• Use these cheap holiday craft ideas to turn any area into a winter wonderland.christmas illustration - christmas tree. image by Indigo Fish from Fotolia.com
  
  Making a home appear festive on a tight budget can be a challenge. Use these cheap holiday craft ideas to overcome that challenge and turn your home into a winter wonderland you can be proud of. These craft ideas also work well for keeping children entertained, and the supplies they call for can be purchased in bulk for a low price, making them ideal activities for day care centers and classrooms.
  
  

Silver Bells

• Make deocrations that resemble silver bells from ordinary paper cups.silver bell image by hazel proudlove from Fotolia.com
  
  Wrap paper cups, like those that you would buy for a party, in aluminum foil, taking care not to let the foil crease or wrinkle too much. As the RobinsFYI website suggests, turn the cups upside down, so that they resemble bells, and decorate each bell with glitter glue, markers or whatever other supplies you have on hand. Glue a piece of pipe cleaner to the bottom of each cup and hang the silver bells from the branches of the Christmas tree, the knobs of seldom-opened cabinets or the knobs of bedroom doors.
  
  

Cinnamon Ornaments

• Use cinnamon and other spices to make festive Christmas ornaments.cinnamon tea image by ennavanduinen from Fotolia.com
  
  To make cinnamon ornaments, as suggested on the RobinsFYI website, mix one cup of cinnamon, one tablespoon of cloves and one tablespoon of nutmeg together. Add two tablespoons of white glue and three-fourths of a cup of applesauce that has been left to drain in a colander for several hours beforehand. Work the mixture with your hands until it is smooth and well-blended. When it is ready, roll it out as you would cookie dough, to a thickness of one-fourth inch, and use cookie cutters to cut the dough into holiday shapes. Press a plastic drinking straw into each shape to make a hole at the top for hanging and leave the ornaments to dry on a wire rack for a few days, turning them over twice a day to avoid the edges curling inward. When the ornaments have dried, thread pieces of ribbon through the hole at the top and knot it in place.
  
  

Playdough Ornaments

• Cut play dough into holiday shapes, such as stars.christmas tree image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com
  
  To make play dough ornaments, as suggested on the RobinsFYI website, mix one cup of flour, one cup of warm water, two teaspoons cream of tartar, one teaspoon oil and one-fourth of a cup of salt together in a pot, and then add several drops of food coloring or Kool Aid. Stir the mixture over medium heat, stirring for about three to five minutes, or until the mixture is smooth. When the mixture takes the shape of a ball, remove it from the pot and knead it until it is once again smooth. Let cool and then cut into holiday shapes, like bells, Christmas trees and candy canes.
  
  

Pasta Wreath

• Use dry pieces of pasta to decorate a homemade Christmas wreath.macaroni basket image by Rog999 from Fotolia.com
  
  Use this craft, featured on the RobinsFYI website, to make an attractive, creative holiday wreath. Cut the center out of a heavy paper plate, leaving only the rim. Use a hole punch to make a hole in the rim, then thread a piece of green or red yarn through the hole and knot it in place. This yarn will be used to hang the wreath. Glue elbow macaroni or bowtie pasta to the rim, covering it completely. When the glue has dried, spray paint the wreath a color of your choice. If spray paint is not available, color the pasta pieces with green and red permanent markers before gluing them to the rim of the paper plate.