Well the decorations went up this weekend. To make christmas feel a bit more personal i try to make as much as i can. Heres a few of the decorations we've made this year.

Left: A handmade advent calender, made from 4 green felt xmas trees and 24 red felt rectangles and sewn together using red wool with blanket stitch. Each red square is sewn round 3 sides to form a pocket and i've embroidered a number for each day of advent and the kiddies will recieve a little gift in each one.

Left: They may be traditional and a bit tacky but they are so much fun to make and they are cheap. These were made from the left over wrapping paper which was cut into strips about 1in x 6in and then stapled together so they formed the chain. In effect these were free except the staples which cost 20p for 200 because the paper would have just gone into the recycling because there wasnt really enough neat paper there to wrap anything.

Left: This simple decoration can be used year after year and is relatively cheap to make. I used 2 contrasting colous of organza fabric and cut it into 12in x 48incm strips. i then took one end of each colour and fastened it with an elastic band togther, threading a fabric or wooden flower through the middle. You can make this as long as you want just adding more organza and a flower and fastening with an elastic band and then suspending from the ceiling with drawing pins. The price varies on the fabric and flowers but an 8ft length cost me 90p.