One of the best things about the holidays is undoubtedly the smells. The other day, I was running errands in town, and stepped outside a building in the evening. The air was brisk and smelled instantly of the holidays. Somewhere nearby, somebody was burning some kind of wood. I don't know what it was, but it was obviously something which I strongly associated with Christmas.

When I got home, I realized it was time to start bringing some of those Christmas-y aromas into my own house. I started thinking about creative ways to do this, and came up with a project for a DIY rustic Christmas ornament which smells amazing. Below, I will teach you how you can make your own in an exclusive new video.

Video Tutorial:

For this project, you're going to see that you need some fresh pine sprigs. Naturally, these sprigs will be lending their scent to the ornament. That does mean that this project does have a downside however. After this sprigs dry up, they do tend to fall apart. So these are temporary ornaments only.

Of course, if you like the look of the project and want to create some ornaments which will last for more than one season, you can still do it. You just need to replace the real pine sprigs with fake ones. The ornament will not smell the same, but at least you can keep it.

In the video, I focus on the original project, but I ended up making some of both. The DIY Christmas ornaments using the real pine sprigs smell phenomenal, but I just had to make some which I could take out every year and enjoy as well.

Now let's go ahead and begin with the video. Below, you can read the full list of materials and tools for this easy DIY Christmas decor project. Following that, you can read the instructions. I do recommend watching the video if you can, since it is easier to demonstrate a project like this than it is to convey it in words.

Yield: 5

How to Make a Rustic Aromatic Christmas Tree Ornament

Print

I hope you have fun with this project. Scents help us to recall memories, so just working on this DIY rustic holiday decor can help remind you of past seasons and get you in the mood for Christmas.

Prep Time 3 minutes

Active Time 10 minutes

Total Time 13 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Estimated Cost $3

Materials

• Christmas tree sprigs
• Cinnamon sticks
• Twine
• Faux pearls

Tools

• Hot glue and glue gun
• Scissors

Instructions

1. You're going to need three pine sprigs for each ornament you wish to make. Each one should be slightly smaller than the last, because you're going to be using them to create a miniature Christmas tree shape. The cinnamon stick will serve as the tree’s trunk.
2. Use the hot glue gun to attach pine sprigs to the cinnamon stick in order to create the shape of a small tree, as described.
3. You can use a pair of scissors to carefully trim around the edges if you need to make the tree shape more obvious. I only did a little bit of trimming. I still wanted the ornament to have something of a rough, natural appearance.
4. Next, gather your faux pearls. These will stand in for ball ornaments. Use the hot glue to attach them to the branches of the miniature Christmas tree.
5. Next, make a loop out of some twine or ribbon. Make sure you go with something which complements the rustic look of your ornament. This helps to complete the look that you are going for.
6. Use hot glue to attach the twine loop to the trunk of the tree at the top. Now your ornament is ready to hang on your tree.

Notes

I recommend the faux pearls because they are inexpensive, easy to come by, and easily represent ball ornaments. That being said, if you cannot find them, or you want to use something else instead, that is fine too! Have fun decorating your DIY tree ornaments in different and unique ways.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Photo Christmas Ornament
• 
  Personalized Christmas Ornament Couple Carrying a Christmas Tree
• 
  Personalized Couple Ornament
• 
  MONKEY CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT
• 
  Wool hedgehog, needle felted hedgie
• 
  Christmas ornaments

While there is a lot to love about this project, one of the reasons I like it personally is because I do not purchase living Christmas trees. I believe it is environmentally irresponsible, and also a waste of a perfectly good living tree. I'd much rather a beautiful tree be able to keep on growing.

So I have a fake Christmas tree which I set up every year. I feel better knowing that I'm doing my part for the environment. And honestly, it is actually a lot easier to deal with each year in terms of setting it up and taking it down. I think a lot of people feel the same way, because I have noticed that fake Christmas trees have become a lot more popular over the years.

But their obvious undeniable drawback is that they do not smell like Christmas. They do not smell like anything. But when you make these ornaments and hang them from your fake tree, you can smell that real pine scent coming off of it. I simply cut the sprigs from a pine tree which grows in my backyard.

The illusion is so convincing that I have had a lot of visitors to my house look twice at my tree and then ask me outright, ”Is that a real tree?" When I show them the ornaments, they want to know immediately how they can make their own.

So these also to make nice gifts. Of course, you do not want to wait for Christmas to actually give them to your friends or family since their shelf life is limited. You might consider bringing them with you to Thanksgiving. A lot of people set up their trees not long after. These ornaments also looked perfectly nice hanging on a wall, or they can just be propped up on a table or shelf.

I hope you have fun with this project. Scents help us to recall memories, so just working on this DIY rustic holiday décor can help remind you of past seasons and get you in the mood for Christmas.