DECORATING your home for Christmas can be expensive, especially if you don’t have any decorations stored away from previous years.
And with the cost of living crisis, everyone is trying to do the best they can but on a more strict budget than usual.
Ryan McDonough, Interior Design expert at MyJobQuote.co.uk has shared three ways to save on baubles this year and they can turn out better than shop bought ones.
He says to make your own Christmas tree baubles at home to save money and add a sentimental element to your decorations.
1. Get crafty using colourful A4 cards to create baubles for £3.00
Ryan says: “This tip is a great one to try with the kids, it will keep them busy on a rainy weekend! To make these baubles you need colourful A4 cards, PVA glue, and twine.
“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.”
The price breakdown of this is; A4 card, £1.00, plus PVA Glue, £1.00 and Twine, £1.00.
2. Use household cupboard ingredients and cookie cutters to make festive-shaped baubles for £4.25
FABULOUS BINGO: Get a £20 bonus & 30 free spins when you spend £10 today
Ryan says: “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 please 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.
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 £5
Ryan McDonough
“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.”
The price breakdown of this is, PVA glue which costs around £1.00, plus glitter, costing around £1.25, and Twine which costs around £1.00.
3. Make 40 baubles with polystyrene balls and napkins for £6.50
Ryan says: “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 £5.
“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.”
The price breakdown of this is 40 polystyrene balls costing £3.50, plus PVA glue costing around £1.00, and 300 bauble hangers which cost £1.00, plus Christmas napkins which come at a price of around £1.00.
