Christmas in a Jar

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and  lots of time spent with friends and family.  Half of our kids were home and two of our granddaughters so we were delighted.

Today I wanted to pick out an easy Christmas project that almost any age from about 2 on up (with help) can do in under an hour.  They turn out so cute and are so easy peasy.

You need some small Christmas trees. Two in a package are only $1 at the Dollar stores or can be bought at any craft store for a little more.  They have a variety to pick from.

You need to gather up as many jars.. as needed. They can be all the same or different.  You need one for each gift or decoration.  I had these jars available but you can also buy them at any store including the dollar stores.

Any kind of regular glue will work.  These are two of my favorite as well as Elmer's glue---even cheaper.

Optional are spray glitter and spray snow available again at any craft store or big box store that sells Christmas decorations. You can 'glam up' your trees or use as they are.

If you want to get fancy, you can spray your trees with alcohol inks or spray glitter.  You can also bleach the bottle brush trees in a mixture of one part bleach and two parts water until the color is gone.  I then added some of mine to food coloring batches with vinegar and food coloring after rinsing them with soap and water to get the bleach out. 

You also need a large jar of glitter.  Again you can choose any color you want or mix and match.

You can add family photos to make the gift more personal.  This is one of our granddaughters and she was goofing off in a pair of pink glasses standing on a chair.  It is perfect for what I want. This size picture was printed on my printer using the 3x5 setting to get the size I wanted.  Some pictures might need to be a little larger or smaller, depending on the size jar you are using.  I printed this size and a wallet to pick the best option.

I cut the picture out so she is a silhouette and put glue on the back side.

I glued it to card stock.  Any type paper that is thicker than printer paper will work. Photo paper is thick enough that it doesn't have to be backed. Construction paper is great.  I then cut that out around the figure.

I glued the bottom of the Christmas Tree and placed it where I wanted inside the jar.  I glued the picture next to the tree then poured in the clear white glitter.  It looks like she is standing in the snow reaching to the top of the tree.  I could have added a small ornament or paper star to her hand but didn't think of that until this was all done and am now explaining the steps.  Isn't that how it goes?
I embellished this jar with ribbon and added two large jingle bells and a tag that says MERRY CHRISTMAS.

I took three other pictures and printed them on stamp size prints.  These are two other grand daughters who are swimming and have goggles on.  I cut them out so they look like they are buried in the snow and their doggie is sitting next them, partly buried.  They are also backed with card stock and glued in front of the little tree.  I did not label this one.  I used a wide velvet ribbon around the lid and added a ribbon package topper.

This jar I did not use photos but looked through my stash of odd ball ornaments and found this little nativity scene.  I again glued all the elements to the bottom of the jar and added the glitter "Snow'.
I printed a tag that said  'O Holy Night'.  I found a funky elastic ribbon and put it around the  lid.
Lids can be painted or covered in paper as other options.

So there you have three different ideas for these little jars.  They are great gifts for teachers or to personalize for grandparents, aunts and uncles or special neighbors from your and/or your children.

I hope you enjoyed this and it starts you thinking of all kinds of other ideas to make simple but affordable decorations.