Pinecone Christmas Crafts to Add Rustic Charm to Your Home

Pinecones drop in fall and are plentiful through winter, so they are an easy and traditional material to gather. Their tree shape just begs to be fashioned into Christmas trees, reindeer, owls, Santas, and trim. Check out sweet pinecone Christmas crafts below.

These are holiday projects designed for parents to create, with fun steps for kids to enjoy:

1. Pinecone Christmas Trees

Christmas trees made with painted green pinecones.

Materials:

  • Pinecones (medium to large work best)
  • Green acrylic paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Small foam brushes
  • White paint for “snow” (optional)
  • Glue dots or craft glue
  • Small pom-poms or beads for decorations
  • Gold or silver star stickers
  • Small wooden bases or cardboard circles
  • Newspaper or plastic tablecloth (trust me on this one)

Instructions:

  1. Cover your work surface because green paint has a way of finding every surface you forgot to protect
  2. Paint the pinecones green using foam brushes – let the kids go wild with this step
  3. While the green paint is still slightly wet, you can add white paint for a snowy effect by lightly dabbing with a clean brush
  4. Let dry completely (this is the hardest part for impatient little hands)
  5. Once dry, glue small pom-poms or beads onto the “branches” as ornaments
  6. Mark a star sticker at the top of each tree
  7. Affix the pinecone to a little wood or card circle base for stability

2. Pinecone Angels

A cute angel made with a green painted pinecone and felt.

Materials:

  • Wooden beads for heads (about 1 inch diameter)
  • Pinecones (smaller ones work well)
  • White or cream felt
  • Coffee filters or white tissue paper
  • Gold pipe cleaners
  • Small gold beads
  • Craft glue or hot glue gun (adult use only)
  • Fine-tip markers
  • Scissors
  • Gold ribbon (thin)

Instructions:

  1. Affix a wooden bead to the fine end of the pinecone as the head
  2. While that dries, cut wing shapes from felt or fold coffee filters accordion-style for wings
  3. Draw sweet faces on the wooden beads with fine-tip markers (prepare for some… interesting expressions)
  4. Create halos by twisting gold pipe cleaners into small circles and attaching to the back of the head
  5. Glue wings to the back of the pinecone
  6. Thread small gold beads onto thin ribbon to create a garland across the angel’s “body”
  7. Let everything dry completely before handling
  8. String with fishing line if you want to hang them, or create a whole angel choir on your mantel

3. Pinecone Reindeer

A reindeer made with a pinecone, pipe cleaners, pom-poms and googly eyes.

Materials:

  • Pinecones (medium size)
  • Brown pipe cleaners
  • Small red pom-poms
  • Googly eyes (various sizes)
  • Small twigs or brown pipe cleaners for antlers
  • Craft glue
  • Brown felt scraps
  • Black fine-tip marker

Instructions:

  1. Turn the pinecone on its side – this will be your reindeer’s body
  2. Glue googly eyes near the pointed end of the pinecone
  3. Glue a red pom-pom below the eyes for Rudolph’s nose (or brown for regular reindeer)
  4. Break small twigs into antler shapes or twist brown pipe cleaners, then glue to the top
  5. Cut small ear shapes from brown felt and glue on either side of the antlers
  6. Use pipe cleaners to create legs – twist around the pinecone and bend for stability
  7. Add a small smile with black marker if desired
  8. Let dry and watch your kids gallop them around the house making reindeer sounds

4. Snowy Pinecone Owl Ornaments

Snowy pinecone owl ornaments hanging in a Christmas tree.

Materials:

  • Large pinecones
  • White paint
  • Cotton balls
  • Orange felt
  • Black beads or buttons
  • Hot glue gun (adults only)
  • Twine for hanging

Instructions:

  1. Paint pinecone tips white to look like snow
  2. Let dry completely
  3. Glue cotton balls to create owl face
  4. Cut small triangles from orange felt for beaks
  5. Glue on black beads for eyes and orange felt for beak
  6. Attach twine for hanging

5. Pinecone Santa

A Santa made with pinecone,

Materials:

  • Pinecones (medium size)
  • Red felt
  • White cotton balls or batting
  • Flesh-colored wooden beads
  • Black fine-tip marker
  • Red marker or paint
  • Pink marker
  • Craft glue or hot glue (adult supervision needed)
  • Small black bead
  • White felt scraps

Instructions:

  1. Attach a wooden bead to the narrow end of the pinecone for Santa’s head
  2. Cut out a triangle of red felt for the hat and attach to the top of the head
  3. Glue a cotton ball to the tip of the hat
  4. Draw Santa’s face with markers – two dots for eyes, pink cheeks, and a smile
  5. Glue cotton balls around the base of the hat for the hat trim
  6. Add a cotton ball beard to the lower part of the face
  7. Glue small black beads for buttons down the front of the pinecone
  8. Cut a small belt from black felt and glue around the middle
  9. Let dry and prepare for requests to make the entire North Pole crew

6. Pinecone Snowman

A pinecone snowman.

