Going insane to compensate for xmas this year!

[Teacher12345]

I am worried about how shit xmas is going to be this year. I want to turn our house into a grotto - cheaply if possible! Any ideas on how?
I'm going to do a xmas film every saturday with xmas snacks and then every day when they break up from school.
Build a gingerbread house
Can you buy snow to mae snowmen with?
Any other ideas????

Also decorated a window..

Thats a beautiful window!

When I was younger, I remember my parents made us a huge grotto - it was essentially our conservatory but with sheets of green and red crepe paper top to bottom on every window and door with spray snow and lights everywhere. It was honestly magical but must have cost about £20

I feel the same, I’m making a list of Christmas crafts and also doing elf on the shelf

Paper chains everywhere! I’ve got some multicoloured ones I use for parties but I don’t think they are Christmassy enough. Should I do red and green or silver and gold or both?

Op, go 80s.get those Dec's that hang down from the ceiling, gold foil, silver foil etc....

Make snow flakes and have them falling from the ceiling... Like snowfall...

Your definitely on the right track to totally transform the house. Be careful with fairy lights you need warm white, gentle not these nasty glaring led ones...

Create a land have a theme...

Nutcracker? Matalan do fabulous house Dec's as do homesense /tk max...

My dc also have small Xmas tree in their room to decorate and their own cache of Dec's. I string things across their rooms.
I always have things hanging from the ceiling it's the quickest way to transform any room...
I had a hogwart owl theme one year with loads f white owls flying through the snow.

@deflationexasperation you elf did something similar last year. I will try to do a proper job this year.

I want it to look like the scene in elf where he redecorates the toy room in the shop!

Omg. I'm so doing the Christmas market thing! People walk their dogs past our garden so I'm going to give out bratwurst

I'm not going mad. (It sets the bar too high for future years as ready mentioned!)

Buy I'm investing in a nativity set that I've always wanted.

And we'll have a sausage sizzle on the barbecue at some point. I also hope we will be able to invite another family over to the garden at that point.

Sallyseven, we have never had Nativity sets, not being religious, but we now have a DGS whose mum is Catholic. We all went to his Christening so this year as he is nearly four, I asked our DIL if she thought he would appreciate a Nativity scene and she liked the idea, so I am looking out for a good one which is not too expensive. Not going so far as an ‘investment’ though!

Due to this thread I have just spent £55 on this giant Lion, so I can turn my conservatory into Narnia!

I will definitely have to hide this from my husband!

www.amazon.co.uk/Melissa-Doug-Giant-Lion-Lifelike/dp/B0026ZPT9O/ref=asc_df_B0026ZPT9O/?hvlocphy=1006602&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=310869151196&hvpone&hvlocint&th=1&hvpos&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=pla-384079901025&hvrand=1777644656063156646

@TheRosariojewels awesome 😂

I'm going to turn the playroom into a grotto and the garden into a Xmas market! Can't wait 😊

The Christmas market idea is fab. Home bargains always has loads of cheap decorations and lights. Poundland do a 3 pack of paper snowflakes that are fab to hand from windows or ceiling. I always have loads of baubles and hang them using clear string in the window.

Surely you mean roarsome??

Of course I mean Roarsome

Love the paper snowflakes

I usually dislike tinsel... This year I intend to stick it round every little pane of our sash windows with lights entwined!!

Roarsome is a awesome, do you have the lamp and snowflake hanging down and doors to walk through.

I'm thinking of buying one of those projector things with snowflakes too this year

I've just bought a 116cm outside unicorn to surprise DD.

@TrickyD we have the playmobil nativity (i got it prior to having children!!) and we all like it.

We will definitely need an insane grotto photo thread this year.

I'm going to put brown paper on the conservatory double doors and make them look like wardrobe doors and hang coats on the other side. Currently, looking at sleighs for the white queen....

Thank you, ellentree, I just looked and it is a definite possibility.

We did a Christmas grotto dark den for our toddlers last year. They absolutely loved it and because it is a smaller space it was easy to stuff it with lights etc not too expensively 😃

Home bargains had a big colour your own Christmas den for £10 last year.

That would be fun in the grotto