How To Make Giant Christmas Ornaments From Plastic Balls
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Looking for a fun and easy Christmas craft project? Learn how to make giant Christmas ornaments out of plastic balls. These oversized Christmas baubles are inexpensive to make and look amazing for decorating your home and entertaining areas.
Best of all, they are a fraction of the cost to make compared to buying the same thing in the store! This tutorial will teach you how to make extra-large Christmas baubles. So gather up your supplies and let’s get started on these homemade Christmas decorations!
DIY Oversized Christmas Decorations
I love the holiday season and if you’re here reading this DIY plastic ball ornaments tutorial, my guess is that you do too!
Each year I love to add a few extra holiday decorations to our home, whether it be a few new Christmas lights to the front yard or a make-at-home Christmas decorations, like these DIY Christmas garlands.
For years I have adored the giant outdoor Christmas ornaments my mother-in-law hangs from their outdoor entertaining area each year. They are gorgeous but expensive! (She got them at a Boxing Day sale).
So finally, I decided to come up with my own variation.
While these fabric DIY plastic ball ornaments aren’t quite so weather-safe, they do look amazing hanging in our covered outdoor patio area. They also look incredible hanging from high ceilings or archways and above your front door step too.
Best of all – they are really easy and affordable to make!
What You Will Need To Make DIY Ornament Balls
To make your own DIY plastic ornament balls for Christmas, you will need:
- Plastic balls – I used 23cm (9 inches) bouncy balls
- Christmas fabric – The amount of fabric you need will depend on the size of your plastic balls and how many you are making. I used different fabrics.
- Zip ties
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Wide ribbon – I used a decorative burlap Christmas ribbon however any wide, strong ribbon will work.
- Greenery or other small Christmas decorations – Greenery such as artificial pine tree or holly sprigs are perfect for adding a little extra festive decor to your giant baubles.
- Fabric scissors
How To Make Giant Christmas Ornaments
To make your DIY giant Christmas ornaments using plastic balls, start first by placing one ball on your fabric and pulling up the sides so you know you have enough fabric to cover the entire ball and tie it at the top. Do this before cutting your fabric to size.
STEP ONE – Cut your fabric to the size needed for each of your ornament balls and place a ball in the centre. Wrap your bouncy ball in fabric, smoothing as you go and bunch the excess fabric at the top.
STEP TWO – Use a zip tie to secure the bunched fabric on top of the ball, ensuring it is tight and that the fabric won’t come loose.
STEP THREE – Trim the excess fabric.
STEP FOUR – Use a hot glue gun to attach a loop of ribbon to the centre of the bunched-up fabric at the top of your giant Christmas ornament. If you don’t have a hot glue gun, superglue or silicone glue will work too, but nothing quite beats the ease of use of a hot glue gun.
STEP FIVE – Decorate the top of the ornament with evergreen, berries and other decorations to hide the zip tie and add some extra charm to your beautiful oversized Christmas decorations.
They are now ready to hang!
These oversized ornaments are so easy to make that the kids can help you to make them. They look super cute and take under 10 minutes to make once you’ve got all your materials ready!
Can These Giant Christmas Decorations Be Used Outdoors?
Using fabric means that these DIY plastic ball ornaments won’t be suitable for outdoor use if you want them to last.
The fabric will fade quickly in sunlight, so unless you are looking for an oversized ornament option that lasts just one festive season, I recommend keeping these undercover or indoors.
I do hang mine in my patio area so they will likely last only a few years in the indirect sunlight compared to many years if used indoors.
How To Make Giant Outdoor Christmas Ornaments
The fabric version won’t survive full sun, so if you want giant ornaments for the front yard or an uncovered porch, make them a different way.
What you need
- The same plastic balls, or larger ones if you want real impact from the street
- Outdoor spray paint, the kind rated for plastic and exterior use
- A clear outdoor sealer, which is the step most people skip and the reason their ornaments fade by the second season
- Rope or heavy outdoor ribbon instead of the fabric ribbon
- An empty tuna can or similar, washed, for the bauble top
- Hot glue or outdoor silicone adhesive
How To Make Them
- Wipe the ball down first. Plastic balls usually come with a slight film on them and paint won’t grip properly if you skip this.
- Spray in thin coats. Two or three light passes hold far better than one heavy one, which runs and pools at the bottom of a round surface. Let each coat dry properly before the next.
- Seal it. A clear exterior sealer over the top is what stops the colour going chalky after a season in the sun.
- Add the bauble top. Glue a washed tin can, open end down, to the top of the ball. Spray it silver or gold either before or after you attach it. This is what turns a painted ball into something that reads as an ornament rather than a ball.
- Attach the rope. Thread it through the can or glue a loop directly to the top with outdoor silicone. Silicone holds better than hot glue in the heat, and if you’re in Queensland like me, that matters.
Decorating Ideas
- Stripes or spirals using painter’s tape before the second colour
- A cluster of three or five in different sizes hanging at different heights, which looks better than a single one
- Metallic on matte, so a gold top on a deep red or green ball
- Glitter spray over the top coat while it’s still tacky, though it will need resealing
- Hung from a tree branch in the front yard, from the gutter line, or either side of the front door
How Long Will The Outdoor Decorations Last?
Painted and sealed, you should get several seasons out of them. Unsealed, expect the colour to dull noticeably by the second summer.
Bring them in after Christmas if you can. Ours live in a tub in the garage and come out every year.
A note for Australian Christmases: full summer sun is harder on these than a northern winter. If yours will be in direct sun all day, seal them twice and expect to touch them up.
Making your own giant Christmas ornaments is a fun and easy way to add some extra holiday decor to your home. These DIY ornaments are also affordable, especially if you use recycled materials. So gather up your supplies and get started on making your own giant Christmas ornaments!
Have fun making your own large Christmas ornaments with your own unique touch!
For more Christmas crafts and activities:
DIY Giant Christmas Ornaments
These oversized Christmas baubles are inexpensive to make and look amazing for decorating your home and entertaining areas.
Materials
- Plastic balls
- Christmas fabric
- Zip ties
- Wide ribbon
- Greenery or other small Christmas decorations
Tools
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun & glue
Instructions
- Cut your fabric to the size needed for each of your ornament balls and place a ball in the centre. Wrap your bouncy ball in fabric, smoothing as you go and bunch the excess fabric at the top.
- Use a zip tie to secure the bunched fabric on top of the ball, ensuring it is tight and that the fabric won't come loose.
- Trim the excess fabric.
- Use a hot glue gun to attach a loop of ribbon to the centre of the bunched-up fabric.
- Decorate the top of the ornament with evergreen, berries and other decorations to hide the zip tie and add some extra charm to your Christmas ornaments.
Notes
Notes: These oversized Christmas decorations will fade if used outdoors. They are best used indoors or in undercover areas.
For larger ornaments, use a bigger bouncy ball or use a yoga ball or inflatable ball instead.
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