Festive pottery makes, from beginner to advanced
At Corrie Bain International Ceramics School in Barcelona, it is part of our studio philosophy that pottery is much more than form and function. Handmade ceramics are imbued with meaning and the joy of making. So, it’s the perfect time to create something special that you can incorporate into your festive celebrations.
Across all cultures, light and community are universal threads towards the end of the year. Whether it’s lighting candles in a menorah or kinara, or gathering round a communal meal with family and friends, handmade ceramics can be a special part of your winter celebrations.
So, here are some festive ceramic ideas, arranged from beginner-friendly to advanced, that you can make to celebrate this season and create a memento to enjoy in years to come.
Beginner-level projects
1. Tree ornaments
Handmade ceramic ornaments are timeless: small, meaningful, and fun to create. They’re ideal for anyone just starting their journey in ceramics.
Slab-built ornaments: Roll a thin slab of clay and cut out shapes with cookie cutters – stars, moons, or abstract forms. Impress texture with lace or pine needles, then add a small hole for a ribbon. Finish with underglaze colour or a simple transparent glaze.
Wheel-thrown ornaments: If you’re exploring throwing in our Barcelona pottery classes, try making small, hollow spheres. Pierce a small hole for hanging and decorate with slips or glazes.
2. Festive houses
Ceramic houses have become increasingly popular in recent years as festive decorations on windowsills, shelves or mantelpieces. They capture a feeling of warmth and community, glowing softly with a tealight shining inside.
Slab-built houses: Cut walls and roofs from slabs, score and join them, and carve small windows before assembly. When lit from within, they create a magical atmosphere. Try white matte glazes for a soft, wintry feel, or use brown clay and white engobe for a gingerbread-style house.
Thrown house bases: More advanced makers can combine wheel-thrown bases with slab roofs to create playful architectural forms: a great project to practice joining techniques and proportion.
Intermediate-level projects
3. Candleholders
Advent candleholders: Perfect for learning repetition – a skill we emphasise in our ceramics workshops in Barcelona. For a simple version, roll a long slab to form a tray and attach four small thrown or pinched candle cups. Number or decorate each to represent the four Sundays of Advent. If you’re working on your wheel-throwing skills, throw a matching set of four small candleholders and mount them on a slab or wheel-thrown plate.
Menorahs: A traditional menorah shape is challenging, so you’ll need to give it plenty of support as it dries. Using coils allows you to create a base, and you can attach pinched candle cups. For a non-traditional wheel-thrown menorah, you could make nine small vases of varying shapes with narrow necks to place the candles in or a more abstract shape with small holes for the candles.
Kinaras: Handbuilding is a great way to make a kinara. You can add personalised details, and use slips for the traditional colours of red, green and black.
No matter what kind of candleholder you’re making, remember to check the size of the candles and calculate the diameter you’ll need, taking into account how much the clay will shrink when fired. Different clays have different shrinkage rates, and there are easy-to-use online calculators to help you make sure your candles will fit in the fired holder.
4. Festive dishes & tableware
The Christmas table is the perfect showcase for your ceramic craft. From small dishes to full dinnerware sets, festive tableware combines practicality with artistry.
Small dishes & nibble bowls: Practice throwing consistent forms – ideal for olives, nuts or sauces. Subtle seasonal touches like stamped stars or a light wash of green slip bring charm without cliché.
Serving platters: Use slab-building techniques to create large organic forms for the centre of the table. Drape clay over a mold and use engobes for hand-painted details like holly, ivy or mistletoe.
Dinner sets: Experienced throwers might build a cohesive festive collection: mugs, plates, and bowls unified by one glaze palette. Deep reds, forest greens or soft snowy whites pair beautifully with candlelight and natural table settings.
Advanced-level projects
5. Decorative centrepieces
For skilled ceramicists, or ambitious students in our advanced pottery courses in Barcelona, sculptural centrepieces are a rewarding challenge.
Create a low, wide vessel and add sculptural elements like leaves, berries, or stars, handpainted with engobes or oxides. Alternatively, hand-build a ceramic wreath using coiled or slab-rolled segments, decorating with abstracted natural motifs, interwoven with greenery. It’s a technical and creative showcase of your ceramic skills.