Mushroom Christmas Decor: 14 Cottage Style Ideas That Look Like Vintage Treasures

Mushroom Christmas decor is the sweetest surprise of the season, and it feels like opening a box of ornaments from grandma’s attic. Those little red caps with white dots have hung on European trees for more than a hundred years, standing for good luck and happy homes. Today they are back in a big way, from cottage style trees to moss wreaths and tiny woodland villages. The best part is that you can make most of these pieces at your kitchen table with clay, felt, paint and a few dollars of craft supplies. Every idea here is purely decorative and made from craft materials, never from wild mushrooms, so it is safe and simple for the whole family. Pour a cup of cocoa, pick a favorite, and watch your home turn into a storybook cottage..

Mushroom Christmas Decor Starts With Clay Ornaments

Mushroom Christmas decor begins with the easiest project of all: little clay toadstool ornaments. Roll a fat stem, press a dome cap on top, and let the pieces air dry overnight. A coat of glossy red paint and a few white dots with the end of a paintbrush turn them into tiny treasures that look like they came from an old German market. Tuck a bit of moss beside them on the branch and the whole tree suddenly feels like a walk in a snowy forest. Would you make a full set or just a few for the front of the tree..

You will need: Air dry clay, red and white acrylic paint, a small paintbrush, eye pins, gloss varnish, thin red ribbon.

How to make it: 1. Shape a stem about one inch tall and a round cap, then press them together. 2. Push an eye pin into the top and let dry for 24 hours. 3. Paint the cap red, add white dots, seal with varnish and tie on a ribbon loop.

Red and White Toadstool Tree Topper

Skip the star this year and crown your tree with one big, happy toadstool. A paper clay cap over a ball of foil is light enough to sit on the top branch without bending it. When the tree lights glow beneath it, the white spots catch the light and the whole thing looks like a vintage treasure. Guests always notice it first, so be ready to explain how you made it. Who in your family would love this one the most?

You will need: A foil ball, paper clay, a cardboard tube, red and white paint, matte sealer, floral wire.

How to make it: 1. Cover a foil dome with paper clay and wrap the cardboard tube in clay for the stem. 2. Let dry, then paint the cap red and the stem cream. 3. Add white dots, seal, and wire it gently to the top branch.

Felt Mushroom Garland for the Mantel

Mushroom Christmas decor looks extra cozy when it swings across a mantel. Little felt caps and cream stems, stitched by hand and strung on twine, bring a soft, homemade feel that store garlands can never match. It is a perfect project for a quiet evening in front of a movie, and kids can help glue on the white dots. Make one long strand for the fireplace or a short one for a bookshelf. How long would your garland be?

You will need: Red and cream felt, white felt or fabric paint, stuffing, a needle and thread, jute twine, fabric glue.

How to make it: 1. Cut half circle caps and small tube stems from felt. 2. Stitch each piece, add a little stuffing and sew cap to stem. 3. Dot the caps with white and thread them on twine about four inches apart.

Mushroom Christmas Decor Centerpiece on a Wood Slice

A thick slice of wood is the perfect stage for a woodland table. Pile on soft moss, add a few small mushroom figures, a handful of pine cones and two or three tiny bottle brush trees, and your dinner table looks like a page from a fairy tale. It costs almost nothing if you gather the pine cones on a walk, and it lasts from December all the way through winter. What would you add to make it your own?

You will need: A wood slice, preserved moss, small craft mushrooms, pine cones, mini bottle brush trees, hot glue (adult help).

How to make it: 1. Lay moss over the wood slice and glue it down in a few spots. 2. Arrange the mushrooms in little groups of two or three. 3. Tuck in pine cones and trees, then fill gaps with extra moss.

Painted Wooden Mushroom Set

For easy mushroom Christmas decor, plain wooden mushroom shapes from the craft store turn into a charming shelf display with just a little paint. Try classic red with white dots, then mix in sage green and soft cream for a calm, vintage look. Line them up on a windowsill or group them by size on a tray, and they make a lovely gift for a friend who loves cottage style. You can finish a whole set in one afternoon. Which colors would you choose?

You will need: Unfinished wooden mushrooms, acrylic paint in red, cream and sage, a dotting tool, matte varnish.

How to make it: 1. Sand the wood lightly and wipe off the dust. 2. Paint the caps in two coats and the stems in cream. 3. Add dots with a dotting tool, let dry and seal with matte varnish.

Mushroom Fairy Light Jar

This little glowing jar is pure magic on a dark winter evening. Fill a clear jar with moss, tuck in tiny clay mushrooms, and wind a strand of battery LED fairy lights through the middle. It gives that warm candle glow without any flame, so it is safe on a windowsill, a nightstand or a kids’ room shelf. Make two or three in different sizes for a cozy cluster. Where would you put yours?

You will need: A clear glass jar, preserved moss, tiny clay mushrooms, a battery LED fairy light string, a twine bow.

How to make it: 1. Press a layer of moss into the bottom of the jar. 2. Add the mushrooms near the glass so they show. 3. Coil the LED string inside, hide the battery box under the moss and tie twine around the neck.

Mushroom Christmas Stockings

Mushroom Christmas decor is not only for the tree. A plain knit or canvas stocking becomes a keepsake when you stitch on a big felt toadstool. Make one for each person in the family and add a name tag in cream felt, and you have a set that looks like it came from a pricey boutique. They hang beautifully with pine garland and look sweet even before they are filled. Would you sew them or use fabric glue?

