Want to decorate for Christmas using materials from nature? These simple Christmas tree ornaments come together quickly, using only a few supplies you probably already have on hand.

Christmas tree made of glued sticks wrapped in red ribbon and decorated with green pom poms Text reads: Christmas Tree Nature Craft

Supplies:

sticks/twigs
ribbon or raffia or twine
hot glue gun and glue (We like this anti-scald one for kids.)
craft mat
garden shears
pom poms or sequins (optional)

Christmas tree shaped craft made of three twigs glued together with red ribbon wrapped around it and a pile of green pom pom decorations off to the side. — Christmas Tree Nature Craft with twigs and ribbon

Steps:

Gather and clean your sticks. You can follow the same steps as in this tutorial for cleaning pine cones.
Decide how big you want your nature Christmas tree ornament to be. Then use garden shears to trim your sticks to size.
Place 3 sticks on your craft mat in the shape of a triangle/tree. Hot glue the ends of the sticks together.
Once the hot glue from the previous step is dry, use a dab of hot glue to attach one end of your ribbon/ raffia to the top of one side of the triangle tree. Carefully wrap the ribbon around the stick tree triangle working your way down the tree at a diagonal to represent garland on a Christmas tree. Hot glue any spots where the ribbon needs extra support to stay in place on the tree.
(Optional) Decorate your tree with pom poms or sequins, including adding a topper.
Use an ornament hook to hang your nature Christmas tree. Alternatively, attach a loop of ribbon or twine to the top of your stick tree to hang it with.

Tips:

If working with young kids, be sure to clarify with them which steps are kid-friendly and which are for adult hands only (such as using the shears).
The scald-free hot glue gun is a good option when doing this craft with kids, but still proceed with caution, showing kids safe practices.
Be sure the hot glue doesn’t seal your Christmas ornament craft to the craft mat. It can be difficult to detach once the hot glue is dry.
Kids may want to make all kinds of Christmas trees from the twigs you gather. Help them with the cutting, but then let their imaginations soar. (See the pom-pom nature Christmas tree below made by a nine-year-old.)