While a glitzy tree with tinsel and bright, shiny Christmas ornaments can be pretty, there’s just something about a traditional tree decorated with handmade ornaments that touches the heart. Here are a few Christmas ornaments you can make and use on your tree this year to create that cosy, old-fashioned look.

Popcorn Garlands. Back before tinsel and metallic beads, people had to get a bit more creative. Popcorn is nice and cheap and it really does look great once you have it all strung up on the tree. The basic technique is very simple, just take a needle and thread and start stringing pieces of popcorn onto the thread. It generally works best if you try to push the needle through a fleshy part of the popcorn, avoiding the kernel. Make several shorter strings of 2-3´ for easy stringing, then just tie the ends together to form one long garland. To spice things up a bit, add dried cranberries or rosehips every few inches.

Paper Chains. These can be used on the tree or draped from the rafters and paper chains are a great way to use up extra bits of paper. Most people make them out of construction paper, but you can use anything you have around, extra bits of wrapping paper, etc. Cut all your paper into even strips and tape the first one over on itself, forming a loop. Thread another strip of paper through the loop and tape the ends together to form another loop. Continue this until you have the length of chain that you are looking for.

Cinnamon Shapes. Use cinnamon to create these sweet smelling decorations. Mix about 1 tablespoon of applesauce with the same amount of white glue and add enough ground cinnamon to make a thick dough. This can either be rolled out and then cut into holiday shapes with cookie cutters, or pressed into molds. Whichever method you select, allow the decorations to dry completely for two or three days before handling. Use a glue gun to add a ribbon loop at the back for hanging and you’re done. You can do this with sawdust and glue as well.

Salt Cookies. Mix up a simple dough of 2 cups flour, one cup salt and enough water to form a flexible dough. Knead until smooth, then roll out to about a quarter inch thick and use holiday cookie cutters to punch out shapes. These can be baked at 300º for about 45 minutes, or until baked through. These can be painted and then varnished when cool, for fun gingerbread-style decorations. For easy hanging, press a paperclip into the back before baking, leaving a loop sticking up for threading a string later on.

Paper Snowflakes. These are so easy and fun to make that you can whip up a blizzard in no time flat. You’ll need a completely square piece of paper to start with. Fold it in half diagonally to form a triangle. Keeping the fold at the bottom, fold the triangle in half, left to right. Repeat this three more times. You will have a long narrow diamond shape, with the ends sticking out. Cut random triangles and slits into the sides, snip the tip off and adjust the ends that are sticking up. Then open the paper up and you should have a lovely snowflake. Experiment with different designs. In this case, it is true that no two snowflakes are alike.

These are just a few of the fun, traditional Christmas ornaments that you can make this holiday season. Think back to when you were a child and you’ll probably find a few more that you can whip up. These are all great crafts to do with children, as well, and gets everyone in the holiday spirit.