Decorate your home this Christmas
Everyone wants to create that perfect cosy atmosphere at Christmas time, but often rushing to get the presents bought and the turkey stuffed can leave little time to think about those added extras, let alone time to search out something unusual.
However, it doesn’t have to involve travelling miles to battle with the hoards and hammering the credit card – often you can recreate that expensive Christmas “magazine look” from just heading into the garden and seeing what you can find.
Francine Raymond, garden writer and designer, believes with a bit of imagination there are a host of simple and effective ways of decorating the house this Christmas.
So why not put the car away, get the children and go for a wander around the garden armed with a basket – it’s guaranteed to be a lot quieter and a lot less stressful than fighting your way through Christmas shoppers.
Herby kitchen table decorations
This is an ideal decoration for the centre of a kitchen table, says Francine. “This means it’s within reach if you need some fresh herbs for your stuffing or some bay leaves for your bread sauce.
“And if you keep the water regularly topped up, it should last the 12 days of Christmas.”
What you will need:
• Any circular cake tin with a hole in the middle
• Chicken wire or oasis
• Florist wire and cutters
• Bunches of nice smelling, fresh herbs of varying sizes such as lemon thyme, sage, rosemary, bay and curry plant – it helps if they’re evergreen as they will last longer
• Flowering shrubs, like viburnum or hellebores, can be used as an alternative to herbs if you wish
• A medium-sized beeswax candle
• Water
How to do it:
1) Find a circular cake tin and mould some chicken wire to fit inside the ring of the tin – this will form the structure in which to secure your herbs or flowers (alternatively a florist oasis can be used)
2) Take small bunches of different herbs and tie them together using florist wire – try and get a range of herbs so you have a variety of foliages and smells
3) Arrange your herbs as you wish in the cake tin, pushing them into the holes in the chicken wire or into the oasis (depending on what you are using). Place the bigger leaves on the outside of the tin and smaller, stockier bunches on the inside
4) Fill the cake tin with water and top this up regularly to make sure the arrangement lasts
5) Put the candle in the hole in the middle of the tin and place on your kitchen table, or wherever you wish, and light
Festive fruity garlands
These make a nice feature hanging from a fireplace or up the stairs, says Francine.
“You can also use the individual elements separately as Christmas tree decorations if you want. There’s plenty of options when it comes to deciding what to use on your garland – you can use fruit, seed heads, holly, berries, bunches of herbs or cinnamon sticks – whatever takes your fancy.”
What you will need:
• Colourful florist wire, such as gold, silver or gold and green
• Wire cutters
• Dried leaves, like bay leaves – if you’re making it a week before Christmas, you may be able to get away with not drying
• Crab apples, small eating apples or clementines
• Ribbon
How to do it:
1) Cut some florist wire to length, depending on where you are going to hang it. Make a loop at each end and twist to secure
2) Wire each of your hanging elements separately – such as a couple of crab apples or a bunch of bay leaves and make a loop at the top of each element
3) Loop each hanging element around your long length or wire. Space each element evenly along the main wire, securing firmly so they don’t slide
4) Tie some ribbon in a bow around each join
• Francine writes a weekly column in the gardening pages of The Sunday Telegraph and runs a number of workshops from her home in Whitstable, Kent, including Christmas decoration, cooking and chicken courses. She has also written A Christmas Journal, which includes a host of Christmas decoration tips and festive recipes. Visit her website to find out more.
• How to make Christmas indoor wreaths