The holiday season is just around the corner, and while fall is still with us, it is never too early to start preparing for Christmas. From buying Christmas gifts to dressing the tree and planning your Christmas meals, there’s always plenty to do, and getting a head-start on the process will make the entire period easier.
Christmas decorations are one of the most charming and delightful Christmas traditions. But they do come with a number of challenges. That box that you carefully packed up at the end of the festive season last year? Now a tangled mess of broken baubles, knotted fairy lights, and dusty, uninspiring decorations. Plus Christmas decorations are not the most environmentally friendly things, with tinsel and plastic difficult the recycle.
Buying a whole new set of decorations every year is an expensive business, but refreshing your Christmas look is something that can really make the holiday season sparkle. Luckily, there is a solution that is easy, cost-effective, and ecologically sound – home made decorations!
So if you are looking to save money and be more eco-friendly this Christmas, making your own decorations is a great way to go. Here are five ideas that you can make while browsing last minute cruise offers for your new year getaway!
Paper snowflakes
These classic Christmas decorations are incredibly easy to make, and a fun thing to do for the whole family. You don’t need anything complicated, just a few sheets of paper in the colors you like, a pair of scissors, and a little patience! Once you’ve got the hang of these simple decorations, you’ll be able to deck every corner of your home with Christmas cheer!
Cinnamon ornaments
Add a gorgeous aroma to your Christmas with ornaments that look and smell good enough to eat…and are! All you need is cinnamon, applesauce, and string. Mix the cinnamon and applesauce together to form a dough, roll it out, and craft the shapes you want with a cookie cutter. Leave a hole at the top for string, then bake for two hours or until the ornaments are firm. Then hang your delicious ornaments on your tree!
Cardboard fireplace
While a roaring fire is a wonderful thing at Christmas, not all of us are lucky enough to have a working fireplace. This home made workaround is a great option that gives your home a touch of warmth and coziness, is surprisingly easy to make with crepe paper and cardboard, and looks wonderfully realistic!
DIY advent calendar
There’s nothing quite like an advent calendar to make every morning in December exciting, and to ramp up the festive cheer all the way through until Christmas. Making you own calendar is a great way to put a more personal spin on the holiday, customize your Christmas countdown to your own tastes, and save a little money in the process. Add small drawers to an empty cardboard box or recycle toilet roll tubes to create 25 niches. Pop in a selection of toys or treats, then paint the outside in festive colors and enjoy!
Mason jar luminaries
These are an absolutely gorgeous and quaintly old-fashioned alternative to strings of fairy lights, and they couldn’t be simpler to make! All you need is a selection of mason juars, some string, and a few battery-operated tea lights. Add glitter or other decorations to the outside of the jars, thread the string through the lid, and pop a tea light inside each one. Hang them up around the house and settle in for full-on Christmas cheer!
