Christmas traditions

Christmas traditions

a list of christmas tradition ideas

For me, Christmas is the icing on the cake at the end of each calendar year, especially now that I live in cold weather. Nothing gets me through the winter misery better than the lights, treats, trims on the tree, carols, cards…you name it. (In fact, you can read more about my obsession over at Scary Mommy!).

I’m all about a Christmas tradition that has personal meaning, won’t break my back, and will be enjoyed by all. Now that I have kids, I want to make sure that it’s enjoyable and will be memorable though I won’t mention the meltdown I had the other day when trying to implement one tradition that I started this year.

This list is meant to provide ideas for traditions that you might want to try out and is definitely not meant to add pressure! Pick and choose, adjust, do whatever you’d like!

1. Christmas Crafting tradition

As you might guess, I love me a good Christmas craft–from crafting with the kids to crafting some decor. Here are a few favorites!

Christmas paper village

This accordion paper village is one that you can put into your craft machine or cut by hand. It’s a simple and sweet way to add in some festivities to a mantle. Bonus: turn it into an event! Invite some friends over for holiday crafting!

2. Christmas crafts for kids

Now that I have kids I’m realizing the magic that comes with the holiday. There are, of course, an endless amount of things you can do with kids that can feel festive but these are some of our favorites.

vertical snowflakes with hands

Winter Snowflakes

Paper snowflakes are such a classic winter tradition. We took it up a notch with these templates. But, of course, feel free to do your own! Bonus: Get some family over to make them together!

Paper angel ornaments

These paper angels can be used as ornaments or as decor. We made them in color block colors but they are also beautiful in all white!

Christmas friendship bracelets

These Christmas friendship bracelets might be a little more complicated for little hands, but they’re great for older kids and teenagers. They’d be a great gift too!

3. Advent Calendars

As you know, I love a good Christmas advent calendar. I think it’s one of the best ways to amplify the excitement of the season.

In Denmark they have the tradition of lighting a candle on each of the four Sundays leading to Christmas. Typically, the four candles are arranged in a wreath of sorts (like this). We got a small table wreath from Trader Joe’s this year and I had already bought a gold metal stand with four candles so we are finally doing it in our own home!

Other advents mark the countdown to Christmas starting with that first Sunday or on December 1st. Here are some of my favorites!

kid's room decked out for the holidays

Christmas book Advent

I had seen this Christmas book advent calendar for awhile and decided to try it out this year. We picked out some new and some we already had and the boys love unwrapping the selected book each day. I’d say this is one we’ll continue with!

children's christmas books

Printable service advent

This is a printable advent calendar from our shop filled with prompts to engage in one act of service.

We have a ton more advent options in this post if you’d like to explore more!

Gift wrapping

As I was preparing this list of Christmas traditions, I was trying to think of some really unusual traditions that would knock your socks off, but then I went back to basics–the stuff we probably already do but maybe don’t consider it something special. As I thought more about it, traditions are oftentimes in those small moments! Gift wrapping is one of those small ones. We probably all wrap gifts, but do we consider a tradition? Let’s count it! Especially if we make a point of making a special moment. Maybe we find some unique wrapping paper, or ribbon, or method.

Cardboard Gingerbread House Gift Box

This is one of my favorite projects from the past–a cardboard gingerbread house gift box! A simple brown paper box and a white paint pen. So easy!

Turn Wrapping paper into a gift bag

You can turn any wrapping paper into a gift bag or another fun shape (like a shirt!). Here’s how!

Ribbon Weaving Gift Wrap

Woven Ribbon wrapping

Here’s another fun wrapping idea–Take some beautiful ribbon and weave it to make beautiful patterns. Here’s the how to.

Christmas smells

Christmas conjures up pretty specific smells, doesn’t it! Can’t you smell them now?! Cinnamon, wassail, cloves, nutmeg, trees…

Group shot

Christmas orange pomanders

The tradition of making Christmas oranges and cloves is one of my favorites. Plus, I love that beautiful pop of orange. Here’s how to make them!

