Creating your Christmas essentials at home

Written by Staples Knowledge Centre

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How to & Tips

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1st December 2015

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3 Minutes

When Christmas comes around, many of us head to the loft to bring out last year’s decorations so we can get our homes ready for the festive period. With tinsel, baubles and many other items being re-used year after year, preparing for December 25^th doesn’t seem too much of a chore. But, there are some things you will need to buy again.

To save you having to spend precious time hunting around the shops for your Christmas essentials, we’ve put together a guide on how to create your own:

Party hats

Making your own Christmas hats can be a fun way to spread some Christmas cheer and you can tailor each hat to your guests. All you need is some card, coloured pens, some elastic or string and a stapler. By twisting the paper into a cone shape and stapling into place, then attaching the string to the bottom and decorating, you can create a fun party hat in no time. You could even try adding some tinsel around the rim for an extra special hat.

Card

Having to buy cards for people at Christmas time can get expensive, so why not make your own? Using some card and colouring pencils or pens, you can create the perfect card for your colleague or loved one. If you don’t want to draw, try cutting out shapes from other pieces of card and arranging them into the shape of a festive wreath or a Christmas tree. You can even experiment by making pop-up cards or printing photos of the person you are sending the card to and sticking it on the front^[1].

Wrapping paper

Buying lots of different wrapping paper to wrap your presents can seem like a huge task – do you get something to suit each person or just get something suitable for everyone? Well, by creating your own wrapping paper using paper and a printer, you’ve got an easy, more personalised option. There are many sites where you can print designs, or even create your own. If you have some packing paper spare, you can use that to wrap your gifts and use ribbon to decorate for a simple and effective design. Alternatively, you could try making snowflake patterns^[2] and laying them over your gift or stamping onto paper for a truly homemade look.

Gift tags and bows

To go with your homemade wrapping paper, you could try turning your hand to homemade gift tags. Using the same stationery and card, you can cut out different shapes and attach string for a simple homemade gift tag. You can make a gift tag in any shape you want, and for an added personal touch, instead of writing the person’s name on the tag, you could print their photo and stick this on. For the decorative bows to stick on the presents, any cut offs from your wrapping paper can be folded up to make a simple bow or a more intricate^[3] one depending on what you’re wanting.

Crackers

Making your own crackers to sit on the Christmas table or on the tree can be a fun way to get creative. You can buy a Christmas cracker starter kit which contains everything you need to make the perfect cracker. Alternatively, you could gather the items yourself and follow some easy instructions online^[4].

Getting crafty and making your own Christmas essentials and all the little extras you need can go along away to getting you in the festive spirit as well as letting all your family and friends know that you have gone all out with homemade extras this year.