Christmas is coming and if you don't have decorations stored in the cupboard, you may be left struggling to buy new ones which sell out quickly.
But store bought accents, including tree baubles can be pricey and often break easily. As Brits navigate the festive period amid a crippling cost of living crisis, cutting costs will be a priority for many this year.
Luckily, there are many ways you decorate this Christmas while cutting costs. Experts have shared some fun ways to make your own Christmas baubles that cost less than a tenner.
Ryan McDonough, interior design expert at MyJobQuote.co.uk has explained some fun ways to make the orbs with art supplies. Each method is fun and easy, so the whole family can get involved.
Here are three Christmas bauble hacks to make your own decorations, as reported by Wales Online.
Get crafty using colourful A4 cards to create baubles for £3
This one is perfect to keep the kids busy on a rainy afternoon. To make these baubles, all you need is some multicoloured A4 paper, twine and PVA glue.
Use a glass or mug to trace six circle shapes onto the cardboard, making sure they don’t overlap. Cut out each circle and stack them on top of each other and fold them in half. Put a dot of glue on the top third left edge of the first circle and do the same for each layer alternating from the top third and bottom third each time and sticking the pieces of paper together.
All you need to do now is glue the twine to the top of the bauble so you can hang it on your tree. This should create a honeycomb-style paper bauble.
Price breakdown:
- A4 card: £1
- PVA Glue: £1
- Twine: £1
Use household cupboard ingredients and cookie cutters to make festive-shaped baubles for £4.25
The great thing about this hack is if you already have flour and salt in your kitchen cupboards then this hack isn’t going to cost much at all. These baubles are NOT edible and NOT safe for pets, so keep them away from your furry friends.
Mix four cups of flour, two cups of salt, and two cups of water to make a dough. Put the dough on a kitchen work surface and use festive cookie cutters to shape each bauble. Don’t forget to place a hole in the top of each shape, so you can put twine through this later to hang them on the tree.
Place them on an oven tray lined with baking paper and cook on the lowest heat for three hours. Once you have done this, take them out of the oven and leave them to cool.
Once they have cooled down all you need to do is decorate them. One way to do this is by covering each decoration in PVA glue and covering them with glitter. Once they’re ready to hang on the tree, fix twine through each hole to create a loop.
Price breakdown:
- PVA glue: £1
- Glitter: £1.25
- Twine: £1
Make 40 baubles with polystyrene balls and napkins for £6.50
If you’re starting completely from scratch with your Christmas tree decorations this hack could leave you with a tree full of baubles for less than £7. All you need is polystyrene balls, PVA glue, Christmas-themed napkins, and bauble hangers.
Simply cut each napkin into stripes and wrap them around each polystyrene ball using glue to keep them in place. Once this has dried attach one of the bauble hangers and repeat until all your polystyrene balls are covered.
Price breakdown:
- 40 polystyrene balls: £3.50
- PVA glue: £1
- 300 bauble hangers: £1
- Christmas napkins: £1
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