DIY Vacation Christmas Ornaments

Do you ever find yourself with pockets full of “treasures” after walks with your little one? Why not turn those sweet nothings into preserved memories?
I made these Christmas ornaments from drift wood and shells that were picked up on our most recent beach trip! While My toddler inevitably did more smashing than collecting he was still excited to see the Christmas tree and (second) snowman come to life. Yes, I said second. The first snowman met his tragic end in the smashing hands of previously stated toddler.

For this project I used craft items that I had laying around the house, meaning that these cute lasting memories were free to make!

Materials for Christmas Tree:
Drift Wood
Small Sand Dollar
Wooden Skewer
Twine
Wooden Bead
Hot Glue

The first thing I did was trim the drift wood pieces so that they were the appropriate size. The number of drift wood pieces you need depends upon how big you want your tree. I lined the drift wood up into a Christmas tree shape to figure out spacing and to make sure I liked how it was looking. Once I had the sizing and spacing down it was time to assemble!

To assemble the tree I glued all of the drift wood pieces, along with the small sand dollar, onto a wooden skewer. I left it alone to dry for a bit and then came back. I found that I had to redo a couple of pieces once they were dry. Some of the drift wood pieces had fallen off because I had not properly wiped off any salt/sand residue or loose outer coatings. I simply glued them down again and everything was fine. When everything was glued into place I cut the skewer down to size and glued a wooden bead at the bottom to act as a tree stump.

The last thing that I had to do was apply the twine. This step is not necessary, but I wanted to hide the bright wood of the skewer and give the ornament a more natural look. I glued one end of the twine to the bottom of the small sand dollar and continuously wrapped it down the wooden skewer. Once I reached the bottom of the skewer I glued the other end of the twine close to the top of the wooden bead. When that was secure I glued a loop of twine to the back of the sand dollar and the ornament was complete!

Materials for Snowman:
Three Sand Dollars
Raffia Ribbon
Twine
Paint
Hot Glue

While it is extremely fragile, the snowman ornament was even easier to make than the Christmas tree. My sand dollars were full of sand, so if your don’t want a dusting of sand everywhere in your house make sure you completely clean them out before you bring them inside. I started the construction of my snowman by simply hot gluing the three sand dollars together to resemble a stacked snowman. when the glue was dry the basic structure of the snowman was complete, and it was time to decorate.

When the glue was set I was able to paint the face and buttons of the snowman. I couldn’t find my paint brushes, so I resorted to using the tips of colored pencils as painting apparatuses and it worked fine. Hey, you get pretty creative when you have a limited time to craft during nap time ha! I then added his cute little scarf around his neck. I used raffia ribbon because that is what I had laying around, but you could use any kind of ribbon you would like! I hot glued the ribbon on the back of the snowman’s neck as well as in the front where the tie was to make sure that it stayed in place. The last thing I did was glue a loop of twine to the back of the snowman’s head . Super easy and super adorable!