Setting a pretty Christmas table

To me, this is another tradition that fits under the “I’m going to do it anyway” type of tradition that you don’t think too much about it. But the beauty in this tradition comes in the thoughtful details and the great company that make the memories. Here are some things to add to your table setting!

Christmas poppers

Christmas poppers

A common tradition in the UK and Australia, these Christmas poppers are a nice pop of fun! We have some printable versions here!

Christmas Song Bingo

This printable Christmas Song Bingo has become a popular game in our shop! Here’s everything you need to know about it including the playlist!

Swan a swimming tablescape-11

Swans a Swimming centerpiece

My brain reels about this one. Oh, to find the time to make an amazing centerpiece like this Seven Swans a Swimming again! If you are up for the challenge, here’s the how to!

Holiday Napkin Folding

Christmas napkin folding ideas

OR, the simpler version of the gorgeous swan above is a napkin fold at each plate. Here are lots of napkin folding ideas for your Christmas table!

Christmas Magic for the kids

As you might imagine, Christmas traditions really exploded once I started having kids. It’s the MOST fun! And hectic and stressful…ha! Here are some ways that we are attempting to create it.

kid's room decked out for the holidays

Mini Christmas tree

Paul has talked about having a Christmas tree in Jasper’s room for awhile and we finally did it! Plus, we decked it out. We even let him pick out his tree–so fun! More on this soon! We added in stockings, the book advent, and switched out pillows and artwork.

Christmas tree ornaments

While we’ve featured Christmas tree ornaments here and there over the years, this is the first year that I’ve really embraced my collection or lack thereof. I need to change that! I love the idea of collecting ornaments from places we go and making sure I treasure the ones given to me too.

family heirloom ornaments

Heirloom Christmas ornaments

Our most popular ornament by far has been our heirloom Christmas ornaments. The tutorial is here!

Paper candles

In Denmark they are pretty unstressed about using real candles on real Christmas trees but living in a desert, I’m not so confident. These paper candles are the way to go! And fun for kids!

Christmas Decor

I have a thing for wreaths! If nothing else, I will have a wreath on my door! Here are some favorite Christmas wreaths!

Poinsettia wreath

Paper Poinsettia wreath

We made these paper poinsettias out of paper! Here’s how!

Dresden wreath

A traditional Dresden wreath is PRICEY! So we made ours out of paper! Here’s how to make a Dresden wreath.

Oversized Paper Christmas Stars

Christmas paper star

I wanted to do a nod to the traditional Swedish paper star and I love how it turned out! Here’s how to make the traditional Swedish paper star.

Bottlebrush Trees

Another simple yet impactful idea is our bottlebrush tree done in crepe paper done in rainbow colors of course!

Christmas cards

I LOVE sending out Christmas cards! Every single year! Even when we didn’t have kids and no one really wants to see just a couple! Ha! I typically send out a team card and a family card. Last year we went with these ones, and this year we used these ones!

Christmas stocking

This is another one of those traditions that I find obligatory and maybe not special enough to actually write down in a list, but it’s a big deal, takes a lot of time, and is so magical! We need to pat ourselves on the back for it all!

Christmas stockings

I loved these DIY stockings that I made for when there were just three of us. I need to do one more for Felix and then we’re cooking! Here’s how to make a Christmas stocking in fun patterns and colors!

Bringing in your heritage

A great way to add meaning to your holidays is to dig into your heritage. I love making it personal! Bring in the background!

For me, this is digging into my Scandinavian roots. We made these Swedish inspired paper ornaments and I still put them on the tree every year!

My Scandinavian Christmas

In the early days of blogging, I did this My Scandinavian Christmas series where I had some friends in Denmark and Sweden contribute a project that meant something to them. There are some amazing projects in this series! Check them out here.

Santa Lucia

Santa Lucia is a big Swedish holiday that I love paying homage to. We made this printable crown a few years ago and I think it’s so so pretty. Here’s more about Santa Lucia and the Santa Lucia crown!

