Christmas Cake Stands

 

I love cake stands and not just for cakes! You can use blu tack to tier them for a more impressive display!

Pile them high with baubles for a table centre piece or how about filled with clementines – which are lovely for Christmas.

I have them dotted all around my home. I have one covered in little favour boxes and filled with treats so that all my visitors can help themselves to a little box of edible treats. These make great alternatives to Christmas crackers too.

Have fun and let me know if you try out any of the ideas! : )

New party dress

We are off for a pre-Christmas long weekend break, so I treated myself to a new dress! Both dress and cardigan were in the sale at Phase 8 (one of my favourite places to shop), so I was very pleased. I’m loving all the colours this fashion season. The blue and fuschia pinks are my favourites, so I couldn’t resist this. : ) Enjoy your weekend… we are off to the south coast, to Portsmouth, but it is going to be brrrrr… very cold – so a good job I’ve just finished knitting myself a new hat, scarf and glove set for walks on the beach! : ) We are booked into the Hilton at Portsmouth, so looking forward to a relaxing weekend of doing nothing much!

Cinnamon Decorations

I love to have cinnamon around the home at Christmas. It smells wonderful. Make your own cinnamon decorations and hang them on door handles and on your tree.

Table Centre Piece

 

If you’d like a quick and easy centrepiece that is cheap to make but looks very Christmassy – all you need is some spray paint, a mask ad some pinecones and something to display them in.

Make sure you wear a mask when spray painting and have plenty of newspaper. Lay the cones on some newspaper, spray and leave to dry.

I’ve displayed them on a red plate and they look great in the centre of my table.

Alternatives to the Christmas Stocking

After taking such care to choose special gifts for your friends and family don’t miss the opportunity to present your gifts in a coordinating and pretty way.

I’ve been making these simple felt gift bags and sacks; as alternatives to Christmas stockings. They are so easy to make and fun. Just two squares of felt sewn together and then glue or sew on a Christmas picture. In the picture shown, I’ve made a reindeer and a Christmas star. Your gift recipients will love these! Decorate with wool stitching and buttons.

They make a great alternative to traditional stockings. Use bright colours and ribbon or wool to tie the sacks closed.

Candlelight

This is a great one to create a Christmas ambience. Grab a few plates and candles  in all different colours, add a candle and a sprig of berries. Lighting candles creates a lovely cosy feeling for Christmas.

An alternative to Christmas Crackers

Today, I’ve been making some more decorations. They are made in exactly the same way as the Gingerbread men tree decorations that I shared with you earlier this week. I put some in a basket and had them on my hallway table and guests have been helping themselves to them as a gift when visiting – but I’ve fast run out! : )

Christmas decorations make lovely little gifts. This website sells lots of kits for you to make your own- felt Christmas Trees, cinnamon decorations  felt mittens and candy  and Lavender hearts.

As an alternative to Christmas crackers this Christmas, why don’t you leave a little gift in each person’s place. It is something to keep guests amused in between courses. : )

Homemade gifts for Christmas

I’m wrapping up presents that I’ve made today.

I’ve framed the heart needlework I shared with you a while ago and this is going to be given as a gift.

Here’s how it looks framed:

I’ve made a zen garden for my friend’s desk. I read an article about them ages ago, which unfortunately I’ve lost – but it said you can make patterns in the sand and it is a good relaxation and calming influence whilst you are working. : )

They are very simple to make:

Take a square piece of wood, any size. You can buy off-cuts very cheaply, for a few pence at your local DIY or wood merchant stores. The decorative edging I picked up the same.

I cut the edging with a junior hacksaw and glued to the wood using ‘hard as nails’ glue.

I covered the wood with sand and decorated with a few pebbles and cactus.

I bought the cactus and pot from IKEA. I love IKEA for all plants and pots. They have a great selection and really cheap!

Christmas Tree Decorations

I think homemade decorations are the best. This website sells lots of kits for you to make your own- felt Christmas Trees, cinnamon decorations  felt mittens and candy  and Lavender hearts.

I’ve been making some gingerbread men which look great joined together on a long piece of ribbon to make some bunting.

Draw around a gingerbread man cake cutter for your template or sketch out your own shape outline on paper.

Pin the template to felt and cut out.

Take one of the cut out gingerbread men templates and sew two buttons for the eyes and a button for the nose and a red bow and some white ric rac and a green button for decoration.  Don’t worry about making the back neat because this will be inside the stuffed decoration. Use thread to make a mouth and add some rosy cheeks with a red pencil.

Place the other felt cut-out template against the right side of the face of the other gingerbread felt template so that you see two blank sides and the side you have just decorated is facing inwards against the other felt template. This is so that you can sew around the edge and then turn the right side out and all your workings and threads are hidden.

Sew around the edge leaving the head open so that you have enough to turn the gingerbread the right side out.

Once you’ve sewed around the edge leaving an opening in the head, turn the right side out and stuff with filling.

Sew the head up.

Add a ribbon if you are going to hang your decoration.

Make lots and give to visitors and friends.

Join lots together on a ribbon to make bunting or add to your Christmas tree or hang on door handles.

Sweets

 

At Christmas time, I always keep bowls of sweets by the front door and dotted about the home for guests.

It is nice to have some old-fashioned sweets to nibble on at Christmas.

They also make perfect gifts for on the go!