My favorite craft time of year is here and I’m excited to share some of my favorite frugal Christmas crafts. Here are eight easy and fun holiday projects, many of which make great white elephant gifts! Of course, I still love my favorite Holiday Crafts from 2011 and Frugal and Homemade Gifts.

1. Mirrors in your tree.Take small pieces of mirror (I found a bag of irregular shaped pieces at Michaels for $2.99). Hot glue two pieces back to back with looped a piece of string in the middle so the ornament can hang on a brand. When set, hang the mirror ornament on your tree. The mirrors catch the lights in your tree, adding even more dazzle.
2. Sharpie decorated porcelain ornaments. You’ll be surprised what an amazing ornament you can make with a few colors of sharpies (see my chicken ornament above). For inspiration, I Googled “hand drawn ornaments,” but you can use any old picture or drawing for ideas.  Any sharpie will do, but I like Sharpie Paint for a shinier look. You can bake these in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 350-450 to make the ink more permanent, but it is not necessary for an ornament. (Note: There is great internet controversy over the exact time, temperature and effectiveness of baking the sharpie decorated ceramics. Everyone agrees that you should not eat off of sharpie decorated plates and it is best to hand wash them. You will need to test it out for yourself.)
3. Sharpie decorated mugs. Same as the ornaments. These make nice gift, but must be hand-washed. Keep the paint away from the areas where someone will have their lips.
4. Melted snowman. Remove labels from water bottles. Make new labels with a winter theme that say “Melted Snowman.” Great party idea.
5. Make an angel necklace out of a paperclip. Great kid craft. All you need is a paperclip, ribbon and two beads.
6. Make a wreath from a swim noodle. Take a foam swim noodle. Form it into a circle. Duct tape the ends together. Voila! The base of a wreath. Now add all kinds of goodies to make your own unique holiday wreath.
7. Send a Christmas Tree in a Box. Great for a loved one is not in a situation where they can get a tree. Or, send this as a fun decoration for someone special. Get a box. Pack in a string of lights, clothes pins (decorated if you wish), special pictures, homemade Christmas ornaments, thumb tacks, and some goodies to eat while creating. Include directions for the recipient to make a large pointy triangle out of the lights (i.e. Christmas tree shaped) with the strand zig zagging across the tree. Then hang the pictures and other ornaments from the clothes pins.
8. Snow flake ornament from hot glue and glitter. Take your hot glue gun skills to a new level and make this snowflake ornament. All you need is a hot glue gun, glitter, dish soap, wax paper, mod podge, string or wire, and a small paint brush.

What are your fun and frugal holiday crafts?