nicholas’s charity and kindness is often symbolized with oranges, which represent the gold coins he gifted to the less fortunate. 

DIY Orange Garland  

Put a stylish spin on this age-old Christmas tradition by crafting your own dried orange garland. This DIY festive dried orange garland from Seamingly Sera is so cheery.  

1. Take four navel oranges, and cut them into thin slices - an eighth of an inch is ideal. As we’ll be drying these, the thinner is better.
2. Preheat your oven to a low temperature - around 125F. You avoid cooking the oranges, instead drying them out. Alternatively, if you have a dehydrator, this works even better.  
3. Line the oranges out on a sheet of baking paper. Don’t stack or layer any, make sure they are evenly spaced. You may want to use two trays, or do a few batches depending on the size of your oven. 
4. Put the orange slices in the oven or dehydrator for around two hours, and flip halfway through. 
5. Take them out, and allow them to cool. In the meantime, grab a toothpick, some twine, and a pair of scissors. 
6. Once the fruit has cooled completely, make one hole at the top of each orange, and one at the bottom, and thread your twine through each end. This way, you’ll create a strong, solid garland. 
7. Once you’ve threaded all your oranges, make a look at either end.  

You can hang this above entry ways, wrap it around your Christmas tree, or create several to liven up your walls, for a deliciously-scented, brightly-colored festive display. For a DIY Christmas lighting idea, intertwine your garland with some fairy lights for a super festive feel. 

Diwali  

Diwali, also known as Divali, Dewali, and Deepavali, is an annual festival typically loved and observed by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains all over the globe. For five days at the start of the Hindu lunar new year, families gather to exchange sweets and gifts and feast on delicious banquets. 

The nickname “Festival of Lights” comes from the tradition of using candles, lights, and lamps to illuminate observers’ homes. This is said to draw the goddess of wealth–Lakshmi–into people’s homes and shower prosperity throughout the year ahead. According to Britannica.com, the festival also symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. 

To honor the Festival of Lights, brighten your home with festive DIY Diwali decorations.

DIY Diwali Lanterns  

With some colored paper, shiny lace and a hot glue gun, you can create your very own Diwali lanterns, also known as a Kandil. Head to MIA Arts & Crafts’ channel on YouTube for a visual aide with this arts and crafts project. 

1. Using small strips of paper, wrap these around themselves to create a series of tube-like, cannoli shapes. 
2. Glue these to a large piece of paper, wrapped around itself to create a cylinder. Decorate using the little cannolis, with smaller pieces on the outside, and larger, brighter pieces in the middle. Leave a small gap between the small and large sections. 
3. Once the entire circumference of the Kandil is covered with smaller sections of craft paper, take your ‘blingy’ lace and glue it to the gap between the large and small sections of paper. Then add a strip to each end of the large tube. 
4. Take another piece of paper, the same size as the large cylinder, and use a pair of scissors to cut the paper along the width, leaving a half inch at the top, so that the paper forms a skirt. 
5. Now, glue this skirt to the rest of the lantern. 
6. Then, take a blue piece of card, and fold it over four times. In the folded piece of paper, cut out some flowers, making sure to trim the edges of each one.
7. Glue these flowers to the center of your Kandil, all the way around the circumference, until you have a vibrant, beautiful lantern!  

Once complete, attach a small piece of string to the opposite side of the skirt of the lantern, so that you can hang it in your doorway, windows or staircase. These look beautiful with a tea light or small bulb inside, as the paper creates a brilliantly vivid light show! 

Hanukkah 

The Menorah, an iconic Hanukkah symbol, is an eight-branched candle holder lit during the celebration. According to Jewishhistory.org, the Menorah comes from a tale from the 2nd Century BCE, wherein a small supply of olive oil miraculously lasted eight days whilst a group of Jewish people, known as the Maccabees, rededicated a Holy temple, which had been defiled by Greek zealots.  

There are nine total candles on a Menorah. Each branch of the Hanukkah Menorah represents each day of the holiday. In the center of the candle is a ninth candle, which is only used to light the other eight, is called shamash, or a helper candle. 

