How To: Geek Up Your Holidays with These 10 Nerdy DIY Christmas Tree Ornaments

One of the more enjoyable parts of Christmas (other than opening gifts of course) is going out to find the perfect tree, struggle bringing it into the house, and decorating it. As the years went by, I realized that our tree looked exactly like every other tree in the neighborhood: the same lights, the same angel at the top, and the same red, green and white ornaments.

While the tree looks great and all, it can boring after a few years of the almost identical setup. It's the equivalent to wearing the same exact Christmas sweater every single year; it just isn't a good look. So, if you can spruce up those Christmas sweaters, why not spruce up your Christmas tree with some different and unique ornaments?

DIY Star Wars Ornaments

I'll start off the list with every nerdy sci-fi lover's wet-dream ornaments—Star Wars ones! These ornaments are easy to make and are made completely of LEGO pieces. Chris McVeigh, the designer, details on his website the specific LEGO blocks needed and the instruction guide to do it yourself.

The available builds are the Death Star, Millennium Falcon, Slave 1, and the TIE Fighter. See here for more info.

You can also make DIY snowflakes designed like Star Wars characters!

DIY Harry Potter Ornament

Like with Star Wars, the Harry Potter series of books has spawned an entire universe of its own. Everywhere I go, I can see the influence that the boy wizard has left on the world: King's Cross secret 9¾ platform in London, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando, and the International Quidditch Association teams scattered all over the world (with 835 in the United States alone). With the sport being so popular, it would only be right to create a Quidditch-inspired ornament!

Gabrielle from Tiny Apartment Crafts details how to make your own Golden Snitch ornament!

DIY Super Mario Ornaments

Everyone's favorite video game character has led nerds all over to build Super Mario-influenced DIY projects, ranging from carved pumpkins and Call of Duty emblems to cake decorations and calculator game hacks. Well, now you can add Mario Mushroom ornaments to the list!

Instructables user omninate uses a round wooden ball, a wooden dowel, and some paint to make these simple but awesome ornaments! You can also try this alternative method for making these Mushroom ornaments.

DIY Steampunk Ornaments

Have any old clocks that don't work anymore? Well, put them to good use by creating steampunk Christmas ornaments! You can take apart these old clocks and use their gears and hang them up with copper wire.

If you don't have any old clocks laying around, you can trace out any Steampunk designs and gears onto cardboard or paper, decorate them and cut them out. I'm sure Austin over at Steampunk R&D can help you come up with more Steampunk-inspired ornaments, so head over there and see if he's got some ideas for you.

DIY Computer Parts Ornaments

If you're a tech geek, there's a possibility you have several old computers. If you do, you might also have an excess of memory sticks. The guys at Recycle Art took the best looking RAM and drilled a small hole in the bottom to hang shiny bells from.

The green color of the memory sticks make them look great on the Christmas tree. If you have any old keyboards laying around, try your hand at this ornament project.

DIY Angry Birds Ornaments

If you have younger kids, this might just be the project for you. Made from felt, hot glue, and some paint, these Angry Bird ornaments are very easy to create.

You can find the printable templates on their website and choose from the Yellow Angry Bird, Red Angry Bird, and even the Green Angry Pig!

DIY Dr. Who Ornaments

Even though the character of Dr. Who has changed almost a dozen times since its inception, the popular television show has lost none of its charm and pizazz. Thanks to Instructables user craftycounterpart, you can create your very own TARDIS ornament and a Dalek ornaments.

But, maybe you're more of a Weeping Angels fan.

DIY Minecraft Ornaments

YouTube user iHasCupquake has several videos on her profile detailing how to make Minecraft Christmas ornaments.

The video above is of an Enderman, a three-block-high, humanoid, neutral mob that will attack the Player if provoked. Her other videos also include a TNT ornament and a Creeper ornament.

DIY Adventure Time Ornaments

Even though I'm 23, I enjoy watching the cartoon show Adventure Time. It's dark humor, hip slang, and catchy songs make for a great cartoon show for young adults. Houseofdarkly, an Instructables user, shows you how to make your own Finn and Jake Christmas ornaments!

All you need to do is print the PDF instructions, place them over felt, cut them out, and stitch them together (or glue if your stitching isn't too great). There are a multitude of other great Adventure Time characters, so feel free to try and design your own!

DIY Space Ornaments

Geek your tree out to the max with these icosahedral planet ornaments. The icosahedron is able to unfold into a flat map with not much distortion. All you have to do is print out the online templates and follow the instructions to put it together.

Cory Poole, a fellow WonderHowTo user, made five of these celestial ornaments in under an hour.

Now, what type of geeky Christmas tree ornament are you?