The shops are full of Christmas decorations and gifts, and quite honestly, it’s very hard to resist them. The only thing that holds me back from filling my shopping basket is guilt – I already have far too many Xmas décor bits and pieces in the attic, piled up in boxes!
I decided not to give in to temptation this year. Instead, I just window-shopped for ideas. Then I got out the boxes and sorted out my collection of decoration bits & pieces. I chucked out those tacky garlands I bought in a mad state of mind years ago, together with kitschy things that I cannot imagine ever using again. Then I sorted the rest of them into categories of “useful”, “future maybe” & “amendable”.
The amendable ones are those that, with a little adjustment, can suit my theme. This year I’m doing a white Christmas theme, so I will paint & decorate the baubles with frosty & white paint, silver glitter, fluffy material etc. I’ve bought a basic wreath made of twigs – I will spray this with the frosty paint and decorate it with little crystal pieces. I’ll make some garlands based on the same theme and put them on shelves around my home.
I have lots of candles – I’ve already put them into simple glass containers (those 50p ones from Ikea). I decorated the outside of some with little glass beads-on-wire, others I half-filled with glass drops (from Ikea again) under the candles. I will display these on my fireplace mantelpiece, on my console table, in the landings etc – perhaps with the garlands wrapped around or in between them.
I’ll make other displays and installations – I’ll write about this later.
Do they actually like doing things themselves or do they just want to save money? Or do they have to do things because they can't find reliable tradesmen?
