Never mind about jingle all the way, what about homemade all the way?
There’s no better way to put your personal stamp on Christmas, than to literally create it yourself.
From the treats to the decs and the cards and the gifts, homemade is unique and can be more cost effective than buying everything.
Going DIY at Christmas time can also be super sustainable.
Instead of buying new you can jazz up the items you already have or use materials you have lying around the house to make cards, decorations or more.
Here are 6 ideas to make your Christmas homemade this year:
- Homemade Christmas cards
- Homemade Christmas decorations
- Homemade Christmas crackers
- Homemade Christmas gift boxes
- Homemade Christmas biscuit / chocolate tins
- Homemade Christmas gifts
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Homemade Christmas cards
It’s estimated 1 billion cards are thrown away across the UK once Christmas is over.1
But we’re no longer in an era where physical cards are the only option.
We can send e-cards, no cards at all or we can make our own.
You can make snowmen out of buttons, cut leaves from the garden or your herb patch to make mini card wreaths, use your fingerprint to make holly berries and cut out festive shapes, such as stars and triangle trees, as well as use stamps to make festive scenes.2,3,4,5,6
Most of the time you just need some scissors, glue, coloured paper/card and pens and old bits of fabric, ribbon, newspapers, or anything else that’s got an interesting colour or texture or looks festive, and lots of imagination!
How to make homemade Christmas cards with ribbon tree
Materials
- Your chosen size of card
- Red buttons
- Green ribbon
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Glue (preferably hot glue gun)
How to make homemade Christmas cards with ribbon tree
1
Fold your card to the size you want it.
2
On the front, fix the end of the green ribbon on the top of the card, making a loop by folding it back on itself and glueing down.
3
Continue this looping from side to side to make the branches and glue in the middle in a straight line.
4
Make the loops wider and wider as you go down the card to make it into a Christmas tree shape.
5
Once your tree is finished, glue the red buttons down the middle to hide the traces of glued ribbon.
6
Write your greeting at the bottom – with the recipient’s name if you want to make it personalised.
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Homemade Christmas decorations
Ahh yes, the humble Christmas decoration….the baubles that we dust off every year and the miles of tinsel that leaves a trail of glitter everywhere.
Last, but not least, there’s the worn-looking fairy that you made when you were at school…
Homemade Christmas wreaths are always a winner.
Grab some evergreen leaves or garden offcuts, a base and some ribbon and holly and you’ve got yourself a traditional wreath design.
Or if you want something a bit more modern, then why not grab some foam balls, glue gun them together in the shape of a circle and jazz them up with a bow?
And if you want to be really different, you could create a square or triangle wreath. Who said they had to be round?7
How to make a homemade Christmas wreath
Materials
- Thin wire bent into a large circle shape
- Gloves
- Gardening wire or thin twine
- Sprigs of evergreen foliage, e.g., ivy, pine, conifers, and spruce
- Decorations like flowers, berries, pinecones, bells, bows, and moss
- Optional: spray-on paint
How to make a homemade Christmas wreath
1
Take your metal circle and start twisting the evergreen foliage around.
Wrap the stem of the leaves around the metal wire and aim to keep the leaves facing outwards.
2
Tie in place as you go with the gardening wire or twine until the whole circle is covered.
3
Depending on how thick your evergreen foliage is, you may want to layer it around the circle until the metal is fully covered.
4
Now for the decorating! Take your extra leaves, moss, berries, flowers, pinecones, bows, bells, etc, and add it in between the leaves, securing them with a single wrap of wire.
5
Try spraying the pinecones and gold and silver or dotting the whole wreath with fake snow spray for some extra Christmas spirit.
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Homemade Christmas crackers
Speaking of decorations, Christmas simply isn’t complete without a customary pull on a Christmas cracker before you tuck into your Christmas dinner.
How to make homemade Christmas crackers
Materials
- A4 paper, wallpaper or plain paper to decorate
- Cardboard tubes (e.g., toilet roll or kitchen roll holders)
- Paint to decorate if using plain crackers
- Cracker snaps (optional)
- Ribbon or string to tie
- Craft knife
- Scissors
- Glue
- Fillings – tissue paper hats, toys, games, jokes
How to make homemade Christmas crackers
1
Decorate the outside layer, then leave to dry.
2
Put the layer face down on a table so that the longest sides are at the top and bottom.
Position your cardboard tube in the centre of the paper, lengthwise.
3
At each end of the tube, score your paper softly with a pair of scissors.
4
Wrap your paper around the cardboard tube, overlapping the edges slightly and glueing in place to create one wide tube.
5
Twist one side of your cracker around the ends of the cardboard tube, secure it with festive ribbon and feed your cracker snap through.
6
Add your fillings and secure the other side of your cracker with a ribbon.
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Homemade Christmas gift boxes
Part of giving a gift is how you present it but spending lots of money on fancy gift boxes and wrapping can feel like a real waste, especially if you suspect it may end up in the bin or recycling soon after.
The solution?
Raid your stash of ‘recycled’ gift boxes from Christmases gone by or make your own!
