The countdown to Christmas has begun and we’re all searching for ways to get into the festive spirit.
If you’ve got little ones then making your own Christmas decs or gifts can be a really lovely way to spend an afternoon
And if you’re feeling the pinch, it’s a great way to make your money go further without the need to splash out on pricey shop-bought decorations.
We caught up with the team at Mumsnet for some tips on keeping the kids busy and getting creative in the run up to Christmas.
Take a look at the ideas below from Mumsnet users and then send your own via the form at the bottom of this article.
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Help out Santa and his reindeer
1. ‘When we moved to the middle of nowhere my youngest son was worried Santa wouldn’t find us, so I made a runway in the field using jam jars and tea lights.’
2. ‘Make some reindeer food (porridge oats and glitter in a little jar). The idea is that the reindeer will see it twinkling from the sky and come down and stand nicely for Santa to do his thing while filling their tums!)’
Get in touch with nature
3. ‘Have a pine cone hunt. Once you have collected lots, glue them together to make a display or hang them on ribbon or natural string to make a garland. If you have any spray paint they look lovely with gold glitter on, too.’
Let it snow
4. ‘A few years ago we were terribly snowed in, and had no craft supplies or tree or anything and we made everything out of newspaper.
‘It looked really lovely and now it’s our tradition that we spend a day hacking at newspapers before Christmas. Snow flakes on windows and paper chains look lovely.’
Make your own nativity
5. ‘We made our own nativity scene. The year they made Baby Jesus from glow-in-the-dark modelling stuff has a permanent place in family history!’
Recycle your baubles
6. ‘Bauble wreath. Works well with the same shade, say ice blue, but using varying sizes and finishes of bauble (super shiny, matt, glitter, painted etc).’
Get crafty with Christmas cards
7. ‘We did green hand-prints and then my daughters decorated them with sequins and glitter to look like Christmas trees.’
8. ‘I’ve been making Christmas cards with my son’s footprints.’
9.”Christmas cards can be decorated with a felt snowflake on the front.’
Embrace paper decorations
10. ‘Paper stars are lovely. I start off with A4 paper cut into a square and size up or down from there. I either staple or sellotape depending on size. Sometimes I staple them halfway down the sides to give more stability.’
11. ‘Make glittery tree decorations using cookie cutters as templates to draw round on card; cover in glue, add glitter and thread on a red ribbon to hang. Paper chains and snowflakes.’
Add a personal touch to your gifts
12. ‘I did homemade candles last year. Got glass paints, wax dye and scents off eBay, bought cheap glass tealight holders from supermarket and painted them, and found paraffin wax. Wrap in cellophane with a nice ribbon – lovely gifts!’
12. ‘Using the coffee jars that I save all year, I bought bags of old-fashioned sweets and put those in the jars in layers, and then just tied a gingham ribbon round the top. It worked out really cheap but they looked fab.’
Mumsnet’s Christmas section has many more festive ideas for all the family.
[Source:-mirror]