Go out for a walk near a park or wooded area and you’ll see that pinecones seem to be everywhere at our feet this time of year. Amazingly, there’s plenty of fun and easy ways to repurpose them as Christmas decorations, and what better excuse to start the Christmas season than to start with a few pinecones?

Now that December has arrived, it’s time to get thinking about decorating ideas, and painting pinecones is a brilliant child-friendly activity that’ll get you to foist those fandangles around the house.

Mini Christmas Tree

Paint a pine cone with green paint and let it dry. Apply some regular glue on the edge of each spine on the pine cone and sprinkle some glitter. Once it’s dry, stick the pine cone into a mini pot and glue a star on top to make a mini Christmas tree.

Pine Cone Elves

To make some pine cone elves, use a small pine cone for the body and add a wooded bead for the head with glue. Draw faces with a marker, and use pipe-cleaners trimmed and tucked into the pine cones to make arms and legs. Finally, use old pieces of fabric to make hats and gloves.

Pine Cone Animals

Use clay, googly eyes and other craft-shop materials to add to pine cones to make any animal that comes to your imagination – the possibilities are endless!

Pine Cone Garland

Take a length of thread and add pine cones for a festive garland. It’s probably easiest to start in the middle, and alternate by adding pinecones on each side. Add some glue to the centre of the base of each pinecone, and stick the thread into it. The pinecones should lay straight when hung, and a coloured ribbon can be added for extra effect.