DIY Menorah  

You can create your own festive Menorah to celebrate Hanukkah without a dedicated candleholder. Using a tray, some Epsom salts, some tealights and some food coloring, you can create a simple, sweet Menorah to observe the heart-centered Jewish tradition. Follow along with this Hanukkah candle display from "frum it up" to make a simple, yet elegant Menorah in a pinch. 

1. Take a tray - one with a border, and ideally ceramic. Sprinkle the Epsom salts on top. You could also add some decorative pebbles, stones or shells. 
2. Place nine glass candle holders into the salts in a straight line, across the width of the tray. The salts will stabilize the glass, and are also non-flammable. 
3. Mix a liter of water with some drops of food coloring. Blue is the most important color in Judaism, so you may want to use this for a more traditional menorah. However, you may want to emulate the usual gold of the menorah by using a yellow or orange mix. Alternatively, you could alternate using dyed and clear water to symbolize the blue and white of the Israeli flag. 
4. Pour the water into every glass except the middle one, as this will be your shamash. Instead, take a small pillar candle or tea light and place this in the glass. 
5. Pay homage to the olive oil in the original Hanukkah tale by pouring some olive oil on top of the water. Water and oil are immiscible, so the oil will sit on the water without mixing. 
6. Finally, take some floating candle wicks, and drop them on the oil. Just like in the original story, the olive oil will provide the fuel to light over the eight days of Hanukkah.  

Light the candle you placed in the center, and use this to gently light all the wicks. Put the shamash back in the center, leaving it lit.  

Kwanzaa  

Kwanzaa, from the Swahili phrase for “first fruits of the harvest,” is an African-American and pan-African holiday celebrated from December 26th until the 1st of January. According to the African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania, activist, author, and professor of Africana studies, “Dr. Maulana Karenga introduced the festival in 1966 to the United States as a ritual to welcome the first harvests to the home.” 

The celebratory symbols of Kwanzaa include a seven-pronged candle holder, named the Kinara, which represents each pillar of faith in the community, the Kikombe cha Umoja, a Unity Cup to give thanks to each family’s African ancestors, and zawadi, the practice of gift giving and sharing your appreciation with your loved ones and community. 

DIY Mahindi and Mazao Wreath 

Corn, known as mahindi, symbolizes the children of the African American community. Whether there are children in a household or not, at least two ears of corn are placed on the table during Kwanzaa, as the children of the community are equally loved and cherished by all.  

Mazao means “crops”, and is celebrated by displaying several different types of fruit and vegetables in a bowl. These represent the joy of sharing the harvest as a result of hard work. Common African crops such as bananas, apples, grapes, nuts and sweet potatoes are commonly placed in the bowl.  

This beautiful DIY Kwanzaa decoration integrates both mahind and mazao during Kwanzaa with a harvest wreath.  

1. Take some traditional Mazao crops, such as apples, banana leaves, miniature pumpkins and some ears of corn.
2. You’ll also need an artificial leaf wreath, wire, and an oven. 
3. Slice the apples into thin slices. Place these, along with the corn, into your oven or dehydrator at a low heat for at least four hours, flipping halfway through. 
4. While cooling, wrap the banana leaves around the wreath. 
5. When cooled, poke through the fruits and vegetables at the center, and thread through using the wire. Use the wire to intertwine the fruits to the wreath, spacing them evenly. 
6. Alternate these with miniature pumpkins and pinecones if you have any.  

Once you’re done, you’ll have a gorgeous wreath, celebrating the season’s harvest. Share the Kwanzaa festivities by hanging your wreath on your door from Boxing Day until the New Year. This bold and colorful Kwanzaa wreath from AfroChic Home Decor is another festive Kwanzaa DIY, and recommended for more advanced wreath-makers. 

Looking to enhance your home through all the seasons? 

We offer many great DIY decor ideas that are perfect for craft newbies and Pinterest veterans alike. Check out our blog here and be ready to celebrate the day in any style that helps you highlight and enjoy your life. 

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Published 12.13.22