How To Make The Perfect Christmas Decor
Making your own Christmas crackers can be great fun! You can be as creative as you like and make the crackers as cost-effective or lavish as you please.
Christmas crackers have been around since the 1840s and are now a staple for Christmas day!
Before you will start you will need to get your basic supplies – good quality wrapping paper, or alternatively, you can layer up a few sheets of crepe paper which will give a great effect, cracker snaps, cardboard rolls (toilet rolls are perfect!) scissors, ruler and a glue stick. Space the cardboard rolls evenly across the paper and this will create the shape of your cracker. Roll the paper around the tube, and glue down. Slip your cracker snap inside and add your gift of choice! This is where you can really personalise your crackers! You can add a gift that is special to the certain person you are making that cracker for! A cracker isn’t complete without a joke or a saying or maybe a little puzzle – why not make these yourself!? Don’t forget the paper hats!
Once you have the main shape for the cracker, scrunch each end of the middle tube and secure with a ribbon. Then it’s time to get creative! Add bows, ribbons, beads and anything else you like. Again, this is the perfect time to add that personal touch – why not print a little photo of the recipient and add this to the cracker!!!
The best thing about making your own Christmas crackers is that they are personal little gifts and not the standard mass produced items you can get from the supermarkets. Your guests will certainly be impressed by this effort!
Centrepieces!
The best way to bring your Christmas table to life is to create a beautiful centrepiece! These can be made as simple or extravagant as you like. The most basic, yet elegant form of festive centrepiece can come from taking a standard glass bowl or vase and filling it with seasonal items. This can come in the form of pine cones (you could spray paint these in gold or silver if you like!), baubles, greenery and holly. If you want to make your bowl a living piece, incorporate real flowers in seasonal colours, red or white look great! For something a little different, try placing a combination of pieces on a large dinner plate and putting a glass cloche over these to make a different look. For an alternative way to display these items you could arrange them in layers on a tiered cake stand and place in the centre of the table for something slightly more unique!
Another option would be to take a variety of sized glass vases and arranging them alternately with candles or sprigs of holly. Twigs can also look great arranged like this. You can also use twigs in a display and tie or clip your greetings cards to them for a natural looking card stand! For a stylish and modern, yet still festive table display, lay a plain white table cloth over your table and run lengths of ribbon down the centre. You can use any colour ribbon to keep in theme with the rest of your Christmas décor. If you want to add to this, you could scatter tea light candles in contrasting colours around the table. If you wish to include a centrepiece, pop an empty glass vase in the middle of the table and tie a matching ribbon around the top!