A great way to cut some costs this Christmas is to try your hand at some simple DIY Christmas decor ideas rather than splashing out on expensive decorations. Not only will you save money, but it’s a great way to spend some quality time with the kids – making memories and decorations. Moreover, you’ll keep them for many years as treasured keepsakes.
So grab the glue gun, gift wrap and ribbon and start crafting some fabulous Christmas decorations.
Homemade lanterns
A simple but pretty idea for any area of the home is a festive lantern filled with berries, Ivy or pinecones. Simply get a small glass tumbler and place it inside a large glass vase. Put a pillar candle inside the tumbler and surround the base of the vase with anything that looks Christmassy. Use a piece of festive ribbon on the outside for an extra touch.
Festive wreath
The perfect way to give your home some festive kerb appeal is with a festive wreath. You can use many items, from pom poms, foilage, tinsel, baubles or string lights. All you need is a wire ring wreath base and wrap it with hessian ribbon to cover it. Tie a length of yarn around it to form a loop for hanging. Then start attaching your decorations, either stitching them to the hessian or with a glue gun.
Place settings
A place setting at Christmas is a lovely touch, especially if you have a large family. Cover little boxes in coordinating gift wrapping and ribbon with a little tag with people’s names on them and a sprig of foliage or berries. You could also use homemade crackers with individual names as place settings – use remnants from your craft stash or opt for hand-picked papers in colours that complement your festive decor theme. Cut a piece of crepe paper three times the length and two times the width of a cardboard tube. Roll the paper around the tube and secure it. Push a mini gift inside the tube and pinch the paper together at each end. Tie with ribbon.
Edible garlands
Spend some time doing festive baking with the family. Gingerbread shapes can be strung with ribbon and hung up as a festive garland – and can be eaten! Use cookie cutters to cut your dough into festive shapes, including trees, stars, or gingerbread men. Add a hole before baking. Once they are baked and cooled, pipe them with white icing to decorate and once set string with coloured ribbon and hang them.
Homemade tags
Another great crafting idea is to spend time making your own gift tags. Standard brown card parcel tags are inexpensive to buy in bulk and can be decorated with stamped pictures or hand-drawn designs.
Make your own baubles
Using old baubles that no longer match your theme or inexpensive polystyrene baubles, you can make some beautiful homemade decorations. Use fabric or ribbon and cut into small pieces around 5cm in size. Using a glue gun or PVA glue, cover your bauble with your fabric pieces, overlapping them to ensure coverage.
Candle advent
Create an easy Christmas advent using simple white candles to burn each day. You’ll need 24 plain white dinner candles and a black permanent marker. Draw the numbers directly onto the wax, positioning them at different heights to add visual interest. Place them in a collection of assorted candle holders to create a quirky display.
Mini Christmas tree
Purchase an inexpensive potted tree from the supermarket and use baubles, homemade decorations, and wire lights for a gorgeous little tree for any space.