Christmas can be expensive and you spend so much of your time trawling through the hectic shops to find the perfect decorations, gifts, wrapping paper or cards. And sometimes, no matter how hard you look, no matter how much shops you push your way around, you can’t find what you’re looking for. So this Christmas, why not spend that time making your Christmas that little bit more personal.

Decorations

One of my favourite parts of Christmas seeing our world decorated in flashing lights and sparkling ornaments. But what would make it more special is looking around and seeing decorations that you’ve made yourself. 

Wreaths- A wreath is a signature decoration to hang on your door, but a lot of the time I find it difficult to find the perfect one. Make your own this Christmas! If you’re feeling bold, you can make them from scratch but you can also buy plain wreaths that you can decorate yourself.

Or, there are florists like Lily Pad who run classes on how to do it.

Ornaments- This one can be even more fun if you have kids who get get involved. Make your tree extra special this year and make your own ornaments.

You can make plain baubles to decorate, or create a snowman or gnome out of white pompoms, you can use fabric to cut of Christmas-sy shapes to hang on your tree. You could even customise your plain baubles- grab some pipe cleaners, pompoms and google-eyes and make a reindeer bauble. The possibilities are endless!

Glass by Design are running several classes this Christmas where you can make your own glass or felt ornaments. 

Garlands- I love the look of garlands on a fireplace, staircase or even the Christmas table. And making your own is surprisingly easy. All you need to some string or wire and you can add whatever you like.

My favourite is to use ferns, which give it a really Christmas feel. You could add dried oranges or cranberries. Maybe some fake flowers- red or gold ones for that festive vibe. 

Gifts

Make your Christmas gifts extra special this year by making something from the heart. 

Hamper- You can never go wrong with a gift hamper, which have become very popular over the past couple years. There are many independent, local shops that offer bespoke hampers that will put the hamper together for you. But you can also make on from scratch and add all of their favourite things into it. Or you could make it themed; perhaps a throw back of all their favourite childhood sweets. Or a self care hamper, with face masks, bubble bath, sweet-smelling candles, fruit teas, fluffy socks, hand cream, tasty treats. Or many a gift hamper based on their favourite book or movie. Add in some tissue paper or maybe some dried flowers. The only limit is your imagination!

Personalised- Keep it personal and get some customised to suit the person. Maybe a mug with their favourite quote on or a funny saying, maybe a t-shirt with their nickname on, or a tote bag with their favourite character. Show your loved-ones how well you know them and give them something to treasure for a long time.

You can check out some more handmade gift ideas here

Wrapping

We all know the scene on boxing day, trying to stuff all the un-recyclable wrapping paper into the bin. So this year, why not mix things up and do something a little different. Make your wrapping paper stand out under the Christmas tree.

Fabric- I was always hesitant to use fabric for my wrapping paper. I didn’t want to loose that great feeling of ripping into the paper on Christmas morning. But using fabric is not only a more sustainable way of wrapping gifts but it gives it a wonderful rustic, homely feel and look. And a lot of the time you don’t have to use sellotape but can just tie it with some string or twine.

Decorated Plain Wrapping- One of my favourite ways of personalising your wrapping paper is to use plain brown paper and decorating it myself. You could tie it with some lovely string or twine, and add in a sprig of fern or a pretty dried flower. You could use ink stamps, which you can buy in a lot of shops, to decorate it. Or how about sticking on a Christmas-sy postcard or print.

Newspaper or Old Book pages- Now using newspaper might sound strange, but a great way of making it look more rustic is dying the newspaper with tea bags. And using old books might sound like a waste, but if you have any books with pages missing or stains, it creates a great look for your gifts. 

Decorated Box- If you want to steer away from the wrapping paper route, a gift box is a create way to go. You can buy plain boxes and decorated how you want. Similar to the wrapping paper, you can wrap it in twine and add some festive foliage. Or you can stick on some Christmas photos, or even add some personal photos of them. 

Christmas Tree

You’re probably wondering how you can make a Christmas tree DIY? But if you want something different than your “traditional” Christmas tree look or perhaps you don’t have room for a big tree. Recently there has been an influx of “alternative” Christmas trees.

You can make a stencil of a Christmas tree which sticks onto the wall, with hooks that you can add your decorations. You can lean a wooden ladder against the wall and decorate it with lights and baubles. And if the rungs are wide enough, you can even put the presents on them. 

You could make a larger garland that you can hang on the ceiling or a doorway to make a hanging Christmas “tree”.

A Christmas tree is what you want it to be.