Homemade Crystal Holiday Ornaments

One of the easiest, quickest and most reliable holiday crystal-growing projects is the borax crystal snowflake. If you are new to growing crystals, this is a great starting point. If you are experienced with crystals, why not add to your collection or grow more elaborate snowflake shapes?

Make a Borax Crystal Snowflake

The Star of David is an easy shape to form, plus it makes a great crystal decoration. This project shows you how to make opalescent crystals, that shimmer with a rainbow of colors.

Make a Crystal Star of David

The magic crystal Christmas tree is sold as a holiday crystal-growing kit, but it's also a simple project to perform yourself. Either way, the crystal tree is a festive tabletop holiday decoration.

Homemade Magic Crystal Christmas Tree
Timelapse Video of Growing Crystals

I live at the beach, so I like making tropical and beach-themed ornaments. You can grow crystals on a dried starfish or a shell for sparkly sea decorations.

Make a Crystal Starfish

Cut-out paper snowflakes are fun to make and hang. You can coat them with crystals to produce a sturdier ornament. Add food coloring to the crystal solution for color crystals or use colored paper for a more subtle look. In this case, the colored paper shows under clear crystals.

Crystallized Paper Decorations

You can hang crystal stars or invert them for use as Christmas tree toppers. Also, it's just as easy to make a six-pointed star as it is to make a five-pointed star, so you can make Star of David decorations.

Make a Crystal Star

Crystals grow on fabric as easily as they grow on a string. One fun application of this is to grow sparkling crystals on a miniature Christmas stocking to hang as a decoration. If you are up for a bigger project, crystallize a full-size stocking or coat any fabric ornament with crystals.

Crystallize a Holiday Stocking

Crystal hearts make pretty decorations any time of the year. Here's a decoration you can make now and leave up until Valentine's Day and beyond. They are so pretty!

Make a Crystal Heart

Technically, these are sugar in its "glass" form rather than "crystal" form, though you could crystallize rock candy into an icicle shape if you're a purist. These pretty icicle decorations can be made clear or colored, plus you can eat them.

Make Candy Glass Icicles

Nearly any of these crystal decorations can be made to glow in the dark. Here's an example of how to make the borax crystal snowflake glow in the dark. You could also make the crystal paper or fabric ornaments glow quite easily.

Make a Glowing Crystal Snowflake

Most snow globes are filled with glitter or bits of white plastic, but you can prepare a chemical solution that produces real sparkling crystals. These crystals are non-toxic benzoic acid, not water ice, so they won't melt yet will sparkle inside the globe like the real deal. You can add a winter or holiday scene to the inside of the globe to make it special. If you can't find a glass globe, you can stopper a piece of lab glassware or use a clear glass ornament from a craft store.

Make a Real Crystal Snow Globe