I love when my house is full of seasonal cheer. The tree, the lights, the stockings, the smell of cookies baking. All of it. Though we typically don’t put up our tree until the weekend after Thanksgiving, Mark convinced me to do it early this year – although it didn’t take much convincing because I was yearning to start decorating the house with all the seasonal things. So, our tree has been up since before Thanksgiving, and I pulled out our Christmas boxes of décor + have been adding little touches here and there throughout our house ever since.

When I opened those beloved Christmas boxes, I pulled out all sorts of treasures that I love decorating with each year. But, I also sorted through a pile that I will be donating to Goodwill. I don’t know if it’s the fact that my style has evolved over time or that our new house and space demands new items, but I wanted to freshen things up a bit. Last year we moved in just a few weeks before Christmas with a colicky newborn and strong-willed toddler, so we essentially only had a borrowed pre-lit Christmas tree in our house for celebration purposes. No time for anything fancy!

In a question of what to add and where, I decided to make these super simple holiday stars as one piece of the new puzzle. They are essentially free and add a rustic yet eclectic beauty to our holiday décor. I LOVE them.

Here’s how to DIY these Rustic Holiday Stars:

Supplies: Sticks & yarn or twine

1. Gather sticks or small branches from your yard. If you don’t have any, I’m sure your neighbor won’t mind if you pick up a few from their yard.
2. Decide approximately how big you would like each star to be and break the sticks into 5 pieces accordingly. Lay out the pieces to form a star along the way to have a better visual on the final product. These don’t have to be perfectly even.
3. Once you have a star laid out, take two pieces and overlap the ends. Wrap and tie your yarn or twine to secure them in place. They should be tight but adjustable.
4. Add the next stick and wrap + tie the overlapped ends together. Adjust the points of the star along the way to keep your shape. Don’t worry if it seems too lopsided, it will balance out each time you add a side to the star.

5. Continue until you have all 5 points of the star wrapped and tied together.

6. Trim any ends of the yarn or twine that are sticking out.

7. Add a long piece of yarn or twine to the top point and tie or hang it up.

I’ve added these to a wall hanging and on framed pictures in our living room. You could use these as ornaments, add them to a wreath or even include a few as part of a holiday centerpiece. This is a quick and easy activity that even kids would enjoy. Show me your finished product if you try it out — I’d love to see!

XO