Having a DIY Christmas all sounds well and good until you spend more on wool, special paper, cutting boards, and felting materials (yup, I’ve fallen down that rabbit hole before) than you’d ever have coughed up for a premade bauble.
Speaking of which, I once spent three days trying to make my own set of patchwork baubles before eventually giving up on bauble four; it’s not my calling, it seems.
And don’t even get me started on my crochet stocking delusions.
So, with make-your-own decor trending on TikTok, I thought I, a Christmas crafting veteran, would explain which ones are actually worth it ― ie, cost less than £5 and take less than an hour.
1) Bows
Cost: £4-ish for countless bows.
Time: less than 30 seconds per ribbon, once you get the hang of it.
This only requires a roll of ribbon and is probably the fastest craft I’ve found this year ― I’d never made a bow before finding this TikTok, and hours later, I was left with the endless pile you see above.
I’ve strung them onto garlands for my fireplace, ceiling and windows (I threaded thin wool through the top two loops of each bow with a needle ― the string becomes unnoticeable once it’s hung up).
But if you’re not as obsessive as that, or don’t have time, I’ve also made some hanging Christmas decorations by getting a needle threader and poking it through the knot of the bow.
Then, I pull the thread through and tie it together ― it takes about a minute per bow with the added loop.
2) Crochet snowflakes
Cost: pennies if you have wool and crochet hook already; about £5 otherwise.
Time: 20-30 minutes each if you usually crochet; 30-45 minutes if you’re new to the pattern or haven’t crocheted for a while.
I know I said I abandoned my crochet stockings, and I don’t regret that for a second.
But this free crochet snowflake pattern (#1 ― I haven’t tried the other kinds) works up incredibly quickly; it only has three rounds. I also made a mistake on the first two snowflakes, but the pattern is forgiving and it’s not that visible.
Though the site advises using a tiny 1.5mm hook, I got decent results on a 2.5mm. They still held their shape after I left a heavy book on them overnight, though you can starch them if you’re really fussed.
Attaching a loop that allows you to hang them takes a matter of seconds too.
3) Paper stars
Cost: 12 sheets of printer paper each ― about £.10, but if you’re buying a full pack with glue, it’s roughly £4.
Time: about 45 minutes per star.
This was another TikTok find ― it may be a little more time-consuming than other paper star patterns I’ve seen, but if you ask me, it’s completely worth it.
The 3D design means your stars look good from all angles, so you can hang them from your ceiling without ever facing the “ugly” side.
You can also punch holes in these and fill them with lights; I wish I’d added some battery-powered fairy lights to mine, but of course that’ll cost you more.
4) Good ol’ paper chains
Cost: again, printer paper and glue, or sticky tape, or a stapler if you’re feeling lazy (I was); £1-ish.
Time: depends on the chain, but if you can cut a lot of sheets at once, minutes.
There’s a reason you loved these in primary school; they’re easy, fast, cheap, and frankly quite hard to mess up.
I know, because I tried. I’ve hacked unevenly through way too many sheets of paper to create jagged, inconsistent strips; I’ve used tape and staples instead os subtler glue to seal the paper rings; I’ve never once used a measuring tape or ruler.
Still, somehow, the results end up looking good, or at least passable. That’s what I call Christmas magic.
5) Dried orange slices ― with a caveat
Price: £2ish plus electricity if you’re making them at home ― £5ish for about 15 pre-dried orange slices.
Time: 6-8 hours (I know; sorry!!) if you’re making them at home ― none if you’re buying them pre-made.
Don’t hate me for not quite hitting the brief here ― but in my experience, the viral dried orange garlands are a bit of a monkey’s paw situation.
You can dry your own oranges at home in your oven, though this will take hours. It’ll be cheaper and make your home smell amazing ― at the cost of a weekend day.
Meanwhile, pre-dried orange slices take seconds to thread onto a garland, require no time at all, still smell great, and don’t require your oven to run basically all day.
Personally I chose to buy a pack of 75 dried orange slices, which were over the £5 budget but saved me a lot of hassle. But yes ― this one can’t meet both metrics, so pick your poison.