Woodland Christmas Decorations Your Child Will be Thrilled About

Why read: Get inspiration ideas on how to bring Christmas magic to life for your kids with adorable woodland Christmas decorations. There are affiliate links in this blog post. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. 

Updated November 12, 2018.

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Oh, how I loved that little worn-out hedgehog ornament on our Christmas tree when I was little. 

There wasn’t a big variety of Christmas ornaments then. We’d decorate our artificial Christmas tree with the same set of colorful balls year after year. What made the tree special though were  3 or 4 woodland residents looking stealthily at us from behind the evergreen branches. Every time I’d run up to the tree and look for my favorite of all – the hedgehog – the Christmas magic would unfold for me. 

I sit still by the tree and stare into those yellow eyes.  The breath of crisp air makes my cheeks red, and mild breeze plays with my hair. Snowflakes start to dance around me. The hedgehog comes alive and hops on to my lap. It then leads me through the moonlit night into a pine forest. There I am – the woodland princess.  Surrounded by different furry animals I’d live a different plot every time. 

And this morning when I saw my little boy sitting next to our freshly decorated woodland Christmas tree and talking to the ornaments, all those memories came back flashing at me. What a magical time – childhood! 

How easy we get carried away to the wonderland of our imagination when we are little.

And how important it is to create the right atmosphere and cherish those moments for our little ones.

DIY Pieces of our Woodland Decor

DIY Rustic Christmas Wreath

Making Christmas wreath from scratch was by far the most educational part of all decoration activities that we’ve done with my son.  There is just so much that we’ve (that’s right, WE!) learned with him in the process.

Let me start from the beginning. 

I watched a bunch of YouTube videos on how to make a Christmas wreath and as it usually happens with those pretty YouTube videos or Pinterest pictures things seemed so simple; in real life – not so much. I had a clear design of what I wanted to create in my head,  final results – not even close.  But I’m still very happy with what we created and I have to admit that all the credit of the wreath design goes to my son.

First, we went out to some local parks and collected pretty much everything we came across: branches of evergreen, pine cones, berries, leaves of different colors. Leaves didn’t actually go into the wreath but that’s what my son insisted on gathering the most, so I had to go with him on that.

We had so much fun running around parks and looking for what we thought would make the perfect wreath. Plus there is so much I learned myself like where to look for pine cones, when is the actual season of pine cones,  how to compete with squirrels and bears for the best pine cones. 

Pine cones are the cutest home decor pieces out there!!

I can’t believe I’ve never before collected them to just put around my house.  We ended up using pine cones for the tree, for the wreath,  to just put in a bowl.

My son learned to appreciate the beauty of nature. Besides, I talked to him about the symbolism behind a Chrismas wreath and how it represents the crown of thorns worn by Christ on the cross and how the little red berries resemble drops of blood. Whenever we go to church I talk to him about our Heavenly Father and his son, so he learned how Christmas wreath is connected to Christmas. 

Here is what we used to create our Christmas wreath:

• Wire wreath frame
• Floral green wire
• Pruning Shears

And of course, all the natural materials that Mother Nature gave us. So what we basically did was arranged everything we got from parks in no particular order on the frame with the help of the floral wire. I know! It’s THAT simple!

Note: Don’t throw away any extra materials, you’ll need those for your gift wrapping. 

Here is our final result! I think, not bad for our first wreath. And I am so proud of my boy as this is totally and utterly his design! 

Another fun DIY activity would be making a Christmas tree handprint ornament.

Woodland Christmas Tree

Because my boy is so much into animals now I couldn’t have thought of anything better than a woodland Christmas tree covered in snow. When I checked Christmas decor in Pier 1 I fell in love with all the animal and bird ornaments they had. Animals like deer, hedgehogs, small and big birds. All of that was just perfect for our woodland Christmas tree.

Another great addition would be a gnome. Learn how to make a gnome and it’ll be a fun DIY project to do with the kids.

Now that I’m updating this blog post, all of the woodland Christmas decorations from Pier 1 I posted here last year have sold out. But Amazon always comes to the rescue. There is a huge variety of animal Christmas decoration pieces on Amazon too. Check them all here.

 

And the best part about a rustic Christmas tree is that you can add a lot of DIY decor pieces which will look just as marvelous. You can get this burlap ribbon and just wrap around the tree. It will serve as the perfect garland. Plus you can tie it in all kind of interesting ways and use as a topper. Or it will go as a great addition to the wreath as well. 

This blog post has a roundup of some other great DIY ideas for you to try. Just pick those that will go well with your Christmas tree and add a personal touch to it. 

If you’re into crocheting, try making this super cute crochet star garland – it’ll go perfectly with your woodland Christmas decorations. 

To complete the look of your woodland Christmas tree you’ll also need a white Christmas tree skirt or you can go our way and put decorative snow around the tree and some on the tree. 

But whatever you do, don’t you dare forget the main character of the whole woodland party. I know who you thought of!  The woodland princess and her boy. Haha, I wish we could stop by and have some fun together.

But who I really meant is of course woodland Santa.

This adorable Santa had become a new addition to our family for the 10 days our Christmas tree was up. My son would talk to him, he’d join us for dinner and even have timeouts if he’d misbehave. Ah, it was so funny to watch all of that. 

Rustic Gift Wrapping

• Plain Brown Craft Paper 
• Twine Packing String 

I’m so happy we had so much fun with our Christmas decorations this year. Our woodland Christmas tree is surreally beautiful. The wreath looks so dreamy and smells so magically. I feel so proud of my son that he had his part in all of this. My heart melts to see how every morning he runs up to the tree and plays with the ornaments. He talks to his animal friends,  rearranges them, and our living room does really fill up with forest magic.

And when it’s time to put everything away, use these ideas for the best Christmas decor storage solutions.

By the way, his own animal toys also came in handy and received a special place around Santa. And if you need some other ideas for Christmas gifts for toddler boys check out my blog post here.  

Another kid-favorite trend to check out is candy-toned Christmas decor!

One Last Thing

When you’re a mom, preparation for Christmas and New Year can be stressful. But it doesn’t have to be.  Your kids don’t need expensive gifts or out-of-the-budget decorations. What they’ll cherish for many years to come are the memories you create together. 

And who knows maybe one day those memories come back to them and warm their soul just when they need them the most. 

How About You? 

Do you have a theme in mind for your Christmas decorations this year? Do you love including DIY pieces or maybe you’re a DIY queen and do everything yourself? I’d love to hear about your Christmas magic so please share in the comments.