Create a Festive Pine Cone Ornament with Parks, Recreation & Culture

Published on December 10, 2025

Arlington Parks, Recreation & Culture

Oh deer, have we got a cute holiday craft for you! If you are looking for ideas to get your family outdoors and have some fun on a budget, head out to one of Arlington's 100-plus public parks to collect pine cones you can use in our simple and festive reindeer ornament craft project.

Here are the materials you will need for this afternoon of fun:

• Pine cones

• Small twigs

• Red pipe cleaners

• Red pompoms

• Googly eyes (small)

• Brown felt

• Scissors

• Hot glue gun/glue stick

Reindeer Pine Cone Ornament

1. Cut the brown felt to make ears for the reindeer. (Tip: Grab a few fallen leaves to help you cut out the shape.)

2. Use the hot glue gun to carefully glue the eyes on the pine cone. Do this one at a time so you can hold the eye in place for a few seconds while it cools.

3. Attach the small twigs to the bottom of the cone with hot glue in order to resemble antlers.

4. Crease the felt ears in the middle then attach them under where you attached the twigs.

5. Carefully glue a red pom-pom on the tip of the pine cone. (Tip: Use tweezers to glue on the pom-pom since the hot glue can seep through.)

6. Cut a red pipe cleaner in half and glue the ends of the pipe cleaner to the bottom of the cone. The ends should be glued in between where the twigs were attached.

7. Hang your adorable ornament on your Christmas tree!

You can also try creating other types of holiday ornaments, such as gnomes, with your pine cones and crafting supplies! If you need a little more inspiration, check out Pinterest for more ideas.

We hope you and your family will have happy holidays and be sure to tag @cityofarlington on social media to show us your crafty creations after a day at the park!