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Home UK Christmas World Archive Homemade Decorations – Part One

Homemade Decorations – Part One

It’s never too early to start preparing for Christmas.  Whether it’s putting a few pennies away every week to ease the financial burden or beginning to gather materials for the endless decorations; foresight is key to having a relaxing festive season.

With December being one of the priciest months in the calendar, many of us are looking for ways to save money.  Making your own decorations can be a big money saver, with many of the materials coming from items you’re likely to throw away!  Read on for the first in our instalment of inspirational guides on homemade decorations. 

lady painting pine cones

If you’re like us, you always find yourself with bundles of wrapping paper left over at the end of Christmas.  This can be used to make some great hangings for your Christmas tree, which look far more expensive than they are.  Small photo frames with a scrap of wrapping paper housed inside them look excellent attached to a small ribbon and hung from the tree.  The rustic approach is somewhat 1950s and lends to the authenticity of the festive décor.  You can make your own frames if finding them is difficult, with just a little glue and small splits of wood.

christmas wrapping paper


Another tree hanging idea comes from the old ornaments and baubles that are looking a little tired.  Instead of upgrading them and spending more on decorations, consider giving them a new lease of life with (wait for it) bird seed.  This works great with the dove ornaments, covering them in PVA glue and dipping them in birdseed gives a great multi-coloured and textured finish. 

Clear plastic baubles are some of the cheapest available and, if you’re careful, you can make them look very impressive.  By cutting a small hole in the top, you can drop all manner of objects in; fake snow, small branches, feathers, dried fruit; anything festive looks great inside these baubles.  To cover the hole, attach a cap to the top and use that as the anchor for your ribbon to hang from the tree.

Vintage style works great on a Christmas tree, particularly if it’s a real fir.  Have a look for old newspapers, leaflets and magazines to find some faded letters.  Cut out individual letters and make an alphabet spiral around your tree, or spell out names and words.  This is great for a kids activity to keep them occupied whilst you’re trying to get the tree in the house!

Pinecones are an old staple of the thrifty festive goer.  Whether you leave them au naturelle or lavish them in glitter, pinecones make a great addition to any tree or mantelpiece.  Dainty ribbons of gold look excellent tied around their stem and hooked to one of the branches.  This has to be one of the cheapest but most effective decorations on our list.

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