Advent calendars are being opened. The evenings are getting darker. The smell of mulled wine is in the air. And Mariah Carey has been played on the radio for the first time this year, which means it’s officially the Christmas season! It’s time to decorate your home and create a unique winter wonderland! Christmas is already an expensive time of year, so there’s no need to add to your shopping list with decorations to achieve that festive feeling at home. Check out our top tips on DIY decoration hacks!
Related: Six Heating Hack to Help You Keep Your Home Warm This Winter
Decorate the plants you already have
If you don’t want to fork out for a Christmas tree specifically, why not weave a few fairy lights through your regular houseplants to dress them up for the festive season? You can even use sparkly pipe cleaners and mini pompoms to Christmas up a cactus!
A tree DIY decoration
If you are going for a traditional tree, you can create gorgeous homemade decorations using aluminium foil you probably have at home anyway. You can make stars, metallic bunting… basically anything you can imagine, you can probably create, and there are plenty of tutorials available for inspiration! You can even turn empty fizzy drink cans into a DIY decoration by cutting shapes from them and drawing patterns on the reverse.
Snowflakes
It’s a childhood staple and a great one to make with the small people in your life now. All you need is some paper – even old newspaper will do – and a pair of scissors. Fold your paper diagonally in half, then in half again, and again and again, then start snipping and see what you end up with! You can pick up patterns and designs online for inspiration, and they do look lovely strung up in a window!
Fake snow
Put some cotton wool around your window sills can create an effective fake snow. Buy roll out cotton wool or cotton wool balls to create the look, and roll it in a bit of glitter for some added sparkle. If you can find it in the children’s toiletries department or aisle of your local chemist or supermarket, it does tend to be cheaper there, so a good place to stock up!.
Table cloth
Specially made festive table cloths can be incredibly pricy for what they are. To save a few valuable pounds, use a plain, normal table cloth and jazz it up with a runner made from leftover wrapping paper. It’ll save you some laundry as well, because you can just throw it away when you’re done!
Pine cones
Head to the park for a winter stroll and collect any pine cones you see. You can use these as table decorations or add some string to create a tree decoration. Use tippex or a glitter nail varnish to paint the tips of the cones to make them look they are covered in snow. Alternatively, cover them in metallic spray paint to fit in with your other decorations!
Create a centre piece
Conkers, acorns, holly and pine cones arranged in a glass bowl or vase make for a great, traditional looking decoration. Alternatively, you could fill a dish or cake stand with Christmas ornaments. Especially ones that haven’t made it onto your tree for a striking centre piece!
Orange peel
It’s not just chocolate oranges that are around at Christmas. Fresh orange peel placed on top of your radiators will fill your home with a gorgeous festive aroma. Just remember to throw it out at the end of the day!
Christmas cards
Create extra decorations around the house by hanging up Christmas cards you receive. Alternatively you can cut up old cards and add string to create a mini tree decoration.
Do you have any DIY decoration hacks of your own? Let us know in the comments!