 

Handmade gifts

Gift giving is fun, but handmade gift giving is the ultimate. It can be much more sentimental and meaningful. I’m sure we don’t all have time to make handmade gifts for everyone, but a gift here and there is such a beautiful time well spent.

Paper Christmas Cactus

Corrie Beth Hogg made these Christmas cactus out of paper! It’s so so beautiful! We have templates and instructions here.

DIY Paper Holly boughs

Paper holly

I love this holly made from crepe paper. It’s a beautiful gift topper or decoration for a handmade gift.

Holiday Office Party

Office parties are a fun tradition, even if the office is super small. We typically like to go to dinner or have an activity, but it’s so fun to decorate the office. Here are some ideas!

Christmas Paper Office Decorations

Office paper holiday decorations

This is one of my favorite ideas! Use one ream of printer paper to make all sorts of decorations! Here’s the tutorial!

Grand Entrance

Whenever we’d come home for Christmas, my sister and I would take my parents staircase as a challenge for dressing up. It was such a fun tradition!

Holly and berry garland

Our favorite year was this holly and berry garland. You can find the tutorial here.

 

Nativity

Now that I have kids, I LOVE having some nativity sets that are more kid-friendly. I think it helps involve them in the story of Christmas. Here are some ideas to help them.

Midcentury painted heirloom nativity figures against a pink and red striped background.

Our heirloom nativity set is a modern day classic. I will forever love my set! Here’s how to make it!

Nativity Paper dolls

For Christmas Eve, I’m going to print these nativity paper dolls off and set them out for the kids. We’re planning on recreating the nativity so this will give little hands something to play with!

Nativity clothespin dolls

Alternatively, if you’re looking for a painted set that’s a more more simple than the full set, these nativity clothespin dolls are just the ticket. Such a sweet tradition.

Nativity puppets

But my favorite nativity for kids are our puppets. I bring these to  church with me when I teach the kids to sing Christmas songs and my kids love playing them too. If only they hadn’t lost my baby Jesus…Ha! I plan on keeping up this Christmas tradition until they won’t let me anymore!

Ok! This is QUITE the list! But I’d love to hear yours as well! Leave me a comment!

Christmas Decor Ideas

Paper Village Advent

Christmas Advent Calendars

To start off our list of favorite Christmas decor ideas, we had to include advent calendars! I love advent calendars, which is probably why we have so many to choose from at The House that Lars Built. Seriously, take your pick: we have such a wide variety that I’m sure one will suit your fancy! The thing I love about advent calendars is that they serve multiple purposes: A gorgeous and seasonal decoration to brighten your spirits, and a built-in count-down to Christmas! Oh, and the bonus of an occasional treat box.

Christmas Bulb Advent Calendar

Here’s a list of some of our favorite advents we’ve made over the years:

Garlands

cranberry garland

Another tried and true Christmas decor idea we love is the garland! Besides sharing a name with the one and only Judy Garland, these sweet Christmas decorations are way to bring instant cheer and warmth to this cold season. We have a wide variety of garlands we’ve made over the years, ranging from paper to real fruit. One thing we love about garlands is that they’re so versatile! You can drape them in front of the mantle, use them to create a table centerpiece, hang them on the bannister, or drape them on the Christmas tree, just to name a few options.

wood bead garland

 

Here are our favorite seasonal Christmas garlands:

Wreaths

single arm wreath shot

 

We couldn’t leave wreaths out of this list of Christmas decor ideas. Wreaths are such a classic Christmas decoration and we have plenty for you to choose from! We’re especially excited about our new Paper Poinsettia Wreath, which we just revealed last week.

Paper Mushroom Wreath

Here’s the list of some of our wreath favorites:

Ornaments and Tree Decorations

family heirloom ornaments

Here at The House that Lars Built, we love ornaments! Really, though, you could consider it an obsession. But can you blame us?! Besides being such a classic Christmas decor element, Christmas Ornaments are such a fun decoration and an easy way to make your home feel cozy, festive, and seasonal! It’s hard to pick my favorite, honestly. There are so many lovely options to choose from on this list, you can’t go wrong!

