DIY Twinkling Present Decor

This twinking present is a quick and easy holiday decor piece that’ll kindle the Christmas spirit and light up your nights!

This Christmas season is a juxtaposition of extremes here at The Navage Patch.

The season started (well, started for us anyway) with the mercury still stubbornly grasping towards the 100 mark. Our thermometer got a little too used to the triples this year.

Then, in a sudden and inexplicable reversal, we now find ourselves with frost on the grass and mercury readings that look like a frightened turtle.

And while I can’t say I’m not relieved to stop the non-stop sweat-a-thon that’s been plaguing me since June, I’m not thrilled about swaddling up our palms and other delicate trees to survive this onslaught of invasive weather that clearly belongs up in Canada and the Northern border states. Take back your cold – we don’t want it!

Anyway, just as the mercury has been big and small, so too has our decor this year. Specifically, big on the outside (more to come real soon on that) and small(er) on the inside. This goes for size and quantity. Since we didn’t do much outdoor decorating for Christmas last year, and since we went light this Halloween, we feel it’s time to go big this year.

But back to the inside. It’s going to be a slightly different Christmas this year. Baris will be graduating from Virginia Tech this December (3 1/2 years, civil engineering, honors student, proud mama and papa!), so he’ll be with us for the last time as a permanent resident of this house. Next year, either he’ll be visiting from his new digs, or heck, maybe we’ll do Christmas wherever he settles!

Because of the hectic schedule of the next month, we’re keeping it simple inside. Simple, but not entirely undecorated. And today I’m going to share a super simple DIY that looks like you spent hundreds on it. Lemme show you how – it’s so easy!

DIY Twinkling Present VIDEO Tutorial

Watch our short and fun video below for an overview of our twinkling present before you read the detailed step-by-step tutorial.

Twinkle present Tutorial

Step 1 – Build the box

The acrylic box I used comes as six panels – 5 clear and a black base. The pieces assembly quickly with the help of little rubber bands that those who wore braces in their youth might recognize.

Step 2 – Lay a foundation

I used two different sizes of ornaments for this present. We’d bought some from Amazon that were about 2.5″ in diameter, but they weren’t enough to fill the box, so we bought more from Michaels that were 3″ diameter.

I laid a perimeter of the smaller ornaments, leaving a space in the middle for the battery pack of the fairy lights. This type of fairy light lasts a long time, so the lights should last the season with judicial use.

Step 3 – Nestle the battery pack

I placed the battery pack in the middle.

Step 4 – Fill the box

The goal when filling in the ornaments was to keep the lights in the middle of the box as much as possible. I’d add a random mix of ornaments and then stuff some lights into the center and then repeat until the box was filled and the entire strand was tucked into the center space of the box.

Step 5 – Cap it

When I had the box filled as much as possible with no ornaments peeking above the plane of the box, I placed the last acrylic panel on top.

Step 6 – Put a bow on it

Any bow will work, but we went with a fancy one that my babes helped me make. Okay, who am I kidding, she made the whole damn thing while I looked on with my mouth hanging open and a glazed expression on my face.

The lights have 8 presets, so you can enjoy steady light, or you can make them twinkle!

With the lights out, this twinkling present looks stunning!

Let us know how you like this twinkle present, and I’ll see you soon!