Winter is one of the most magical times of the year. From beautiful holiday celebrations to sipping cocoa under a warm blanket, winter is a time of year to enjoy every moment with loved ones and truly take advantage of the wonders of the season. But the environment you create in winter is directly impacted by the kinds of decor, ornaments, and gifts that you surround yourself with, particularly in the comfort of your home.
Though there are hundreds of different ways to decorate your home for winter, crafting is one of the best ways to surround your family with unique, DIY creations that reflect your own interests and tastes. Winter cutouts serve as a great base to start your DIY crafting projects for the holidays, while still giving you creative freedom with what you choose to make. Wooden cutouts are even more appealing to crafters of all skill sets because they’re easy to decorate and make for fantastic ornaments, bookends, decor, and gifts.
In this guide, we’re going to help give you some great ideas for winter crafts so that you can decorate your home and add a touch of magic and warmth to your holiday festivities. So, let’s get started!
Wood snowman
What would winter be without a snowman? Even if you live somewhere that doesn’t get a lot of snow, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to enjoy the fun of snowmen! Wooden snowman decorations offer you an easy and fun way to decorate your home, school, or place of business with whimsical winter characters. However, even with a wooden snowman, you still have a few different aesthetic and thematic options to choose from. There are pegdolls, hanging ornaments, and even split-in-half snowmen that can be added to signs! In the sections below, we’ll take a closer look at some of the most popular wood snowman crafts.
Snowman cutouts
Wooden snowman cutouts offer the classic shape of a snowman (usually a body, head, and top hat) and give you a flat surface on which to paint or decorate your snowman as you see fit, without needing the skills to paint around curved surfaces. This makes snowman cutouts perfect for crafters of all ages. Are you a teacher in need of a great winter project for younger students? Or perhaps a parent who wants a fun winter vacation activity to enjoy with the kids? Either way, snowman cutouts have got you covered.
Snowman cutouts allow younger ones to make their own decorations to display proudly. Even if you’re just crafting by yourself, wooden snowman cutouts make a great way to add a dash of fun to your coffee table, front door, hearth, bookshelf, kitchen, dining room, or anywhere in your home that needs a bit of holiday charm!
Snowman candlesticks
Snowman candlesticks are not quite as recognizable as snowman cutouts, as their shape combines the classic shapes of a snowman’s body and top hat with the more traditional designs of a tall candlestick. These can be decorated with oils, paint, or wood finish, but it’s important to choose the material carefully based on how you intend to use the candlestick(s).
As a general rule, wooden candlesticks are better for decorative purposes. Even if you put a wax candle in your candlestick, it’s better to use it as an unlit part of your decor. This is because many decorative substances like paints can be quite flammable, which could create a SERIOUS danger in your home.
Even if you light your wooden candlesticks and watch very carefully, there’s always a chance that the flame could spread or the melted wax could discolor the wood of the candlesticks. In either case, it’s generally a good idea to take all possible precautions. This means never ever leaving your candles unattended or allowing them to burn lower than 1 or 2 inches from the top of the candlestick. If you want to use your snowman candlesticks to light candles for the holidays, make sure to be extra careful! You can check out our wooden candle holder guide to learn more about the best practices for using and decorating wooden candlesticks.
Wood snowflakes
Snowflake cutouts are some of the most versatile winter craft options, particularly if you want hanging decorations for your Christmas tree or public areas of your home. They are just as easy to hang as snowman cutouts, but they are a bit smaller and more delicate. This means that you may have to use a lighter touch when painting or decorating wooden snowflakes. That said, DIY wooden snowflakes can also make a great project for everyone in the family, including children. You and your kids can use fine-point brushes to add unique shapes, colors, and patterns to each snowflake. They also make for perfect embellishments since they can be glued to other crafts!
Snowflakes for crafts are also very versatile because, like real snowflakes, they can come in very different shapes and sizes. Depending on the size of the snowflakes, you can hang them on garlands or branches of your Christmas trees, as well as doors, walls, and windows. There’s really no wrong way to use wooden snowflakes in your home!
More fun winter crafts
Snowmen and snowflakes are two of the most popular winter crafts, but the fun doesn’t stop with these two options. The reality is that there are dozens of different winter-themed wood crafts to start your holiday season out on the right foot. Some of our favorites include:
- Word cutouts - From “Merry Christmas” to “Let It Snow,” there are tons of words and phrases that will be forever linked with the cheerful spirit of the winter holidays. These are often very easy crafting projects, as you can allow the words to send the message and let your personal touches and flourishes enhance the decorative appeal of each word cutout.
- Penguin cutouts - While they may not be quite as common as snowman cutouts, penguin cutouts are still fun winter crafts to use as standing or hanging decorations. You can even decorate multiple penguin cutouts of different sizes to create an adorable penguin family for your home!
- Chunky mitten - Most wooden cutouts are thin enough that you can easily hang them somewhere in your home or use a stand to make them an addition to a horizontal space (like a coffee table) that is visible to friends and family passing through. Alternatively, chunky mittens are much thicker (2.75 inches to be exact) and are specifically made to stand up on their own. While you can decorate your mittens however you like, winter colors like red, green, and white are always great choices to get people in the spirit of the holidays!
- Large mitten cutout - Another option to consider is a large mitten cutout that can be hung on a wall or door, or even placed in a wood cutout stand. Large mitten cutouts can also serve as fun and quirky place settings around the dining table!
As you can see, winter crafts offer you a lot of ways to make the holidays even more special for yourself, your family, your friends, and your home. You don’t have to be an expert crafter when you have winter-themed cutouts and designs to start your project; you can simply use paints, glitter, or other materials to decorate your cutouts and use them to make your home even more cheerful and bright! Plus, if you have kids who are looking for things to do over winter break, you can’t go wrong with a family crafting project that results in multiple ornaments or decorations to enjoy throughout the rest of the season!
Did you enjoy our winter crafts guide? Be sure to let us know in the comments and check out our wooden crafts shop to find the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one!