Paper Honeycomb Ornaments

 

Here are some of our favorite Christmas tree ornaments:

If you’re not feeling in the mood to get crafting and want a quick option to decorate your tree as Christmas gets closer, we’re here for you. As always, we have some beautiful new ornaments this year in the shop! Click here to see the options.

Shop Ornaments

Cake and Table Toppers

Okay, now if you’re like me and you like to have a cozy gathering or two during the holiday season, then these cake and table toppers are must-haves! There’s just something about decorating your food to look festive that makes eating it so much more appropriate for the holidays.

christmas cake topper

Here are our go-to cake and table toppers:

Crepe Paper Christmas Tree Cake Topper

And if you’re feeling in the mood for a little seasonal piñata to add to your party, we have just the thing for you:

pig pinata

Other Decorations

We’ve also compiled these other whimsical, fun and festive Christmas decor ideas for you to peruse. They cover a wide range of options, and we’re sure there’s something for you here!

stockings

 

Oversized Paper Christmas Stars

What did you think? We’re excited to see which Christmas decor ideas you decided to go with!

More Inspiration

If you had fun looking through our Christmas decor ideas, you’ll probably love our 2021 gift guides! Christmas Decorations Gift Guide, Best Gifts for Crafters, Christmas Gifts for Women, Christmas Gifts for Men, and Christmas Gifts for Kids.

DIY Ox for Chinese New Year

The Chinese zodiac is a repeating 12-year cycle of animal signs based on the lunar calendar. In order, the zodiac animals are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. 2021 is the year of the Ox, and the Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, marks the transition from one zodiac animal to the next.

Much like the zodiac signs we know as horoscopes, each Chinese zodiac animal represents personality traits, romantic compatibility, and what fortune the year will bring. In Chinese culture, the ox is a valued animal because of its role in agriculture and its positive attributes. People born in the year of the Ox distinguish themselves as honest and hard-working. Because of their honest and earnest character traits, they are reliable and trustworthy. They tend to be low-key and never look for praise, but their hard work often leads to recognition. These are only some of the traits associated with people born in the year of the Ox. Find more here.

Make Your Own Year of the Ox Party Decor

Supplies:

Pencil or marker, cardboard, craft knife, paper or packing tape, hot glue gun (with LOTS of glue sticks for all that fringe), acrylic or tempera craft paint and a paintbrush, brown tissue paper (multiple shades make a nice look, but only one is necessary), scissors, red, white, and tan cardstock, and red, yellow, and green crepe paper. 

Instructions:

  1. Draw a basic ox body shape onto a piece of cardboard and cut it out (you can add the horns and ears later!)
  2. Using the first cutout ox, trace and cut out another. Now you have both sides of your piñata.
  3. Cut long strips of corrugated cardboard 3 inches wide. You want the corrugation running perpendicular to the length of the strip so that it can bend easily to your ox’s contours.
  4. Using paper or packing tape and starting with one side at a time, attach the cardboard strips to the perimeter of the ox. Add more cardboard strips as needed to wrap around the entire circumference of the ox body. 
  5. Affix the other side of your ox with your tape. The ox should become 3D at this point.
  6. Wrap the hooves in tissue paper (about 11×11 inch squares worked well for us) and secure with glue.
  7. Cut long strips of tissue paper fringe (we used a mix of browns to get a pretty variegated look). The strips should be about three inches tall with fringe slits cut up about two inches.
  8. Working from bottom to top and wrapping around your ox’s body, glue down the fringe. You can alternate colors as desired, but it looks nice to have a base color you come back to. 
  9. Accessorize! Cut eyes, ears, and rosy cheeks out of cardstock and glue them to your ox. Cut two horns from cardboard and paint them, then glue them to your ox’s head. We made a tail by gluing some extra tissue paper fringe to a ribbon and attaching it to the ox’s rump.
  10. Make red paper peonies. Cut out a small rectangle (¾ by 2 inches or so) of yellow crepe paper and cut fringe into it, then roll it up to form the center of the flower. Secure with hot glue. Cut out red crepe paper petals and shape them by slightly stretching the middle to get a cup shape. Ruffle the tops of the petals by stretching small sections along the petals’ tops. Glue the petals to the yellow center. Cut out a few green crepe paper leaves and attach them to your ox along with your peonies.

