Readers Digest
Magazine subscription Podcast
HomeLifestyleHome & Garden

How to make your own Christmas decorations

BY READERS DIGEST

1st Jan 2015 Home & Garden

How to make your own Christmas decorations

Christmas doesn’t have to cost a fortune – you can make your home look festive with these low-cost ideas.

1. Recycle old decorations. Pile inexpensive glass ball ornaments into a bowl or basket to decorate a windowsill or shelf.

2. Cut out paper snowflakes. Fold a square piece of white paper in half, then in half again. Now fold the square into a triangle. Cut out shapes along the outer edges of the triangle. Open up the paper and you have a snowflake. Tape to windows or hang as ornaments.

3. Make Christmas oranges. Using double-sided tape, stick a strip of festive ribbon around the circumference of an orange. Repeat the other way, so you have a ribbon running vertically and horizontally all round. Push whole dried cloves into the outer skin of the orange and place in a bowl, or hang up using a looped ribbon.

4. Fill a bowl. Use bright red and green apples, golden oranges and satsumas bought cheaply from a street market. Tuck in sprigs of holly and small conifer boughs. Include Brazil nuts, walnuts and hazelnuts, which can be nibbled throughout Christmas.

5. Use tree trimmings. Cut off the lower branches from your Christmas tree before setting it in a holder and use them to make a wreath or a swag for the mantelpiece.

6. Go for natural beauty. If you have a cotoneaster or holly bush in your garden, cut branches to make inviting natural decorations. Add a bow and fairy lights strung through the branches. Or pick up nuts, bare twigs and fir cones on a walk through the woods. Leave them plain or spray paint gold, silver or white. Arrange the nuts and cones in bowls, or tuck them along the mantelpiece or on shelves and windowsills.

This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you. Read our disclaimer

Loading up next...
Stories by email|Subscription
Readers Digest

Launched in 1922, Reader's Digest has built 100 years of trust with a loyal audience and has become the largest circulating magazine in the world

Readers Digest
Reader’s Digest is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards, please contact 0203 289 0940. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit ipso.co.uk