6 Christmas decorations to make at home this year

Looking for clever ways to save money this Christmas? From festive flowers bouquets to foraged centrepieces, why not get creative and make your own handmade decorations.

‘There’s really no need to spend a fortune on Christmas decorations, and making your home look fabulous on a shoe-string can be fun for all the family,’ Mary-Anne Da’Marzo, founder of Soho-based preserved flower shop, The Last Bunch, says.

‘Every Christmas, I like to challenge myself on creating affordable installations in my home, this year I made a branch chandelier to crown the Christmas table, and foraged some of the greenery included.’

Keep reading to find out how you can use foraged items to create bespoke and budget-friendly Christmas decorations this year…

1. Miniature festive bouquets

Festive dried bouquets make wonderful decorations. To make mini bunches, try grouping together dried foliage, including eucalyptus or pine, from your local woodland. Alternatively, you can also buy gypsophila for around £2 a bunch.

‘Thread twine through the stems and hang them on your Christmas tree, intersperse them throughout wreaths, or mantel decorations, or just dot them around your Christmas table,’ explains Mary-Anne. ‘These also make stunning gifts and you can make miniature Christmas cards to go alongside them.’

The Last Bunch has also partnered with London-based charity, Single Homeless Project to create the world’s smallest festive bouquets to help the homeless and people living in temporary accommodation this Christmas. For each £11.99 miniature bouquet purchased, £1 is donated to the cause and you even get a free miniature Christmas card.

Pinecones will instantly add texture to any Christmas wreath. To make your own wreath, choose differently-shaped pinecones for added interest. Top tip: keep an eye open for any on your next countryside walk. Leave to dry inside for a few days before using for your wreath.

‘You can either glue to larger size pinecones around the outside of the wreath or dot them around to create a scatter effect, bunching them together looks really effective too,’ says Mary-Anne.

You can also get that luxe look for less by adding winter berries, fresh eucalyptus, spray-painted evergreens and thinly sliced oranges. Hang on your front door for a stellar display.

3. DIY dried flower baubles

Make your own Christmas decorations by starting off with some clear glass baubles and then filling them with festive dried flowers and branches. You can either keep them loose or use a glue gun to create designs that will be fixed in place.

‘If you’re into the whole floral festive theme, you can go one step further and create a floral inspired Christmas tree — integrate dried flowers and branches into your wrapping theme or add preserved flower garlands,’ Mary-Anne suggests.

We love making a fireplace a festive focal point and using a garland, whether it is faux or real, always adds texture and impact.

Foraging evergreen foliage such as eucalyptus, ivy or holly will allow you to create a mantel decoration that will last you the whole winter. You can even change it up to suit the seasons, with something as simple as spraying the foliage different colours allowing you to completely transform it. Gold, is of course, a classic option for Christmastime and looks really effective sprayed onto eucalyptus leaves.

5. Foraged centrepieces

Want to make a foraged centrepiece? Mary-Anne recommends using, ‘an elevated bowl and place a tapered candle stick holder within it, place chicken wire in there and add layers of greenery and keep building up until you almost cover the candle stick holder’.

And to top it off, add some tapered candles, which you can find quite affordably if you opt for plain, unscented ones. It certainly gives you that grand look for less.

6. A branch chandelier

A branch chandelier is a unique decoration that will jazz up any dining room. Once Christmas is over, you could even consider leaving up the chandelier but switching out certain stems on a seasonal basis.

Foraging for sticks and greenery in your own garden or the local park means that this is another cost-effective way to get creative this Christmas. And, if you need any extra help, The Last Bunch have created a simple step-by-step TikTok to follow along.