This year, we wanted to lift our dreary winter moods in February by looking to world festivities. The Lunar New Year, aka Spring Festival, seemed like a fun celebration to set the tone for the coming spring. Display our DIY Ox as a lucky centerpiece to welcome the new year and all that it has in store for us.

DIY Valentine Fruit Piñatas

DIY Valentine Pinata from The House That Lars Built

DIY Valentine Piñatas in Fun Fruit Shapes

I’m thinking that these guys would be great to leave at a door for a friend or even send in the mail. And then match up the fruit with candies of the same flavor–can you imagine?! So cute! You can choose from an orange (orange you glad we’re friends?), peach “you’re a peach!”, a strawberry “you’re berry special”, a pear “you’re pearfect”, and a honeydew melon “HoneyDEW you want me to be your Valentine?”.

+ Printable Fruit Sticker Valentines

Complete your DIY Valentine Fruit Piñatas with these printable fruit stickers! Just download the file here and print them out on sticker paper. It’s just the touch your special someone will love.

DIY Valentine Pinata from The House That Lars Built

How to Make Your Own DIY Valentine Fruit Piñatas

Supplies:

DIY Fruit Pinata from The House That Lars Built

Instructions:

  1. Use our templates to trace the shape of the fruit onto cardboard. You’ll need two shapes per cardboard.
  2. Cut 1.5″ strips going against the grain of the cardboard for the sides of the fruit shapes. Glue or tape them onto the fruit shape.
  3. Cut 3/4″ fringe of crepe paper or tissue paper.
  4. Apply the fringe to the bottom of the fruit and then work your way up to the top of the fruit.
  5. STEM: Add on a stem by rolling a piece of tissue or paper around in a circle. Glue in place.
  6. LEAF: Cut a leaf out of paper or crepe paper and glue in place.
  7. Top it all off with one of our adorable fruit stickers (you can find them here).

DIY Valentine Pinata from The House That Lars Built

Other DIY Valentines

A Valentine with a handmade touch is the best way to show your crush, your gal pals, or your loved ones you really care. Check out our Valentine’s Day archives for more DIY ideas for the crafty Secret Admirer, or click any of the photos below.

 

DIY Peppermint Pig Piñata

The tradition of the Peppermint Pig

The peppermint pig tradition started in the late 1800s in Saratoga Springs, NY. Did you know that pigs used to represent wealth and prosperity? After dinner, people would place a pink peppermint pig inside a cloth, break it into pieces, and share it for luck. You can find some here.

Today we’re sharing a Lars twist on this tradition with a peppermint pig piñata. You can start a new Christmas ritual with your family! We love that it’s a little quirky and reminds us of an era gone by.

Peppermint Pig Piñata DIY

Materials

  1. cardboard
  2. butcher paper
  3. pig template
  4. tape
  5. glue gun
  6. pink tissue paper
  7. scissors
  8. black paper
  9. light pink paper
  10. optional: green paper for leaves, real fir, berries, red bow

Instructions

  1. Download the template and scale it to the size you’d like your pig to be. We did 4x the size of the template.
  2. Trace it onto butcher paper and the transfer the design onto your cardboard. You’ll need two sizes for the sides of the pig.
  3. Create the sides of the pig out of cardboard about 4-5″ wide with the grain of the cardboard going the width way so you can easily shape the curved parts.
  4. Tape or glue the pieces together.
  5. Cut fringe from tissue paper and glue layer by layer starting from the bottom of the pig. Each piece will be 3″ tall to the widest width of the tissue paper. We cut fringe about every 1/4″ wide leaving a space of at least 1/2″ at the top.
  6. Finish the pig details with some black paper at the bottom for hoofs, circles for eyes, and larger circles in pink paper for cheeks. If you’re feeling particularly festive, add in greenery around the neck.
  7. To add a hook onto the pig to hang, cut two holes at the top and insert a ribbon or piece of wire.

