Christmas wreath making

Christmas wreath made by Justin | H is for Home

This is the first year that I can remember us not having a tree up for Christmas. All the rooms in our cottage are in various states of unfinishedness (I think I just made that word up!). We wanted some sort of festiveness, so decided to adorn the finished front doors. Yes, as our house was formerly two tiny cottages, we have two front doors. Rather than buy them, we downed decorating tools and picked up Christmas wreath making ones instead.

Foraged foliage and other Christmas wreath making items | H is for Home

Our village is surrounded by mixed coniferous forest, so we didn’t need to venture far to forage for Christmas wreath raw materials. And, thanks to lots of very windy weather recently, it didn’t take us long to find lots of different kinds of fir, larch, spruce and pine fronds on the ground. Saying that, holly with its berries still intact was pretty scarce; I think the local and winter-visiting birds have been feasting on them.

Justin's Christmas wreath on the front door | H is for Home

I found it harder to do than I thought it would; Justin’s attempt was far superior in my opinion. He has a natural talent for flower & foliage arranging!

Adelle's Christmas wreath on the front door | H is for Home

I tried to improve mine by embellishing it with a big, gold ribbon. What do you think?

Adelle's Christmas wreath | H is for Home

Now that we have a pair of wire wreath frames, I think we’ll be making them every year – practice makes perfect!

Decorating your home for Christmas

Decorating your home for Christmas

With Christmas fast approaching, you may be starting to get into the festive spirit and thinking about how you’re going to decorate your home. Perhaps you like to create your very own winter wonderland, or maybe you prefer to take a more minimalist approach. Either way, making your home feel magical is a fine art – too much and it can feel over the top, too little and it can appear lacklustre.

To get your home ready this Christmas, here are the top decorating tips you’ll need.

Making mulled wine in a copper saucepan

Festive scents and smells

Decorating your home is about more than Christmas trees and baubles, it’s also about creating a festive atmosphere. One of the best ways to do this is through scent and there are few things more Christmassy than berries, citrus and spices like cinnamon and cloves.

Infuse your home with warm, wintery aromas using incense, diffusers or scented candles to evoke Christmas memories and make your interior feel cosy.

Dining table set for Christmas meal

Dressing the dining table

One of the best parts of the big day is tucking into your Christmas dinner. Make it even more enjoyable by decorating the dining table. There are loads of ways to dress your table, from festive place settings and a seasonal runner, to creating your own DIY centrepieces with baubles and fairy lights. If you need some inspiration, you can find loads here.

Christmas decorated windows

Wintery windows

When you think of decorating your home, you may think of a well-dressed tree, a garland-draped fireplace and an exterior covered in twinkling lights. But what else can you do? If you don’t want to spend hours outside in the cold hanging decorations and/or trying to find the finishing touch for your interior, create wintery windows. By dressing your windows with fake snow, lights or decorations, it’ll look Christmas-ready and welcoming both inside and out.

Tealight in a lantern with fir cones and tartan ribbon

Warmth and ambience

Finally, to create the ultimate Christmassy home, you also need to consider the overall atmosphere. So, think about how you can make your interior feel warm and cosy, too. To do this, you can create the perfect ambience by layering beds and sofas with lots of blankets and throws, lighting candles for a soft glow and turning on the fire (whether real or fake) – ideal no matter if you’re entertaining the family or enjoying a night in with your favourite festive flicks.

In addition to the tree, hanging stockings and displaying gifts, try out these decorating ideas to really get your home into the Christmas spirit.

What are some of your favourite Christmas home decorating tasks?

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Christmas gifts of the day: Collectable Christmas baubles

Collectable Christmas baubles | H is for Home

Collecting Christmas baubles is such a lovely hobby to have. Each year adding to your stash, each one having a story behind it – the place it was found, the person who gave it as a present. They could be vintage, hand-made or limited-edition. Nice ones are worth investing in as you should get decades of use out of them. Unwrapping them each year must be such a pleasure. And as they’re not permanently on display in the home, they retain a special attraction and fleeting magic… just like a white Christmas itself!

  1. SCS Christmas ornament, annual edition 2016: £49.00, Swarovski
  2. Authentic Tiffany & Co. Crystal Christmas tree holiday ornament: Etsy, £61.73
  3. Christmas 2016: ‘Iconic Cup and Saucer’ blue tree decoration: £12.50, Wedgwood
  4. 2016 Gift set, heart, ball, bell – palladium plated: £48.00, George Jensen
  5. Stieff Shaun The Sheep decoration: £79.95, Harrods
  6. ALESSI five-piece Christmas bauble set: £49.95, Selfridges

Dressing your windows for Christmas

'Dressing your windows for Christmas' blog post banner

Christmas decorations around a front porch

Image credit: Crazy Frankenstein

The way we dress our homes for the holiday season is a big part of the Yuletide fun. Showing others that you’re taking part in the celebrations is a great way of joining in with the festive mood.

Metallic baubles hanging in a windowImage credit: Harpers Bazaar

Where to start

Whether yours is one of the many luxury new homes around the country or an older period property, there’s nothing more off-putting than dirty or grimy windows at any time of the year. So, the best place to start is to make sure your windows are sparkling clean inside and out.

The next thing is to decide if you want to decorate just the insides or make the most of the outside of your windows as well. Obviously this will come down to practicalities as in many cases it might be difficult to get to outside windows that aren’t on the ground floor.

Fir tree snowflake Christmas window decorationImage credit: Britt Willoughby Dyer

Materials

If you can put decorations outside it’s a good idea to let nature help you. You can use holly or other similar classic natural winter greenery which you know can withstand the outdoor conditions.

If you plan to use lights or other electrical equipment outside it is essential to check that they are suited to the purpose and will pose no threat or danger in wet or windy conditions.

Colourful Christmas stockings and decorations hanging in a windowImage credit: Impressionen

Indoors

Whatever the size of your windows, let your imagination run wild!

There are many ways you can decorate the inside of your windows – have some fun with it.

If you have a property with old fashioned windows such as sash windows – you can make them look great with just a little fake snow and glitter. Carefully applied in the right way this can result in a really authentic, classic Dickensian Christmas card look.

More modern windows with large panes of glass can provide a blank canvas for a whole range of ideas. Spraying glitter materials through stencils or other cut-outs can work just as well as using elaborate and potentially expensive lighting set-ups.

Christmas tree in a corner in front of windowsImage credit: Better Homes and Gardens

Tree

One thing that can’t be beaten for maximum effect is simply placing your Christmas tree in front of the window. This not only means you can leave curtains or blinds open to show your neighbours how lovely your tree is, but it also gives you some privacy too.

Christmas is a time of fun and festivity – so get involved this year!

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