How to make your own Christmas decorations

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.