6 Crafty Homemade Christmas Decorations
This Christmas, why not round up the family, turn up those festive tunes, bring out the glue and the glitter, and get yourselves crafting!
If you’ve booked a cosy Toad Hall cottage for your West Country winter break, and you love the idea of decking the halls and sprinkling your very own brand of Yuletide sparkle, this quick and imaginative DIY guide could be the brandy butter to your figgy pudding.
Mr Toad has scoured the best bright ideas for homemade Christmas decorations, guaranteed to light up the party…
Snipping your own Paper Snowflakes…
Let’s start with a simple idea with startling results. Cutting out your very own paper snowflakes is an exciting and festive activity that involves some basic origami skills and a few precision cuts. There are lots of online templates you can follow and plenty of expert videos that offering step-by-step tuition. All you need is some white copy paper, a pair of scissors, a pencil, a ruler, and away you go! The paper snowflakes can be used as table or wall hangings.
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Coffee Filter Garlands…
This decoration wins the award for most ingenious. All you need is a bulk pack of white, round coffee filters, food dyes, a spray bottle, and a needle and thread. Simple choose your festive colour combinations, spray your empty coffee filters and allow to dry, then thread the garlands together with a needle and gently scrunch the filters to create a voluminous and floral effect. Hey presto, you’ve composed a beautiful and festive garland for your mantlepiece or picture rails. You can even make individual floral arrangements for the dinner table or an elaborate Christmas wreath.
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Christmas Candle Jars…
There are so many brilliantly festive things to conjure from a candle jar… add in the glowing effect of a naked flame and it becomes truly enchanting. It’s important to use heat resistant jars as you’ll be using tea lights or small candles to create that magical glow, however, if you’re worried about using a naked flame you can always opt for LED tea lights with flickering effect. There are several ways to decorate the outside of the jar, but many opt for a classic Christmas village scene full of glowing church and cottage windows, traditional Victorian streetlights and glittering spruces. Sometimes simple is best, so filling your jars with seasonal offerings such as pine cones, nutmeg sticks, whole star anise aniseed, cardamom pods and cloves all mingled around a ball of firefly fairy lights will look equally as delightful while providing an inviting Christmas aroma.
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Make your own Ornamental Christmas Tree…
From branches made from upcycled plastic spoons to miniature firs sculpted in papier-mâché, there’s an avalanche of wonderfully creative ideas to be found all over the internet. The classic Christmas tree cone shape is your starting point, and from there on in you can apply all manner of materials to capture this timeless ornamental showpiece. Paint, glitter, replica miniature baubles, glue, scissors, a pencil, and a ruler are some of the basic requirements for this merry task. If you’re out and about enjoying a bracing winter walk, look out for characterful fallen branches which can be silver spray painted and transformed into a stunning feature, perfect for hanging more of your homemade decorations.
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Weaving your own Festive Wreaths
Its arguably the most traditional of all our Christmas decorations, a centuries-old custom to mark the season of Advent. Traditionally made from evergreens (to symbolise eternal life), nuts, berries, holly and holm oak, the wreaths of today are comprised of all manner of novel and quirky materials, anything from old woollen socks and striped paper straws to peppermint mints and fruit segments suspended in ice… so many ideas, so little time! Why not have a rummage around the back of your cupboards and see what gets your creative juices flowing – we even found a wreath made from up-cycled toilet rolls!
If you’re out exploring the beautiful West Country wilds, pop a pair of handheld garden snippers into your rucksack and be on the lookout for some respectful festive pruning opportunities to add some natural flair to your wreath. You could start small with a miniature creation for a table centrepiece, or go the whole nine yards, impressing your neighbours with a more elaborate wreath to be hung upon your front door.
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Wonderful Winter Wall Decorations…
Add some Christmas cheer to your holiday cottage with some tasteful wall hangings, a simple but effective way to add a festive touch to any room. All you need is a roll of colourful twine and some mini wooden pegs. Drape the twine evenly around the walls and attach anything that helps capture your Christmas spirit. You might want to hang up your Christmas cards, baubles, festive foliage, tinsel, stockings, prancing reindeer, Santa aboard his sleigh, personalised letters and words, or wooden ornaments. Follow your own repetitions and patterns as you bring the hanging to life. You could even hang your favourite trinkets from silver birch branches to embrace a more natural look.
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It’s not too late to book a memorable Christmas break with Toad Hall Cottages. Take advantage of some stunning seasonal offers and discover your very own West Country winter wonderland.