What are your favourite non-tree decorations...

[18monthapprehension]

...and where did you get them from? Or how did you make them? Or what are you lusting after?

I'm talking garlands, wreaths, little ornaments and trinkets, anything!

We don't have anything in that vein and I'd love some ideas for where to shop, what to make and what's nice to have in the house in December.

To contribute myself...

• I'm wondering if some of these would look nice wound in and out of the bannisters on the stairs.
• I'm thinking of having a go at making my own wreath...or else buying one from Bloom and Wild - I like the idea of one made from real foliage.
• We have a cute little Alessi musical angel figurine and I'd like to build up more a collection, maybe the nativity figures.
• I've previously made dried orange and lemon slices and had them in bowls with cinnamon sticks and star anise - will make a fresh batch this year.
• Etsy seems to be full of cute little felted garlands but I'm overwhelmed by choice!

Those holly lights are cute 😍
My pride and joy is a large nutcracker figure that goes by the hearth, think I got him from Costco years ago.
Also a little nativity set which belonged to my late mother, I wasn’t keen when she used to have it up at home but since she died I love it and it reminds me of her. One of the 3 wise men shattered into a billion pieces when the kids were young but I glued him back together and he comes out every year 😁

My mum got me a sweet little washing line of knitted santas washing, I love it.

Playmobil nativity set with the three Kings etc that l got to have around for my grandchildren years ago.

I love the garlands I have on my mantle piece and above the window but my favourite are my wooden nutcrackers

My jellycat wreath!

Being pagan and celebrating Yule as well as Xmas, we do a lot of evergreens, lights and candles, as well as a Yule log.
I like (over)dressing my mantle pieces with masses of holly, ivy and any other greenery I can get, plus candles and fairy lights, with scarlet fake berries, if I can't get enough real ones. Pine cones sprayed gold and a few scarlet birds scattered about.
Most of the stuff is from the garden or nearby woodland, but you can buy pine cones quite cheaply. I've had the birds and berries for ages but I think they came from a garden centre originally, and probably bought in the January sales.
Strings of fairy lights from the much missed Wilkos but B and M or similar do them.

I have a fox mask who wears a green and gold tasseled hat at Xmas; most of the other taxidermy wear gold or red patterned ribbon round their necks, just that nice thick Xmas ribbon you can buy in rolls.

i have a few artificial wreaths, which I use as a base, if I am too short of time to start making wreaths from scratch. I add the good stuff from the garden and woods, with anything else that’s looks nice, like dried orange/lemon, dried or silk flowers, wooden bits, etc. I like intertwining green garland round my bannisters too.

Lots of natural foliage, lit garland on the stairs, I have a lit up woodland scene from the RSPB years ago that I love, might get that out soon actually!

I have a Russian matryoshka that I bought on a trip to St Petersburg many years ago - a tree inside a snowman inside a Father Christmas.

We have personalised snowman, and some wooden christmas trees from Gordy on the Isle of Wight and I absolutely love them!

I also have two of those artist dummy dolls who I like to dress up in Christmas jumpers and hats, or nativity costumes 😂 makes me smile.

Otherwise, twinkly lights go around the top of my kitchen cupboards and up the stair, which makes it feel all warm and snug. Have the advent candles, though I always to light them sooner than I'm meant to. It's hard to resist! Then following @Giggorata we start to bring in natural bits, all year round really but this time onwards is my fave. At the moment it's pinecones, conkers and autumn leaves. In a few weeks it'll be greenery, a few berries etc. Dried oranges garlands with cinnamon sticks etc Lots of diy bits.

I have a large brass Christmas tree, it has tea lights for the branches. Got it from Oxfam many many years ago.... also a wooden nativity set. Brought some wooden hand made decorations when I was pregnant with my eldest...... nineteen years ago!!! Still going strong ❤️

I have some glorious jewel coloured bauble garlands that I made, I love them and tie them in big swags on the stairs. I just today ordered some thicker wire so this year I intend to strip them all and redo them as last year they looked a little straggly

I have a little nativity with straw on the roof. It was £2 in a shop when my dd was little and we had no money and I bought it, only to find that it was reduced because it has no baby Jesus. So 21 years later we still have the little Sylvanian baby bunny in there as the lord himself. I'm not religious but I like my little stable and always tell my kids the nativity story but also then story of how we got it and how far we have come.

