Let's face it, Christmas is expensive. The delicious food,
sparkling decorations, multitude of cards and expensive gifts to be
exchanged all contribute to the festive fun - but at what
cost?
For a season that’s supposed to be packed full of joy and
happiness, and peace and goodwill, it can often bring worries about
the cost of this year's must-have present, the endless catering and
festive but pricey decorations.
A happy and memorable Christmas doesn't have to break the
bank. A homemade approach to the festivities not only makes
financial sense; it also engages the whole family and reminds
everyone that Christmas is about more than mountains of expensive
gifts and buffet bashes.
In preparation for your homemade creativity, start collecting
bits and pieces that will help you get crafty. There
are always plenty of free creative resources coming in to our
homes (often known as junk), and it's also a perfect way of
recycling all that extra packaging.
What to collect:
- Old Christmas and birthday cards and envelopes
- Second hand wrapping paper
- Magazines, newspapers, comics
- Second hand stamps off Christmas card envelopes
- Paper bags, tissue paper packaging and attractive labels from
clothes purchases or similar
- Buttons, clothes pegs, ribbon, twine, string
- Tin foil, baking paper
- Glass jam jars, containers, bottles, tins
- Old clothes/materials
- Wool from unravelled old jumpers
- Photographs
What to make:
- Advent Calendars
- Christmas tree decorations
- Christmas stockings
- Gingerbread shapes to hang on the tree
- Cards
- Wrapping paper
- Gift bags and boxes
Present ideas:
- Bath Salts
- Baked goods - cookies, cakes, mince pies, gingerbread
- Flavoured cooking oils
- Arts and crafts items
- Potpourri
- Bookmarks
- Badges
And if you can sew or knit, how about a jumper, poncho, hanky,
soft toy, hat, scarf, gloves, embroidered t-shirt, phone or mp3
player case - there's loads of detailed guides on the
internet. Just pick an item and start having lots of homemade
festive fun for a lot less than you normally spend.