Check out our sustainable Christmas wrapping ideas to discover how to make gift boxes from toilet rolls and cereal boxes, or keep reading for a cool pallet crate Christmas box idea.
How to make homemade pallet crate Christmas gift boxes
Method
- Small wooden pallet crate
- Sandpaper
- Paint
- Paint brushes
- Decorations, e.g., glitter stars, ribbons, holly sprigs
- Glue
- Crepe paper
How to make homemade pallet crate Christmas gift boxes
1
Sand down your crate to make sure it’s nice and smooth for painting.
2
Paint it in whatever colour you fancy, adding glitter stars, ribbons, sprigs of holly once it’s dry.
3
Paint a festive message on the side.
4
Line the crate with festive crepe paper (or newspaper if you want to be eco-friendly) to conceal your presents in the crate.
5
Alternatively, wrap all the presents before putting them in the crate and lay them on some shredded paper / straw.
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Homemade Christmas biscuit / chocolate tins
Is it really Christmas time if you don’t have a biscuit or chocolate tin chilling on the coffee table or kitchen counter?
We don’t think so! But what if you don’t like the selections available, hate all the waste that comes with them, or need them to suit a dietary requirement (e.g., vegan or gluten free)?
You have two choices, source an old tin and buy your favourite chocolates and biscuits and make your own selection or make some from scratch.
Here’s a yummy cookie recipe to get you started:
How to make homemade vegan and gluten-free Christmas cookies
Ingredients
- 1 flax egg or chia egg
- 100g sugar
- 6 tbsp coconut oil (liquid)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 100g coconut flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- Cookie cutters (festive preferably!)
- 250g powdered sugar (for icing)
- Optional: natural food colouring or juice from frozen fruit
Baking accessories needed
- Whisk
- Spoon
- Rolling pin
- Board to roll on
- Bowl
- 2 baking trays
- Wire rack
- Sieve
- Piping bag (optional)
How to make vegan and gluten-free Christmas cookies
1
Preheat your oven to 180 °C and line 2 large baking trays / sheets with parchment paper.
2
Whisk together your flax or chia egg with the sugar, coconut oil, salt, and vanilla extract.
3
Add in the coconut flour and baking powder.
4
Mix together until the ingredients make a ball shape. If it doesn’t form a ball, then slowly add more coconut flour until it does.
5
Let the dough rest in the fridge for around 5 minutes.
6
Remove the dough from the fridge and place on a board dusted with flour, ready to roll it out.
7
Dust the rolling pin with flour and roll the dough to around 3mm in thickness.
8
Once rolled out, use the cookie cutters to cut the dough and place the shapes on the baking trays.
9
Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown.
10
Allow to completely cool on a wire rack.
11
Prepare your icing sugar by sieving the icing sugar into a bowl and adding water very slowly until the icing is thick but still spreadable.
Add food colouring here if you wish.
12
Decorate the biscuits with the icing by hand or using a piping bag if you have one.
13
Allow to set and get stuck in!
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Homemade Christmas gifts
When you give somebody a handmade Christmas gift, you’re literally giving them a piece of your heart. Nothing says ‘thoughtful’ more than a homemade Christmas present does.
Here are some of our favourite homemade Christmas gift ideas:
Festive ornaments
Did you know that you can make handmade snow globes from old jars?8
Or a customisable reed diffuser that contains a blend of oils that you’ve selected yourself?9
Tree decorations
Tree decorations make a great gift because you know they’re going to come in handy every year.
Homemade Christmas tree decorations, such as snowflake ornaments made from wooden beads, fabric covered tree shapes, paper ornaments, gold pinecones, all look great hanging off the branches.
Tasty treats
Festive foodie treats such as homemade gingerbread fudge cubes, a homemade gingerbread loaf, homemade jam, or a hamper of Christmas biscuits to nibble away on.10,11,12
Pamper packages
You can buy ready-made boxes of beauty and body care products or you could individually select the items to create more of tailored package.
Here are some Christmas-themed homemade body scrubs you can make.
If you need some inspiration, check out our tips for making your own vegan Christmas hamper here.
Last updated: 7 November 2021
- https://www.edie.net/news/5/From-puddings-to-packaging--Inside-the-UK-s-Christmas-waste-problem/
- https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/g4080/clever-diy-christmas-cards/?slide=16
- https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/g4080/clever-diy-christmas-cards/?slide=18
- https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/g4080/clever-diy-christmas-cards/?slide=27
- https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/g4080/clever-diy-christmas-cards/?slide=22
- https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/g4080/clever-diy-christmas-cards/?slide=24
- https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/how-to/g1253/diy-christmas-wreaths/?slide=3
- https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/christmas-cinnamon-biscuits
- https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/gift-ideas/g1266/handmade-gifts/?slide=2
- https://www.countryliving.com/diy-crafts/tips/g645/crafty-christmas-presents-ideas/?slide=2
- https://www.countryliving.com/diy-crafts/tips/g645/crafty-christmas-presents-ideas/?slide=6
- https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/gift-ideas/g1266/handmade-gifts/?slide=31