It’s December…finally time to get the house decorated for Christmas and play Christmas music non-stop. I’m so excited, it’s my favourite time of the year and I have to admit there have been some festive decorations creeping into our home over the last week or so but I always leave the tree until the first weekend in December (a girl has to have some boundaries with herself!).
This year I’ve been as conscious as ever of not being sucked into buying unnecessary new additions to our decoration collection and even more conscious in making sure there is no ‘plastic tat’ added. I’m very pleased to say that so far there has been no new plastic additions in 2018 (I’m hoping to keep it that way) and we’ve managed to upcycle some of our old pieces with pretty good results.
Pallet Tree
This pallet tree was a gift last year and it looked fab hung in the kitchen, to give it a little extra detail I’ve painted the back in Rustoleum chalkboard paint and created a candlelit tree using the little glass dessert pots from Aldi.
Crackers
I ordered a basic kraft cracker making kit from Hobbycraft that I will be decorating in keeping with our Christmas tablescape (which I haven’t yet decided on, it’s between navy & gold or rustic with greenery). The kit comes with hats and jokes but no plastic tat gift that will be in the bin by boxing day morning, instead I’ll be adding some gifts that are appropriate to our guests and will (hopefully) get some use.
Wreaths
Indoor wreaths are becoming a huge trend for Christmas as people are looking for a more natural, scandi inspired festive theme. It’s a trend I’ve struggled with as I avoid faux plants/flowers as much as possible because they’re plastic and fresh wreaths aren’t going to last the whole of December in a well insulated home with the central heating on. Then I came across the perfect solution, Shida florist creates bouquets and single stems of preserved, natural flowers that look great, smell great and last for up to a year. This wreath kit costs £25 (including all of the stems shown in the image below, even the leftovers in the bottle vase) and can be delivered nationwide. It took me a relaxed hour to create my three wreaths on embroidery hoops (for an industrial touch) and I am by no means a florist. See more details and wreath making instructions here.
Advent Tree
This branch tree was from Cox and Cox a couple of years ago (they still sell it) and I wasn’t sure where to use it this year since were redecorating the dining are where it’s hung in previous years. I decided to create an advent tree for Little LMH using paper envelopes, fillable baubles and kraft paper wrapped gifts. To give the natural, rustic look a fun touch I added some neon painted stars and used neon twine to attach the gifts. Notice I found my trusty Dymo label maker too!
Stocking
This year is the first that Little LMH is in a toddler bed instead of a cot so I thought it would be a good time to introduce a stocking at the end of the bed filled with useful or edible treats. I’m going to make him one from fabric scraps and some faux fur if time allows, if not I’ll likely order a personalised one from Etsy.
Baubles
I’m very proud of myself in that so far this festive season I haven’t purchased any new baubles for the tree. I have however upcycled a set of charity shop, cheap, plastic kitsch baubles into contemporary, neon ones using Rustoleum neon paint which I had left over from Grand Designs Live. These aren’t for our home they’re for a design job but I think I’ll keep this little Santa hung in the bathroom.
There will no doubt be more new additions as I go through my boxes and upcycle what I can to create a fresh, festive look. What I’d really like is a sustainable staircase garland (eucalyptus looking and quite minimal) but I haven’t come across anything yet, if you’ve seen anything please let me know.
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