8 Fun and Creative DIY Holiday Decorating Ideas for Your Twin Cities and Rochester Apartment Home

Trimming your apartment home for the holidays is a perfect way to get in the spirit. But the decorations come out only once a year, so you may be reluctant to make a major investment. We've put together an assortment of ideas for creative DIY ornaments to use as is or as a jumping-off place for your own inspiration.

Make Your Own Festive Tree Ornaments

Tree ornaments make a great family tradition, especially when they're homemade for a personal touch. Try one of these easy methods that are also fun for kids:

• Apply chalkboard paint to some plain plastic bulbs. Once they dry, add your favorite designs and messages.
• Black, white and orange acrylic paint turns baby food jars into adorable snowmen. Fasten a ribbon to the lid for hanging.
• Indulge in some grade-school art class nostalgia by crafting papier-machê ornaments.
• Recycle old paper maps into origami-type ornaments that look elegantly intricate but can be made during an evening of TV-watching. 
• Place scraps of wrapping paper inside miniature photo frames of various shapes and hang with red and green ribbons.

Create a Wreath That's a Different Type of "Green"

Put all those bows you've saved from holiday gifts past to good use. In 20 minutes you can have a unique wreath using just the bows, a hot glue gun and a styrofoam ring.

Make a Sweet Home for a Poinsettia

Don't put that glue gun away just yet. Use it to attach candy canes around the outside of a coffee can for a charming vase to replace those generic poinsettia containers.

Add Some Ho-Ho-Ho to Holiday Entertaining

Dinner guests will enjoy a beautifully decorated table accented with felt Santa hat chair toppers. They're inexpensive, easy to make, and washable.

Set the Table with 3-D Place Cards

Tie name tags to holiday-themed cookie cutters for attractive place cards that double as mementos for your guests.

Top a Table with Tiny Holiday Scenes

Turn partially-filled metal screw-top salt shakers into mini-winter dioramas. Top the "snow drifts" with toy pine trees, deer, and other elements from nature.

Bring in a Natural Element

A distressed wooden crate makes a rustic holiday planter that can include figurines for a seasonal tableau. Display indoors or out on a balcony or patio.

Show Off Your Holiday Greeting Cards

Looking for a more imaginative way to display greeting cards than hanging them around a doorway? String lights across a large picture frame and use spring-action clothes pins to hang the cards.

We know our creative residents have many more apartment decorating suggestions to share. Tell us about them in the comments!