5 BEST Christmas Nature Crafts
Does Christmas get your crafty creative juices flowing?!
If the answer is no…. then you’d probably best scroll right on, because this AIN’T the blog for you!
But if the sight of a pinecone sets your spine tingling with festive fizz (what on EARTH is that?!) then read on, because here are our best and favourite Christmassy Nature Craft ideas!
Our Foraged Christmas Wreath
Foraged Christmas Wreath
Let’s start on a high! This is one of our absolute FAVOURITE things to do at Christmas, and it is remarkably easy for you to try one at home!
If you want to go full on 100% foraged, then you’ll need to prepare your wreath by gathering either willow or bendy sticks, foliage, pine cones, and anything else to decorate your wreath (like holly or berries). Remember to take your scissors with you, and do NOT take more than you need, nor should you remove so much that it damages the plant.
The wreath featured above was made up almost entirely of dropped pine branches following a windy night, so we didn’t even need to take any from the plants themselves!
Create a circular frame using either your sticks or willow and wind the frame with twine, leaving plenty of gaps to use to stick your foraged foliage through.
Using wire or twine, attach your foliage all the way round, trying to keep them going in roughly the same direction.
Once you have created your wreath, add decorations such as pine cones, teasels (watch out for the spikes!), dried fruit, cinnamon sticks or foraged berries. If you’re feeling fancy, why not add some fairy lights too?
Our favourites over at Catkin and Co. have a Christmas Wreath making kit available, which provides you with all the tools you need to create the perfect foraged wreath! Check out the Catkin and Co website to find out more! (Use our discount code EXPLORERS10 at the checkout)
This is the BEST festive craft EVER!
Create a Christmas Walking Stick
The shot above shows our festive winter wandering stick, which was made to brighten up the very gloomy Christmas of 2020….. ugh. Remember that one?!
But 2 years later, they are STILL GOING STRONG and genuinely, I believe they are the most genius creation ever!
How can you make your own?
Find the best walking sticks. They need to be sturdy, strong and not rotten anywhere. Driftwood actually does pretty well for this, and you can find plenty around Swinsty and Fewston Reservoirs (or at the beach!) Clean them and sand them. You can try to seal them too if you want to, but we didn’t and they are still good!
Paint them. We used good quality acrylic paint, in bright Christmassy Colours. We then created cany cane stripes by using paper tape, and winding it around. If you find some peeling away, just glue it back down.
Voila! Add some jingle bells and wind some battery-operated fairy lights around it and off you go to light up the gloomiest of Christmas walks!
Pinecone printed Christmas wrapping paper
Pinecone Printed Wrapping Paper
If you want to create the most unique wrapping paper to show off your Christmas wrapping prowess….. then this is the craft for you!
Full disclosure, this is FAR more faffy than simply buying your own, but it is a lot of fun to make and you get the added bonus of creating some pine cone present toppers at the same time (simply tie some string around the base and attach them to the parcel - you can then use them as homemade Christmas decorations for the gift recipient afterwards…. three in one see?!)
Just grab some plain parcel paper, acrylic paint in any colour you like, and dip and roll the pine cones!
Autumn Leaf Christmas Cards
See the picture up top? They are our nature Christmas cards!
What to do?
Collect loads of Autumn leaves. There are still plenty knocking about this time of year! We find that the beech leaves are the sturdiest and react the best to the cutting process!
Wash and thoroughly dry your leaves, then whack them in a heavy book to press them overnight. Once they are flat then paint them. We used spray paint in white and gold and then painted one with PVA glue to leave the colour au naturale! You can do whatever you like!
We used a paper cutter to create mini Christmas trees (this is where it’s good to have plenty of leaves, just in case some break up in the cutting process) Stick your cut leaves onto a plain card and off you go!
Reindeer food cookies
Reindeer Food Cookies
These bad boys are the BEST treat for Father Christmas’ reindeer! They are a festive snack worthy of the North Pole team, but that are also friendly to the most sensitive of feathered tummies too!
How to make them?
⭐250g Lard or vegetable shortening
⭐500g Bird Seed (but OBVIOUSLY it’s reindeer seed for this activity!)
⭐ A handful of dried Christmas Cranberries
Soften the lard and pour into the bird seed, adding a handful of cranberries. Mix well and leave to cool for 10 minutes or so, so that the lard doesn’t leak everywhere when you add it to the mould.
Add the sticky mixture to festive shaped moulds and press them in well, so they are packed tightly with seed. Create a little hanging hole by pushing in a piece of paper straw. Pop them in the freezer for a few hours until they are hard (after all, these are NORTH POLE reindeer, they love the ice and snow!)
You can create some name labels for them if you like in the time it takes for them to harden!
Once they are firm and solid, then remove them from the moulds by gently pushing them out. Tie string through the hole and hang them outside on Christmas Eve!
A big fan of nature crafts?
Check out our seasonal craft ideas!
Looking for Christmas Events in Yorkshire?
Head to our Christmas Events page!