There’s no need to run out and buy Christmas decorations this year!

Cynthia MacGregor, author of “Mommy’s Little Helper Christmas Crafts” (Meadowbrook Press), offers some fun and inexpensive ways to spend time with your children and decorate your home. MacGregor suggests two quick and easy projects you can do with your child that will transform regular pine cones into dazzling holiday decorations.

The materials you will need are pine cones, paint, glue, a small jar lid, aluminum foil and glitter.

The first project takes just 30 minutes. Start by having your child lay newspaper over the work space. Spray-paint two pine cones silver, two gold, and leave two unpainted. After the paint has dried, your child can do the rest of the work with your supervision. Have your child put glue on the silver cones, and then sprinkle gold glitter over them. In the same manner, sprinkle silver glitter over the gold cones.

Next, have your child apply glue to the unpainted pine cones. Sprinkle the gold and silver glitter that has fallen on the newspaper over the two cones.

When all the pine cones have dried, shake off the excess glitter. Now you can use your glittery cones to decorate your house. Place them in a wreath, on top of a mantel, or in a wicker basket with a red ribbon.

The second project is a miniature Christmas tree. You will need one pine cone and a jar lid that is a slightly bigger than the base of the pine cone.

Start by covering the lid with aluminum foil. Your child can put glue on the foil-covered lid, and place the base of the pine cone onto the glue. When it has dried, let your child decorate the miniature Christmas tree with glitter, tinsel or sequins.