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Make Your Own Christmas Decorations

Christmas tree decorations - gingerbread men Christmas is a time for families and friends to celebrate together and it’s also a chance to inject some festive cheer into your home. However Christmas can also be a time when finances and budgets are stretched.

Christmas doesn’t have to be expensive and one way of cutting back without spoiling the fun is to make your own Christmas decorations as there are plenty of frugal ways to make your own fantastic Christmas ornaments and decorations. Making your own decorations is also a great family activity so if you have young children, this is a fantastic opportunity to do some fun Christmas activities together.

Natural Christmas Decorations
Many traditional Christmas decorations are made from natural objects such as pine cones. If you have pine trees in your local park, scour the area to see if you can pick some pine cones up for free. When you are at home dry them out well and then either hang us as is, or spray gold or silver and for a brighter look.

Sprigs of holly, fir and mistletoe draped over doorways, mirrors and picture frames are also a free (or cheap) and easy way to give your home a festive look.

Custom Christmas Tree Baubles
Ingredients
Cheap, plain baubles
Decorations such as glitter, sequins or stick on jewels
Glue

Method
Quite simply, apply glue to areas where you would like to place your decorations. Roll the baubles in glitter or apply your decorations. To make a wonderful themed house, make sure you pick glitter and decorations that match the rest of your Christmas decorations.

Dried Orange Slices
Orange slices will bring a lovely spicy Christmas fragrance into your home – and making them couldn’t be easier!

Slice several oranges to a thickness of around 1 cm.
Dry the slices in an oven which is set to a low temperature for a couple of hours.
Once the orange slices have dried, thread a piece of ribbon through them for use as Christmas tree decorations, or add to a pot pourri mix.

Edible Gingerbread Christmas Tree Decorations
Edible Christmas tree decorations are fun to make, particularly if you have young children. They are also tasty treats which won’t last long once they are on your Christmas tree! All that’s required are a few simple ingredients and some ribbon. These decorations also make a great gift for friends and family.

Ingredients
50g caster sugar
75g soft butter
50g golden syrup
2 egg yolks
250g plain flour
Bicarbonate of soda
Ground ginger and ground cinnamon
Decorations such as small sweets (optional)
Ribbon

Method

Preheat your oven to Gas Mark 4 (180C).
Cream the butter and caster sugar together.
Add the egg yolks, bicarbonate of soda and golden syrup and mix together thoroughly.
Add the flour, ginger and cinnamon and mix well.
Chill the dough in the fridge for about half an hour.
After chilling, roll the dough out on a floured surface.
Grease a baking tray
Cut out festive shapes such as snowmen, Christmas trees and stars.
Make a small hole with a chopstick in the top of each decoration.
Place each shape on the baking tray.
Cook for around 10 minutes until golden brown.
Leave to cool.
Thread a small piece of ribbon through each decoration and hang on your Christmas tree.

Christmas Tree Skirts
Even if you have limited time or aren’t very good with sewing, you should be able to make a Christmas tree skirt – you can even make them without picking up a single sewing needle!

First, you will need some fabrics – you will probably need about 4 to 5 yards. If you are planning to sew the skirt, make sure you have some matching thread. Pre-wash the fabric and then carefully hem the edges of the fabric. When your tree is up, wrap the fabric around the base of the tree, carefully folding the ends and edges if you decided not to hem them.

If you are feeling particularly creative, buy a small quantity of lace, velvet or decorations such as buttons and either edge the fabric or sew (or glue!) your own decorations onto the Christmas tree skirt.

We also have some fantastic how-to guides for:

If you have any top tips for creating your own Christmas decorations, we’d love to hear them below!