You will need: Plain cream stockings, red and cream felt, white felt circles, embroidery thread, fabric glue.

How to make it: 1. Cut a cap and stem from felt about five inches tall. 2. Glue or blanket stitch them to the stocking front. 3. Add white felt dots and a few green stitches for grass.

Mushroom Christmas Decor Wreath With Moss

A moss wreath dotted with red mushrooms is one of the prettiest ways to greet guests. Start with a simple grapevine or foam form, cover it with moss and pine, and add mushrooms, pine cones and dried orange slices. The mix of green, red and warm orange feels both vintage and fresh, and it works from early December until the snow melts. Hang it on the front door or above a mirror inside. Which door in your home needs it?

You will need: A wreath form, preserved moss, faux pine picks, craft mushrooms, pine cones, dried orange slices, hot glue (adult help).

How to make it: 1. Glue moss all around the wreath form. 2. Add pine picks in one direction for movement. 3. Glue on mushrooms, cones and orange slices in small groups and add a hanging loop.

Felt Mushroom Gift Toppers

Brown kraft paper looks simple, but a little felt mushroom on top makes every present feel special. These toppers take about ten minutes each and can be saved and hung on the tree later, so the gift is really two gifts in one. Pair them with red and white twine for a look that is cozy, rustic and very budget friendly. Everyone will want to know where you bought them. How many presents will you wrap this way?

You will need: Red and cream felt, stuffing, white fabric paint, a needle and thread, kraft paper, red and white twine.

How to make it: 1. Sew a small stuffed cap and stem from felt. 2. Add white dots with fabric paint. 3. Tie the twine around the gift and knot the mushroom on top.

Mushroom Christmas Decor With Vintage Glass Style Ornaments

Mushroom Christmas decor has deep roots in Europe, where mouth blown glass toadstools have been sold at Christmas markets for generations. You can get the same look at home with clear plastic or glass baubles. Paint the inside of the bauble red, let it dry, then dot white spots on the outside and add a cream clay stem below. Hung near the lights, they shine just like the old ones. The classic red and white fly agaric toadstool is a famous good luck symbol, but remember these are for looking, never for touching wild ones outdoors. Would you hang them in a cluster?

You will need: Clear fillable baubles, red acrylic paint, white paint pen, air dry clay, strong craft glue, ornament hooks.

How to make it: 1. Swirl red paint inside each bauble and drain the extra. 2. Shape a short clay stem and glue it under the bauble. 3. Add white dots with a paint pen and hang.

Cozy Crochet Mushrooms

If you love yarn, a crochet toadstool is a wonderful small project for a winter evening. A red cap worked in rounds, a cream stem and a few white French knots make a soft mushroom that kids can hold and that looks lovely on a bookshelf. Make a big one for the coffee table or small ones to tie on gifts. They also sell very well at holiday craft fairs. Do you crochet, or is this the year you learn?

You will need: Red and cream worsted yarn, a 3.5 mm crochet hook, stuffing, a yarn needle, white embroidery thread.

How to make it: 1. Crochet a red cap in rounds and a cream tube for the stem. 2. Stuff both and sew the stem under the cap. 3. Add white French knots for the spots.

Mushroom Christmas Decor Village Under a Cloche

A tiny mushroom village under glass is the kind of mushroom Christmas decor that makes people stop and lean in close. Build little toadstool houses from clay, give them tiny windows and doors, and set them on moss with mini trees and a sprinkle of fake snow. The glass dome keeps dust away and makes the scene look precious. For more ideas like this, see our glass cloche Christmas decor scenes. Which little house would you build first?

You will need: A glass cloche with a wood base, air dry clay, acrylic paint, moss, mini bottle brush trees, fake snow.

How to make it: 1. Shape two or three small toadstool houses and carve windows with a toothpick. 2. Paint them red and cream once dry. 3. Arrange on moss with trees and snow, then cover with the dome.

Embroidered Mushroom Napkins

Mushroom Christmas decor can even reach the dinner table. Plain linen napkins become heirloom pieces with a few little stitched mushrooms in the corner. Simple satin stitch caps, back stitch stems and tiny white French knots are all you need, and each napkin takes about an hour. They make a thoughtful hostess gift tied with ribbon, and they will come out every Christmas for years. Set them on white plates with pine and your table looks like a cottage dinner party. Would you stitch a set of four or eight?

You will need: Cream linen napkins, red, cream and green embroidery floss, an embroidery hoop, a needle, a water soluble pen.

How to make it: 1. Draw a small mushroom in one corner with the pen. 2. Fill the cap with red satin stitch and outline the stem. 3. Add white knots and green sprigs, then rinse away the pen.

Mushroom Christmas Decor for the Porch

Finish the look outside with big toadstools by the front steps. Paper mache over a mixing bowl gives you a wide cap, and a sturdy cardboard tube or bucket makes the stem. Seal them well, nestle them in pots of greenery, and your porch looks like the entrance to a storybook cottage. Neighbors will slow down to look, and kids will love finding them when they arrive. Which corner of your porch would they brighten?

You will need: A large bowl, newspaper strips, flour and water paste, a cardboard tube or bucket, outdoor paint, clear outdoor sealer.

How to make it: 1. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and layer paper mache strips, then let dry and lift off. 2. Attach the cap to the tube with strong glue. 3. Paint red with white spots and seal two or three times.