Where to buy good quality baubles and tree decorations?

[Flingmoo]

We don't want to spend ridiculous ££££s but happy to shell out a little bit more for nicer ones. Glass ones would be nice however, maybe plastic ones would be safer as we have a young baby! The plastic ones we've seen in Tesco are really cheapy looking though, where you can see the join of the two moulded halves etc.

It's our first Christmas in our nice new house and until now we've living in small flats so didn't accumulate many Christmas decorations - this year we finally have the excuse to go nuts buying all new decorations with some sort of matching colour scheme!

I'm guessing John Lewis do nice ones but probably extortionately priced?

I am Christmas decoration junkie. I bought my JL stuff in October so I don't miss out on the good stuff (they sell the very nicest stuff quickly). JL are expensive but nice. They probably do have the best stuff out there, but you do pay for it.

My tip for building a nice collection is actually to buy a cheap big set as your base in a colour scheme you like and then buy a few more nice bits each year rather than go crazy all at once. The nice ones then hide the cheaper quality ones as your eye gets drawn to the shiny pretty ones!

I was surprised by some of the stuff they had at The Range though. Wade through the tat and there is some good quality cheap stuff there.

B&Q isn't a bad place to look either. They have a bigger / better range than most of the supermarkets. And its reasonably priced. I can't remember the last time I bought any decorations from the supermarket as B&Q do similar stuff better. Their starter big sets are the best in my opinion.

Garden centres in general are good for nicer decorations but the prices can vary wildly from the affordable to the ridiculous.

Paperchase have some gorgeous, quirky and unusual things this year which I have my eye on. (Lots of wood decorations too) But they are not so cheap. The sets are the things to look for there as the individual decorations are horrible. I currently have my eyes on this: www.paperchase.co.uk/christmas/christmas-decorations/all-christmas-decorations/wooden-snowflakes-pack-of-45.html and I always love the packs of mini baubles they do there. Mini jingle bells are a good bet too. They don't smash and you get a lot in a pack. I think they are a great starter base for any Christmas decoration set to last years.

Don't bother with M&S. Their decorations this year are really disappointing.

Yes I agree with M+S being a let down this year.

John Lewis has some gorgeous stuff this year.

Yes to a few very cheap sets to make up the background - Two or three packs of up to twenty each if you've got a big tree. Then a mix of extra pretty ones to add some interest. Plus one or two very special ones if you want to spend a bit more.

John Lewis have lots of pretty ones. Be careful though, some of the glass ones are very delicate indeed. I managed to break at least three (maybe more?) last year, and one shattered just by being brushed past a little too briskly. If your little one is crawling it might be good to baby-proof it for a few years.

Just before Christmas and January sales will be good for picking up bargains.

I spent too much money yesterday on a selection of beautiful offerings from TK Maxx.

Is it too early to put the tree up?

TBH all over have nice ones now, Wilkinsons have some really lovely ones in bright modern colours, TK max and Homesense have some real glam beauties in at the moment, clear glass and opaque baubles.

JL were OK they have their own look I think, if I had a few tree sites I would go for one of their themes but even homebase has great ones....I would shop around.
Oh just seen your post Levictus, TK Max have stunners dont they, they also had some beautiful spode christmas plates....

Be careful though, some of the glass ones are very delicate indeed

YY my DD is quite gentle and careful and touched one in shop and it shattered, everywhere, thankfully staff sooo lovely about it.