Would love to see your own versions! Tag us with #HolidaysWithLars or #LarsMakes so we can see them!

If you liked this, you’ll love:

Valentine’s Day Pinata Box
Cookie Box Printable

For tons more Christmas ideas, check out our holiday tag here.

DIY Valentine’s Rainbow Box and competition

Directions:

  1. Using a pencil draw a rainbow shape of the cardboard, once you have a shape that you like cut it out mine is out 17″ long from one base to the other and 7″ wide and 14″ tall.
  2. Trace the shape of the rainbow arch cut out in step one on another piece of cardboard and cut it out.
  3. Once you have the two arches cut out cut strips of the cardboard that will be used to connect the pieces together, you will need enough to connect the top of the rainbow and the bottom of the rainbow. I cut my trips to be 7″ wide and cut them as long as i could get them out of each piece of cardboard I had.
  4. With the newly cut long strips you will want to bend them so that they can create the arched pieces easily. To do this you can run it down the side of a table applying pressure as you go to break down the board, you will see that the cardboard starts to hold an arch.
  5. once you have these pieces cut bent will begin to assemble them together.
  6. Using a hot glue gun apply and generous amount of hot glue to the edge of the rainbow and place the arched long cardboard pieces to create an edge along the rainbow arch piece. If the 7″ wide piece does not make it all the way across you can add in another piece to get it all the way to the bottom.
  7. Once the piece is attached take your second rainbow arch and use hot glue to in the same manner to attach that piece.
  8. Once the top of the piece is done you will add the underbelly of the arch by repeating step 6.
  9. You can trim with scissors or a craft cutting blade and excess of the 7″ strip of cardboard.
  10. Trace the bottoms of the rainbow onto cardboard where it is still open and cut the pieces out and attach them with hot glue.
  11. Cut a slit at the top for all of your hards to be placed into and your form is done!
  12. Cut strips of news paper about 1.5″ wide by 7″-13″ long
  13. Make paper máche for your rainbow form.
  14. Apply a light layer of paper máche covered news paper to your form and allow sufficient enough time to dry, I left mine overnight.
  15. Once dry you can paint onto it!
  16. I measured mine out a little so I had a good idea of how much of each color I could fit onto the rainbow.
  17. Once your box is painted and dry you can can cut flaps into the bottom of the rainbows to retrieve all of your love letters!

Let the Valentine’s games begin! We are taking this very seriously! Ha!

Sunshine Piñata to Make you Smile!

Ever since having Jasper, my eyes have been opened to the magical world of children’s clothing. Everything is cuter when it’s pint-sized! I’m sure many of you with kids are familiar with Gymboree, so you’ll be thrilled to know they are giving their brand a revamp! The clothing styles are modern and fresh while still maintaining the comfort and sensibility kids need. The clothing is so sweet and is sure to make you and your littles smile! We were so inspired by the colorful, fun pieces that we designed a party scene around the new line, complete with an Alexander Girard-inspired Sunshine Piñata!

Take a peek at the collection and download the templates to make your own sunshine piñata!

Gender reveal stork pinata

Stork pinata gender reveal

Ashley is a very good friend to everyone around her. She volunteered to help a friend announce the gender of their baby with their friends and came up with a stork piñata to do so. Such a clever idea! Inside the stork they filled candy and decorations in pink to announce the girl they were having. I loved the idea so much I asked if they could document the process.

Zodiac pinatas

Zodiac pinata aries

I’m absolutely tickled to introduce you to today’s guest contributors, Eunice and Sabrina Moyle of one of my all-time favorite stationery companies, Hello Lucky! These two are creative masterminds who have inspired me in so many ways. Eunice’s wedding as featured here, was a huge inspiration for my own wedding. They take the simplest of projects and turn it into something extraordinary and clever. Welcome, ladies! 

We were appointed hosts of a sex reveal party for an expecting couple and wanted to plan something unexpected! We landed on a piñata, because what’s not to love about piñatas? The astrological inspiration allowed us to personalize it based off the babies birth month. We filled it with candy (nuts/ no nuts) and let the parents have at it!

