Christmas decor for less: 3 DIY ideas

By Georgia Coote

There’s no doubt about it, Christmas will be different this year, but it doesn’t have to be dull. Twinkly lights, seasonal music and festive foraging are natural mood lifters, and just the thing to enjoy with your family or friends. Creating your own Christmas decorations while thrifty and effective, is also a fantastic way to get everyone involved in the festivities. I’ve come up with three different ways to decorate your home this season, DIY style!

Tassel Garland

These are beautiful draped around the home pretty much anywhere, along dressers, bannisters, walls and shelves, these are a fantastic way to inject a little colour and whimsy into your home. You could use any kind of yarn or twine you have already at home, or get some to match the colours of your tree decorations.

There are all sorts of metallic or sparkly based yarns that might be an extra shimmery addition to your decor. Great for fine motor skills this is a great activity to do with kids and it’s wonderfully mindful wrapping the yarn.

Instructions:

1. Using a small piece of strong card - a credit/store card type size is perfect, if you want to make bigger tassels you could use books or containers, wrap some yarn around the length of the card. The more times you wrap around the fuller the tassel will be - I wrapped these ones 20 times.
2. Take a long piece of yarn and slide it under the wrapped bundle, taking it to the top of the card and knot twice tightly.
3. Take another piece of yarn and tie and knot it tightly around all of the yarn to create the bobble section at the top.
4. Cut through the loops at the end of the tassel and trim to neaten it. You could now use the tassel as a decoration for the tree or present topper if you wish.
5. To make a garland, cut off the long thread on the top of the tassel and using a needle and some yarn thread through the bobble section and then into the next tassel, continue until all the tassels are strung together.
6. Separate the tassels and hang.

Foraged Wreath

Is there anything more Christmassy than a wreath? I brought a few basic wicker wreathes a few years ago and they are by far my most used decorative items. Most craft stores or haberdasheries sell them cheaply, and the beauty is that they are so easy to switch up whenever the mood takes you!

Foraging for the wreath is a lovely thing to do as a family on your daily walks. Festive foliage is abundant right now, but if it isn’t near you, you really only need a few sprigs to make a really beautiful wreath. Even the most common of leaves bunched together create a really luscious looking wreath, if you have any dried flowers or buds you could also use these here.

You will need:

• A plain wicker based wreath
• Thin wire or floristry tape
• Natural matter, leaves, sprigs, twigs, etc

Instructions:

• Forage! Gather together all your natural elements for the wreath, wrapped up on a cosy walk is the perfect way to do this!
• Sort through all your leaves and sprigs, gather together your favourites in little bunches and wrap to secure with the wire - you could use floristry tape for this, or washi tape if need be! Make sure that you have a long length on the bunches as you will need this to push them into the wicker frame.
• Take the little bunches and push them into the wicker base at right angles - tip: fill any gaps with any small twigs or leaves left over to finish.

Shortbread Star Tree Decorations

An activity where you get to eat a treat at the end is always a winner in our house! These sprinkled stars bring a sprinkling of joy to your tree, or could equally be bagged up and given as sweet treats for the family.

You will need:

• 6oz/180g plain flour
• 2oz/55g caster sugar
• 4oz/125g butter
• 3oz/75g milk chocolate or white or both
• Sprinkles - you could also use chopped nuts or dried fruits, smashed meringues or edible petals.
• A rolling pin
• Star cookie cutter
• Skewer - but anything that’s pointy to poke a hole through the shortbread
• Twine, ribbon or string.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C. Place the flour and the sugar in a glass bowl and rub the butter into the flour until it’s all rubbed in and starts sticking together.
2. Once it’s stuck together, knead it until it goes golden and smooth.
3. Roll out the dough to approx 1cm thick and cut out the shapes. Place on a baking tray and then push the skewer through each shortbread to make a hole for hanging, give it a little wiggle to make it a little bigger as it will shrink a little as the shortbread cooks. Prick with a fork and cook for 25 minutes.
4. Once cooked, place on a wire rack to cool. - tip: If the hole has closed up too much you can carefully use the skewer to open it up again whilst they are still hot, but be careful!
5. Melt the chocolate either in a bain-marie or in the microwave in 30 second bursts to ensure you don’t overcook the chocolate.
6. Once the chocolate is melted and glossy, dip the stars into mixture partially and place on greaseproof paper. Sprinkle on the toppings of your choice and leave to set.
7.  Cut some twine and thread it through the hole and tie the ends in a knot to finish.
8. Adorn your tree and enjoy!

We hope you've find some crafty inspiration to DIY your Christmas decorations this festive season. Don't forget to share your creations with us @RexLondonUK!