Two Christmas Cranberry Crafts

Starting around Thanksgiving and lasting throughout most of the Christmas season, I try to do as many things as I can with cranberries. I love how they taste, and I love how festive they look. Here are two Christmas cranberry crafts that are fun and pretty easy.

1. Christmas Tree Garland

Pretty much every year, my mom and I try to make a garland for the Christmas tree. It is a really easy project that makes the tree look old fashioned and beautiful. All you need to make a garland is a bag of cranberries, regular popcorn (no butter!), a needle, thread, and scissors.

First, thread your needle. Pick a pattern that you want. For my garland I did two cranberries followed by three popcorns. Thread through the popcorn and cranberries. I've found that it's easier to do shorter strands of garland and connect them to each other later. To do this, make sure to leave some extra thread at the end of your garland. When you are done, drape on the tree!

2. Christmas Floating Candle Jar

This is another really easy craft that you can use to decorate for Christmas. All you need are cranberries (I used the ones I had left over from the garland), a canning jar, water, some kind of plant (I cut off a few branches from my Christmas tree), and a candle.

First, wash out the jar. Place the plant at the bottom. Make sure to push it down so it doesn't float to the top. Next fill up the jar with water until it is almost near the top. Leave a few inches for the cranberries. Add a few handfuls of cranberries to the top of the water. Finally, place a candle on top of the cranberries. Voila~an easy candle that adds a Christmas feel to your house!