How to Make Easy European Farmhouse Style Christmas Ornaments

Doing all the Christmas traditions can be so difficult and time-consuming, which is why I want to share these easy Christmas ornaments.

This year our Christmas decor has been inspired by old-world/European farmhouse style.

If you want to check out all our old-world Christmas decor you can see our living room and entryway, our basement, and our dining room from this year.

I love this decor style for its aesthetics, but I also love it because it reminds me to slow down.

Sometimes in this rat race, I call my life I can get so wrapped up in doing “all the things” and then when I look back I was so focused on the “doing” that I wasn’t actually “being”.

This is actually part of the reason I wanted to make these Christmas ornaments so much.

Vintage buttons from my grammy, ribbon, and pictures of moments from long ago frozen in time.

I have to be honest, as I was making these ornaments I shed so many tears.

Tears of remembering, but also tears of realizing what still can be.

My Christmas Ornament Story

When I was in high school people used to talk about how kind, out-going, optimistic, and happy I always was.

I’d hug a stranger without a second thought.

If I met you, I hugged you.

It was just part of who I was.

That’s not to say that my childhood was a childhood of rainbows and butterflies.

I knew pain and loss as a child.

But somehow that innocent and strong-willed girl didn’t let it stop her from loving those around her.

As I got older things started to change.

That carefree & loving girl from before wasn’t the same.

Suffice it to say, I don’t go around hugging strangers anymore.

I want to find the girl from high school.

The one who loved loving on EVERYONE, and I think I’m getting there.

Day by day I do find myself looking more and more like her again.

What These Christmas Ornaments Reminded Me

But when I was making these Christmas ornaments I was looking at the pictures of my great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents and I noticed something.

I saw one of my great-grandmothers smile in one picture and it reminded me.

That was her smile.

I could feel it through the picture.

As I continued to work on these easy DIY Christmas ornaments I saw every picture of her had that smile, and it encouraged me.

It reminded me.

We all go through seasons.

But if this version of me isn’t the version I want to be remembered, it doesn’t have to be.

I can take one step at a time to become the great grandmother with the vibrant, full, and electric smile.

Anyway, that’s why these ornaments mean so much to me.

I think looking back, looking at where we came from can help up get to where we want to go.

Seems pretty perfect to be thinking about these things with New Year right around the corner.

Speaking of New Year’s I shared an easy appetizer recipe and a family-friendly NYE party you can check out.

Other Simple European Farmhouse Inspired Christmas Ornaments

• dried oranges
• paper stars/snowflakes
• bells
• ribbon

Supplies Needed for European Farmhouse Christmas Ornaments

• metal hanger
• jewelry wire or floral wire
• wire cutters
• pliers
• buttons and/or beads
• ribbon

Instructions for European Farmhouse Christmas Ornaments

Step 1

The first thing I did was use heavy pliers to untwist the metal hanger and then straighten it.

I’ve seen some people just cut the straight section of the hanger at the bottom for this ornament.

But I wanted to use the entire hanger because I knew I had a lot of ornaments and not so many metal hangers.

Step 2

Next, Cut the hanger into approximately 12” sections.

I didn’t measure mine before cutting them, which is why mine are all a little different.

(I just started bending the hanger into a circle about the size that I wanted and then I cut it with pliers.)

Step 3

After you have the hanger cut, start bending it into a circle.

It doesn’t have to be perfect because the buttons and beads are going to hide some of the imperfections.

Just do your best.

Step 4

When your hanger looks like a circle grab your wire and cut a long section. (I used jewelry wire because it was brass and 50% off at Hobby Lobby at the time haha!) Begin wrapping it around the two ends tightly.

Again I didn’t measure it, but I’d guess I usually started with about 3-foot section.

Step 5

Once the hanger is secured by the wire begin stringing the buttons and beads onto the wire as you wrap it around the hanger.

I’d add one button then I’d wrap the wire around the hanger, then add another button and wrap around the hanger again.

Every once in a while I’d wrap 2-3 times to create a larger gap between the buttons and beads.

Again, this is the fun part.

There is no science to it.

Just have fun making it look the way you want.

Step 6

When the strand of wire runs out, just go cut another section of wire and wrap it where you left off, and then start adding buttons and beads again.

Step 7

Once the button and bead wreath is complete wrap the wire around the hanger a few times before you cut it.

Then grab your favorite ribbon to hang it on the tree.

Step 8

At this point, you could be done.

But I wanted to make these ornaments more sentimental, which is why I added the pictures.

I took a pin and poked a hole in the top of the pictures and then put fishing line through it and tied it around the hanger in the same location as the ribbon.

Where to find the buttons and beads for Christmas ornaments?

I got my buttons and beads from my grammy.

So these ornaments are packed with sentiment for me.

But if your grammy doesn’t have a tote of buttons and beads she isn’t using, then a few good places to find them are:

• garage sales
• old button up shirts
• thrift store (old button up shirts)
• craft stores (This is going to be the most expensive option)

How to get old pictures reprinted for Christmas ornaments?

I collected all these pictures from my family members.

Now that this project is finished I need to get everyone’s pictures back to them.

But, I might try to do one more project with them beforehand now that I know I can just walk into Walgreens, scan the images and get prints of them!

That is all I did to transform the originals into wallet-sized prints for these Christmas ornaments.

The originals weren’t harmed in the making of these ornaments haha!

I hope you have had an amazing Christmas season and that you have the merriest Christmas!

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Have a great week! XoXo

Open Your Doors,
Aliya

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