The Christmas decoration market has expanded hugely, and there is much more variety to choose from. It is now very easy to decorate your house at Christmas without having to hoover up the tinsel daily. We’ve put together a list of our top ten favourite Christmas decorations which are in the shops this year.
1. Recycled paper nativity set
First on the list is this recycled paper nativity set. The Fairtrade shop Traidcraft sell the set for £20. Made from recycled magazine paper, the five figures make up the nativity set – Mary and Joseph with the baby Jesus, and the three wise men with their gifts. The head of each character is made from sustainable rubberwood and is hand painted. The set comes in an attractive gift box, making it easy to store away for next year.
Christmas nativity set
2. Traditional handmade Christmas bunting
Bunting is back in fashion, thanks to the Royal Jubilee. Sparrow Primitives have come up with this traditional handmade Christmas bunting in red, green and gold cotton fabric to hang up in your house. It is not very obvious from the picture but the material has a gold shimmer to it – all three colours have gold in the pattern to catch the light. For £15 you get two metres of bunting, and eight flags.
Christmas buntin
3. Transparent hanging Christmas baubles
Children like to get involved in preparing the house for Christmas. These transparent hanging Christmas baubles are bought plain, so that you can decorate you in any way you want. Baker Ross also sell all types of pens to decorate them.The baubles cost £3.96 for a pack of twelve, or £10.80 for a pack of 36.
Make your own decorations
4. Wooden heart, star and tree decorations
Countryheart sell these sets of wooden heart, star and tree for £9.75. The patterned red decoration sits on another plain one. You could hang these on the tree or anywhere around the house.
Wooden tree decorations
5. Peace dove velvet mantel runner
So Raise your Glasses is a good website to take a look at. They specialise in gifts and decorations for special occasions, and have a good selection of mantel runners. This peace dove velvet mantel runner is our favourite. It is 70 inches wide by 10.5inches deep and sits neatly and beautifully on the mantel. Cost is £19.
Dove mantel decoration
6. Santa and Snowman novelty decorations
Sterling furniture sells these fun looking decorations – either a Santa or a snowman on a horse. They are each approximately 40cm tall and cost £27 each.
Novelty decorations
7. Christmas doorhanger
The idea with this Christmas doorhanger is that you hang it on the child’s door so that Santa knows where to stop. Santa stands there proudly with a penguin by his side. They cost £7.95 from John Lewis.
Children’s Christmas door hanger
8. Knitted Christmas bauble
A bauble with a knitted cover is not something many of us would think of designing, but it looks great. The red and white design is very much of the Christmas jumper design. Marks and Spencers sell the Christmas design bauble for £5.
Scandi style knitted bauble
9. Honeycomb paper decorations
These paper pendants are great – like a fancier version of ones we used to make as children. The paper is made of matt finish and they are easy to assemble with slot and insert metal fastenings. They are also fully collapsible for putting away for next year. They cost £10 from The White Company.
Fancy paper decorations
10. Owl card holder
Card holders have got more sophisticated – such as this owl cardholder from Next. It can hold 202 cards, but even cardless it looks great and is very decorative. Measuring 65cm by 45cm it costs £18.
Owl design xmas card holder
By Jackie Cosh
