Holiday Projects for the Creatively Challenged

The holidays are a great time to unleash your creative energy. There are all kinds of decorations and gifts that can be made by hand... that is, if you're creative. However, what happens if you haven't got an artsy bone in your body? Are you destined for an empty life, never knowing the joy of giving a gift that you had a hand in creating? Fortunately, these days there are plenty of ways for the creatively challenged to have an inspired holiday season. Here are some ways to impress your family and friends with your artistic ‘talent':

Create a warm greeting - Wreaths add a welcoming touch to any door or entryway and are fairly easy to make. All you need is a foam base (sold at craft stores), a glue gun and any group of things that represent the holidays to you. Some ideas are ornaments, pinecones, peppermint candies, small toys or a combination of several types of items. When you've chosen your pieces, get to work gluing them to the base until it looks sufficiently filled in. Tie a big bow to the top and it's ready for hanging or giving as a gift.

Design your own holiday cards - Don't worry. You don't need a digital art background to get involved in the card designing process. Online print shops make it simple to design the perfect holiday cards. You can choose one of their designs and then customize it to add your personal details and aesthetic preferences or you can use their program to design a card from scratch.

Share the holiday spirit - Who doesn't love to get a special bottle of liqueur for the holidays? (Okay, there's the kids, but who's counting them?) There are tons of online recipes for homemade liqueurs and most of them don't take much skill to make. Most consist of measuring and pouring a few key ingredients together and then letting the concoction sit for a period of time. Once your creation is ready, you can pour it into some fancy glass bottles or use some plain ones and tie them with ribbon.

Deck the halls - People are drawn to handmade ornaments. Each one has a story, which is why they stand out against the everyday store-bought ones. Yes, you can get very intricate with ornament making and some people do, but you certainly don't have to do that to create beautiful decorations. Stop in at any craft store and you'll find plenty of ready-to-customize ornaments that are perfect for non-crafty types. Choose some wooden ones to paint or pick up some hollow plastic or glass ones and fill them with something festive. You can also easily make some adorable cookie cutter ornaments, as explained on MarthaStewart.com; all you have to do is choose some holiday cookie cutters and glue special photos or festive scrapbook paper to the backs of them. Of course, you can always go the old-school route and dip a pinecone in glue and glitter and then decorate it up.

Remember, creating holiday items doesn't have to be intimidating. There are a lot of ways to make something your own without doing all the work. Besides, as the old adage goes, ‘it's the thought that counts'. Your loved ones are sure to appreciate your effort, especially knowing that you've done something so out of your comfort zone.