Home-made decorations you can do to make your Christmas extra special

With the festive season fast approaching, we are all looking forward to putting up our Christmas decorations. Nothing is more magical than glitter and fake snow, especially for children at this time of year. With this in mind we have found some crafty ideas to create in the run up to yule that you and the younger generations can enjoy making together. It is important to keep minds and fingers mobile, and 5 tips to boost your mood proves that keeping busy creates a better outlook on life, for any individual.

Craft activities, such as making home-made Christmas decorations, can often bridge the generation gap that older people feel towards their younger relations, as well as passing on important skills that could otherwise be lost. Although you want to engage with your grandchildren face-to-face, it can be hard with the distractions of modern technology. Involving grandchildren in a tactile activity may seem a struggle at first, however they will soon enjoy all the stimulating skills required and will certainly be proud of the finished result!

Mason Jar Decoration – Snow globes

Image Credit: Ashley Centola 

A perfect project to involve grandchildren in as these snow globes can be easily personalised. You can theme these with woodland or winter figurines for a classic snow globe or let the kids decide their favourite character to be placed in a blizzard. You can even add tiny figures of your favourite destinations, whether that be a wintery New York or a frost dusted Paris. These can involve fake snow as well as glitter and can be grouped as a scene or individual ornaments. 

Twinkling Twig Candle Holder

Image Credit: Linda Facci 

A winter wonderland can be created in very few steps and used to add sparkle to any ordinary votive and pillar candle. This is another lovely idea of bringing nature into the home. Though this is a sticky activity, it is not a complicated one! These twinkling twig candle holders add festive scent to your home and you can always include cloves or fir cones that will release a fragrance as the candle warms. These look particularly effective when in clear glass storm lanterns nestled on a glittering bed of sand, however if your choose to have them exposed, make sure you place these on flat surfaces as the bases can be flimsy, and away from anything flammable.  

Snowball Wreath

Image Credit: Andrea&Tia 

A wreath that will last the winter! Moving away from traditional foliage wreaths, this lovely ring of cream and grey will last past the festive season and into the first few months of the New Year. This can be made from as many or as few elements as you like, and can include sprayed clematis heads rather than sweet gum balls for a feel of the English hedgerow. If these are going high up and out of reach, consider using sprayed teasel heads or holly leaves.

These can also be made with tinsel and baubles for a really festive feel and include candy canes and other holiday sweets, to be spread out among the family and eaten at the end of the season.

Felt Tree Decorations

Image Credit: Jodie May 

Sweet and personal, these felt tree decorations from Jodie at A Homemeage Cottage, allow your creativity to run wild. Picturesque and seasonal scenes can be mingled with different shapes and designs and embellished by beads, jingle bells, as well as a host of other festive paraphernalia, these are great for matching-up odd buttons or little scraps of ribbon that are too pretty to throw away. If you have any skill with embroidery, adding your initials creates a personal touch and can be used as place settings or present tags for your loved ones. There’s also the option of scenting the stuffing with a couple of drops of essential oil, such as Lavender or Rose, so they will fragrance the area in which they are placed

Fairy Light Tree

Image Credit: Jodie May 

A table centre piece that can be used all year round with very little tweaks, this easy tutorial is wonderful for someone who wants to create the seasonal effect with minimal effort. These branches could look stark, but with fairy lights and ornamentation they add easy elegance to any room or table.

Jodie suggests blown eggs for Easter and baubles for Christmas, but if you prefer a more natural theme, berries would add drama for autumn and tiny paper blossoms for a fresh spring feeling. As the fairy lights are battery operated, there is a reduced risk of fire, however  make sure all wires are tucked in to the vase to minimise anything catching and dragging the fairy light tree over. 

Ginger Bread Man Garland

Image Credit: Julie Gransee 

This is an easy activity for keen bakers to get their hands into. These gingerbread men can be kept plain adding an element of home spun, or, add icing features or clove eyes for fragrance and character. Any ribbon can be used to tie in with your colour scheme and as it can be as long as you like, it is perfect for decorating dull hallways and stairways, adding interest above bannisters and stairlifts.

Julie, the author of Lovely Little Kitchen has some extra tips: “I think this is a really fun activity to do with kids, and we still hang ours up every year!  Wrap them in tissue paper, and a plastic zip top bag, and box them carefully when putting them away after the season is over, and they will be enjoyed year after year.”  

Ruffled Tree Skirt

Image Credit:Randa Derkson 

If you have a little more time on your hands, then why not give this Ruffled tree Skirt a go? This particular tutorial has been done with hot glue but it can be sewn if you prefer if you had a sewing machine to speed the process. This beautiful tree skirt exudes luxury without costing a fortune and can be tailored to more rustic designs using burlap. Different colour schemes such as silver or gold, as well as adding trims for a more luxurious product. Alternatively, anything reflective such as sequins would look wonderful as they would glitter under the fairy lights once they are turned on and brighten an often overlooked area.

Overall it creates a lovely finish for tree stands and adds a sweep of drama to the room. Randa, author of The Bewitchen Kitchen says: “I'm not a DIY/Crafty person, so I like to make things as easy as possible. This new sew tree skirt is just that, and it looks beautiful!”

Pine Cone Elves

Image Credit: Debbie (onelittleproject.com)

These rustic little darlings are a versatile project and with pine cones so readily available they also cost next to nothing to make. If you get different sized pine cones you can make a little family, adding personal features for all family members, as these all have an element of folk, they work best in traditional festive Scandinavian colours, though patterned fabric works if the print is small, if you feel particularly adventurous, knitting or crocheting a scarf would add to the individuality of the figures.

There are hundreds of free knitting patterns online and many Facebook pages often gather the best together, check out Facebook groups and pages to follow to find a list.  These little elf helpers can then be used in multiple ways, such as: a little twine added around the centre creates a fun garland that can be strung with wooden beads and yarn bows, or sew a loop on the points of the hat to make a tree decoration. They can also just be left as little figurines for the children to play with. Painting the faces can be tricky as they are so small and detailed, so try to keep it as simple as possible, as shown on the tutorial to minimise the risk of smudging. 

Vintage Paper Tree

Image Credit: Deborah Peavy

One of the more classic decorations included, these little trees can be poked into wreaths, dangled off garlands or used as an extra decoration for wrapping presents. Any paper can be used and as shown by the tutorial, the vintage sheet music and book pages add an element of romance to the ornament. These can always be stabilised into little slices of wood to create a paper forest and nestle on mantle pieces between Christmas cards. Be cautious of candle flames when placing the Vintage Paper Tree and if you do have any flammable decorations, make sure to keep them well away from open fires and flames, if in any doubt, take a look at our Gas and Fire Safety instructions.