Every year around 1st Dec I polish a copper bowl and fill it with an arrangement of holly and greenery out of the garden, with
a candle. It goes on a hall table - first thing you see on coming in. Though I say it myself it always looks really nice.
And every year without fail dh fails to notice it! 🙁

And this, currently hanging on a spare room door, but just before 1st Dec it’ll be going to the Gdcs again. Took me ages to make a few years ago, but worth it, it’s part of their Christmas traditions now.

That's gorgeous!

"We have a cute little Alessi musical angel figurine and I'd like to build up more a collection, maybe the nativity figures"

I have the whole band, they really are cute!

I like to decorate the mantelpiece, I change it around so it's never the same one Christmas to the next. It's nice to create a different scene each year.

Thank you! 🙂

I got a candle holder similar to this years ago from a xmas market. Cheap & delightful. I look forward to getting it out each year.

www.johnlewis.com/pluto-produkter-flying-angel-spinner-tealight-candle-holder-silver/p112090904

I have a Christmas tea towel that hangs over the oven door handle. It is NOT TO BE USED.

Although I have a lot of decorations all over the house. Garlands around the banisters, little ceramic houses with tea lights inside, candles and framed posters that I hang. The Christmas dinner service (red and white something or other) comes out on 1st December.

I have some home made Christmas bunting, one set I sewed myself another my friend crocheted.

Also a little light up Christmas tree that my mum bought me and a thing from the national trust shop that sits on the mantlepiece

We have

• a Lego Nativity scene and a small wooden one.
• a St Nick type painted wooden Santa that I bought in Hungary over 20 years ago
• One of those arched lights with led candles
• two festive nesting doll sets
• lots of sets of lights including star shaped lights
• a glass candle holder vase
• metal NOEL letters
• a carved wooden plaque made by my cousin’s husband that says “Let it Snow”
• a metal light up house

Not all of these come out every year. The NOEL letters haven’t made an appearance for a while as they don’t sit very happily on the fireplace. They looked great on the bookcase until one fell down the back - Victorian skirtings 🤣.

I've seen a large, beautiful brass and pearl 'mistletoe bunch' on Etsy that I'd love. Unfortunately can't afford it! I actually have a very simple ornament that is like a small brass cutout silhouette of a mistletoe sprig, but it is not delicate and wondrous like the Etsy one.

I love our East End Press paper garland. It's one of baubles, and even though none of our Christmas decor matches it (always heavy on real greenery with accents of gold and red) there's something so opulent yet comforting about the vibrant colours! I actually made a simple garland from felt based on the colours, and the two go in DS's bedroom. The whole EEP collection for all celebrations is gorgeous, btw. I practically swoon over the Autumn/Halloween ones.

I was in JL last week looking at the decorations. Here is a wonderful felt owl (quite big though!) and (sorry, baubles!) some gorgeous pickles. May actually buy a pickle, as DS and I love eating them, and hide it somewhere on the tree for him to discover.

Nativity scenes

Ours are all slightly wacky,
We have the Alessi set OP plus love the Alessi baubles.
Inherited robins for the tree, memories of them on my parents tree

My mums wind up musical box Avon table top Christmas tree ( inherited )

Plus bringing in the holly, we put it everywhere. We grow it just for Christmas

We have these. They are lovely aren’t they!

PS. I enjoy some crafting, though I can get overly ambitious with my ideas and end up bored, with half-finished decorations and not enough glue.
I have done:
• fans, stars, snowflakes etc. from very old music sheets. I found the music books in the 10p pile at the charity shop. Some of the sheets I painted red sections onto, so when I folded them up it provided a bit of detail. The fans and snowflakes were arranged on the wall above mantelpiece, and the stars hung off a jute garland. I added little red and green yarn tassels for extra interest. Made tassels because I was shit at making pom poms. This was DP's favourite decor year.
• a 'magic' display. Bought clear plastic thread, small clear command hooks, and got a bloody sore neck and arms hanging about 40 different red baubles and half a dozen LED candlesticks from the dining room ceiling. The look on DS's face when he walked in and saw the 'floating' ornaments was nearly worth it 🤣 It was also tricky varying the length of the thread and the size of bauble to get a really scattered effect.

This year I have zero ideas!

Not in my house, obviously but some locals knit and decorate our letter boxes.
They do it at Easter and other celebrations too.

And no!
No one ever steals them