DIY Christmas Decorations

2020 has been the year of lockdown crafts. There’s no doubt that, since we’ve all spent a little bit of extra time sitting at home with less on than we’re used to, it’s been a great chance to try our hand at a few brand new crafts and DIY projects. There’s definitely been a UK boom in baking, sewing and painting amongst people of all ages and backgrounds.

That’s the funny thing about lockdown, we’ve all grown to appreciate the little things a lot more. This sensation is one of the main reasons why, this year more than ever, we absolutely cannot wait for Christmas.

It may be a little bit earlier than usual, but we’re already gearing up to the festive season, by getting our house in the festive spirit. We know it might be a little extra, but we like to keep our Christmas as organised and last-minute-panic-free as possible. That’s why this year, with all this extra time on our hands, we thought it might be a brilliant chance to get ahead on the decorating game, and try our hand at making our own Christmas decorations.

These aren’t just your messy badly-drawn or paper mache variety of homemade decorations. Oh no - we’ve put together a collection of incredibly chic, elegant decorations which you’d probably buy yourself if you saw them at a shop. That’s the aim, anyway.

So, without further ado, have a read of our four impressive homemade decoration ideas. From Rudolphs to marbled baubles, and hanging tree candles to real candles with a fresh pine scent, we’ve got everything you need for a DIY festive home transformation.

Minimalist Hanging Rudolphs

These cute little ornaments are chic, simple and modern. They’re easy to make, but super effective. So, you can get the kids involved in the crafts, or you could just treat yourself to a cosy afternoon of crafting with a spiced latte in hand.

What you need:
Plain round baubles
Red pom poms
White craft foam
Hot glue gun
Scissors

Method
1. Place a bead of hot glue on the pom pom and glue it to the centre of one side of the ornament.
2. Cut out antler shapes from the foam. Run a line of hot glue along the bottom of each antler, then place them on the top of the ornament to make the rest of the reindeer’s face. Hold in place until the glue is set.

Clip-On Candle Tree Ornaments

This reinvention of the traditional vintage candle holders that you see on old-fashioned trees is a far safer, more modern and more affordable alternative. Plus, they’re great fun to make - we think you'll be really proud of the end result, too. You can make a whole fleet of candles and clip them across different points in your tree, to achieve a proper traditional festive effect.

What you need
Small copper or gold baking cases
Cream textured paper
Fine glitter, in gold and copper colours
Glue stick
Hot glue gun
Small gold craft clips

Method

1. For the main part of the candle, cut out a piece of cream paper that measures 2-inches by 3-inches.
2. Roll the paper rectangle along its shorter side. Hot glue it together along the edge, so that it forms a tube.
3. Cut a small circle that’s large enough to cover one end of the paper tube and hot glue onto the top, so that the top part of the candle is complete.
4. Cut out a small square of the paper. Then, carefully cut a small candle flame from this paper. Cover the entire paper flame with glue, then completely cover it in gold glitter. Once the glitter has dried, hot glue the base of the flame, and stick it on top of the tube.
5. Using your hot glue gun, create a “wax drip” effect by dripping the glue around and on top of the candle, then covering the glue with copper glitter.
6. Take two baking cases and flip one of them inside-out. Glue the two inner, white sides of the baking cases together, so that the copper colour is exposed on both sides.
7. Hot glue the candle inside the baking case.
8. To finish, glue a clip to the bottom of the baking case. Leave the whole candle for an hour or two to dry completely. Then, you can clip it onto your Xmas tree.

 

Golden marble effect baubles

With this crafty activity, you can create a super stylish, gorgeous bauble for your tree at a fraction of the price that you’d pay at the shops! You can choose your favourite colour combinations too, to fit with your home aesthetic - personally, gold and red are a match made in heaven, but you could also choose dark green or navy baubles, or even paler pastel colours for a dreamy effect.

What you need
A clear glass ornament
Spray paint(for the bauble’s base colour)
Liquid gilding(for the bauble’s metallic marbled colour, we’d recommend gold, but you could also choose copper or silver)
Plastic tub
Toothpicks

Method

1. Remove the metal top from the ornament and set aside. Making sure that you choose a well-ventilated area, spray paint your glass bauble. You might have to do this in a few thin coats, allowing each coat to dry in-between spraying. Then, once you’ve completed these coats of paint, leave the bauble for half an hour to allow the final coat to dry completely.
2. Next, prepare your marbling bath. Half fill a container with lukewarm water.
3. Use a toothpick to drop a few drops of liquid gilding onto the surface of the water. Drop the gilding from an inch or so above the water, so that it doesn’t sink all the way to the bottom. You want the drops to rest on the water’s surface.
4. Then, use the toothpick to swirl the liquid gilding into a marble pattern on the surface of the water.
5. Once the marbling bath is ready, dip the surface of the ornament onto the surface of the water and gently roll it around. The gold will start to stick to the ornament.
6. Continue to roll the ornament until it’s picked up all of the gold gilding. Leave to dry, then repeat steps 3-6 until you are happy with the amount of gold on the surface of the ornament.
7. Allow the gilding to dry completely, then replace the bauble’s metal hook so that you can hang it up on your tree.

Christmas Tree-Scented Candles

Festive scents are all the rage right now. You can fill your home with gingerbread, berries, sugar cookies or candy cane, but some of these shop-bought candles can smell a little bit borderline artificial. To create a home scent that’s natural, and authentically Christmassy (while also filling your afternoon with a fun, cosy craft) these beautiful candles are an absolute winner. If you’re up for making a bigger batch, they also make fabulous little stocking fillers for your loved ones.

What you need
Weck jars (one per candle)
Soy wax chips, 1300g
Green wax dye
Pine-scented candle oil
Candle wicks
Small wooden sticks
Scissors
A large pan (to melt the wax in)
2 heat-proof bowls, with pouring spouts

Method

1. Melt the soy wax chips in a large, heavy pan on a medium heat. Gently melt the wax.
2. Once the wax is melted, add in drops of the scented oil, then divide the melted wax into the two heat-proof bowls with pouring spouts.
3. Add several drops of green dye into one of the bowls and mix the wax well.
4. Place the wick at the bottom of the candle jar. You could use a little dab of glue to fasten it to the jar. Or, just wrap the top of the wick around a twig and then balance the twig on the rim of the glass. This will keep the wick standing upright while the wax cools.
5. The next step involves pouring the liquid wax into the jar. Pour white wax into the jar so that it fills ⅙ of the glass. Ensure that this layer of wax is evenly spread across the jar.
6. Alternate between the white and green wax, to create a chic striped effect. To help speed up the drying process, pop the jar into the refrigerator between each layer.
7. Once the wax is solid again, pour the green wax on top of the white layer. Put the jar back in the fridge to solidify.
8. Repeat this process until you reach the top of the glass. You can make your candle as multi-layered as you like. Just bear in mind that you need to wait for each layer to dry before you can pour the next one (so it really depends how much time you have on your hands!).
9. Remove the stick holding the wick in place and trim the wick to size. Then place the lids on the glass to seal this delicious pine scent in.

These DIY Christmas decorations are a great way to get the whole family involved in the countdown to the 25th. They’re a wonderful, wholesome way to spend an afternoon, plus they make perfect gifts for your loved ones, too. We love it when a Christmas plan comes together.

While we’re speaking about Smart gifts, we’ve got just the thing for any tech-lovers in your life. Check out our website for our brand new Smart Xmas range. These gift sets provide an all-in-one kitchen transformation, so you can give the chef in your family the gift of a Smart home this Christmas.

 

Written by Josephine Walbank