Ideas for decorating the house (Xmas)

[KeepingKeepingOn]

I've been inspired by the White Company and Emma Bridgewater catalogues that have started to arrive - has anyone got any good ideas for little things to put around the house to make it feel festive? I don’t want to buy a load of new things or go heavy on eg baubles or tinsel.

Ideas I’ve used in previous years have been to use the off cuts from the Christmas tree farm, bind them with fishing wire and hang them up the banister spindles with holly berries wound in. Also putting some little battery operated string lights in glass vases around the house. Might do a similar idea with pine cones this year and make a gingerbread house to go on the mantle above the log burner. Any other ‘hygge’ type ideas?

Last year I did something similar to this. I put the houses on a wooden tray and moss around the houses as well as the bootle brush trees.
Glass vases with Epsom salts in so it looks like snow, tiny battery lights, pine cones and twigs sticking out with small decorations hanging from the twigs, probably sounds a bit naff but it looked really pretty.

That should say bottle brush

Last year I got some star lights from Lights4Fun so looking forward to putting them up again.

www.lights4fun.co.uk/products/osby-small-star-window-light#images-11

I love this idea! Where did you get houses / trays from?

I have lots of Epsom salts…

They’re pretty - where did you put them? Trying to work out how much I should hang vs have on surfaces.

Search ‘Christmas jam jar tea light lanterns’.

I foraged for holly, pine cones, willow and ivy and similar last year and then filled my vases with them and added Christmas ribbon I've amassed over the years. I also string popcorn and dried oranges with cinnamon sticks which look lovely and smell even better. I also put up paper chains and bunting in festive/vintage material. I also make a wreath most years, again from foraged materials.

Ooh do you have a picture of the popcorn strings? That sounds great! And when did you do your foraging roughly? Would love to do similar vases, but not sure how long eg willow and ivy will last.

I have artificial garlands and a wreath and I add cuttings to them throughout December. Keeps them smelling fresh. I just don’t have the band width to make from scratch so this is a compromise that works for me.

I dry orange slices and sometimes make pomanders with cloves, and stick those in too.

My led candles and fairy lights have a built in timer, so once they’re set they just turn themselves on and off everyday. It’s really lovely sitting and watching them all come on.

Our dollhouse has its own decorations and a fur (snow) roof cover.

I made cinnamon dough gingerbread house decorations for the tree that turned out really well.

You can spruce up a gingerbread house kit (ikea and tiger are both good). I make windows out of boiled sweets. Ice the joints on the inside so they can be strong and as messy as needed and the outside can be pretty and delicate. Put an led light inside. I’m thinking of doing a street scene out of cardboard with fairy lights behind this year.

That's beautiful and I am going to do similar!!

@Purplehonesty2 They do look lovely

@KeepingKeepingOn I got some from Cox & Cox about three years ago which are metal and the ceramic ones were from a local shop but there are some in John Lewis and I’ve seen them in Hobbycraft previously

Forgot to say I got the round tray from Amazon Round Wooden Tray Platter,Large Round Serving Tray with 27 *2.3cm Size Round Wood Serving Tray Wooden Platter for Fruit Dessert Cake Snack Candy in Restaurant Hotel Home Shop amzn.eu/d/5FkR9ON Similar to my tray

Stained glass window biscuits hung with ribbons www.you.co.uk/mary-berry-stained-glass-window-biscuits/

My dried orange slice ended in disaster

I love cloves in oranges-you can do different patterns, add ribbon etc. so so pretty, smell lovely and you can put in bowls, hang etc

I’m enjoying these. Does anyone have any more?