Materials:

  • Three pinecones per snowman (small, medium, large)
  • White paint
  • Orange clay or felt
  • Black pom-poms or buttons
  • Thin twigs
  • Small scarves (made from fabric scraps)
  • Black fine-tip marker
  • Craft glue
  • Small top hats (optional – you can make these from black paper)

Instructions:

  1. Paint all the pinecones white and let dry completely
  2. Stack pinecones largest to smallest, gluing each layer
  3. Create a carrot nose from orange clay or felt and glue to the middle pinecone
  4. Add black pom-poms or buttons for eyes and mouth
  5. Insert thin twigs into the sides of the middle pinecone for arms
  6. Tie a small scarf around where the top and middle pinecones meet
  7. Add a tiny top hat if you’re feeling fancy
  8. Display and wait for the inevitable request for a whole snowman family

7. Pinecone Elves

Cute elves made with pinecones.

Materials:

Instructions:

  1. Attach wooden beads to the narrow end of pinecones for heads
  2. Cut pointed elf hat shapes from colored felt
  3. Glue hats to heads and add small bells to the tips
  4. Draw cute elf faces with markers – big smiles and rosy cheeks work well
  5. Cut small vest shapes from felt and glue to the front of the pinecone
  6. Use pipe cleaners to create arms and bend them into helpful poses
  7. Add tiny pom-poms as buttons or decorations
  8. Create an entire workshop of elves because productivity happens in groups

8. Pinecone Christmas Wreaths

A Christmas wreath made with pinecones.

Materials:

  • Small pinecones
  • Paper plates
  • Green paint
  • Red ribbon
  • Small red berries (artificial)
  • Craft glue
  • Scissors
  • Hole punch

Instructions:

  1. Cut out centers of paper plates to use as wreath bases
  2. Paint pinecones green and let dry
  3. Glue painted pinecones around the paper plate ring, overlapping slightly
  4. Fill any gaps with small artificial berries
  5. Punch a hole at the top and thread ribbon through for hanging
  6. Add a bow at the top with red ribbon
  7. Hang at kid height so they can admire their handiwork daily
  8. Make several because grandparents need holiday decorations too

9. Pinecone Bird Feeders (Edible Christmas Treats for Our Feathered Friends)

A pinecone bird feeder.

Materials:

Instructions:

  1. Wrap string around the top of each pinecone for hanging
  2. Spread newspaper under your work area (this gets messy)
  3. Use plastic knives to spread peanut butter all over the pinecone, getting it deep into the scales
  4. Roll the peanut butter-covered pinecone in birdseed until completely covered
  5. Hang outside where you can watch from a window
  6. Prepare for daily bird-watching sessions and excited reports about visitor counts
  7. Make multiple feeders because birds have friends too
  8. Refresh weekly and enjoy the wildlife show

10. Pinecone Hedgehogs

A cute hedgehog crafted with a pinecone and clay.

These aren’t exactly Christmas-themed, but they’re so adorable and easy that they deserve a spot on this list.

Materials:

  • Pinecones (medium size)
  • Brown or tan clay or playdough
  • Black peppercorns or small black beads
  • Pink clay or marker
  • Craft glue
  • Toothpicks (for details)

Instructions:

  1. Roll clay into a small oval for the hedgehog’s face and body
  2. Attach to the narrow end of the pinecone
  3. Add two small black beads or peppercorns for eyes
  4. Create a tiny pink nose from clay or color with marker
  5. Use a toothpick to add texture details to the clay face
  6. Let clay dry if using air-dry variety
  7. Create a whole family because hedgehogs are social creatures
  8. Use in holiday displays or keep year-round because they’re just that cute

Want more holiday inspo? Check out these budget-friendly painted rock ideas for Christmas, snowflake paper ornaments, clay DIY Christmas ornaments, salt dough projects, DIY Christmas wreaths, and a collection of 24 DIY Christmas ornaments to make with your kids.

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