Astrological piñatas are great for birthday parties too! They make an entertaining and special addition to any party theme. Added bonus- They’re super fun to make (even more so to destroy).

-Eunice and Sabrina Moyle | Hello!Lucky

3 Valentine’s Day piñata boxes

 

It’s been a while since my school days when everyone brings in a homemade box to store their valentines from classmates, but after our hair product pinatas for Rubi’s workshop, we wanted to piñata everything! Thus, Valentine boxes were in order. We made some red lips, a Love Bug with a trunk that opens, and a hot air balloon. Each one I’m trying to figure out how I can display on a permanent basis. They are too cute!
Hot air balloon pinataLove bug valentine box

Find the full tutorials below! 

DIY hair pinatas

Throw a hair party with some festive pinatas!

On Tuesday evening we were pleased as punch to host the release of Rubi Jones‘ book, The Art of Hair, with a braiding workshop and book signing here at the studio. We knew we needed something punchy and celebratory for the event so we decided to go all out with a brigade of hair-inspired piñatas. Along for the ride are a metallic comb, hair brush, blow dryer, shears (I was corrected that they are not scissors), and hairspray. “But, Brittany, what do I need a brigade of hair-inspired pinatas for?” Friends, the possibilities are endless (and I’m sure you can add to it):

  • braiding party (a la the intro of Full House)
  • treat yo’ self night
  • your salon, your friend’s salon, your wanna be salon (a la, your living room)
  • girl’s night out
  • weekend retreat
  • your bathroom/party room
  • surprise at a friend’s door for a birthday
  • and last but not least, Galentine’s Day party as shown by Kelly Of Studio DIY

You catch the drift.

Well, I’ve combined with Kelly of Studio DIY to complete the hair product brigade with an adorable hair spray complete with an air pouf along with a detailed step by step tutorial. Scroll down to see how hers completes the puzzle or check the full post here.Throw a hair party with some festive pinatas!Throw a hair party with some festive pinatas!

See the full troop and instructions below! 

How to Make a Post-It Heart Piñata

I’ve been wanting to play with post-its FOREVER and finally got the opportunity last week to make this post-it heart piñata.

DIY post-it heart piñata

Confession, they aren’t really post-its. I wanted a wider color palette, so I had to make them myself.

Materials:

  • Post-its (or paper of your choice in post-it size. I used one to measure)
  • Scissors
  • Cardboard
  • String
  • Glue gun
  • Pencil

Instructions:

  1. Draw a heart onto your cardboard (mine was 20″ down the middle and 30″ across the widest point)
  2. Cut out two hearts for the front and back of your piñata
  3. Cut strips of cardboard 5″ wide to go around the perimeter of the heart
  4. Curl the strips with a pencil so they are more pliable
  5. Glue the strips to the heart
  6. Fill your heart with fun favors or candies
  7. Glue the other side of the heart to the strips
  8. Apply the post-its or paper with the glue gun starting at the bottom and working your way up to get the layered effect. (I started with light colors on the bottom and worked up to darker colors).
  9. Punch two holes on either side of the arch of the heart
  10. Bring a string through and tie on top

Done! Now you’ve got a post-it heart piñata for your celebration!

For more pictures of the process, go to Brooklyn Bride.

A HUGE thank you to Amanda Thomsen for taking time out of her day to come take the final shots with our super models, JJ and Cecilie.

I have another project coming with post-its. Are you stoked?!

More DIY piñata ideas

Who doesn’t love piñatas? We always have fun making our own, plus you can create it in whatever shapes or colors you’d like! If you’re really into piñatas, check out the wedding cake. Another DIY piñata tutorial is this sunshine piñata that’s sure to put a smile on your face! For Christmas, check out this peppermint pig tradition that we turned into a piñata! For more DIY piñata ideas (for any occasion!), take a look through the archives here.

Let us know how your piñata creations turn out with the hashtag #larsmakes on Instagram