I don’t condone putting up your Christmas tree in the middle of November – what I do very much approve of though is day dreaming, sketching, preparing & planning for the glorious Advent time. November is the perfect time to collect all your inspiration – to draw it all out exactly the way you want it, get all the supplies and comes the 1st December – BOOSH! You’re ready. Here’s a handful of creative Christmas decor and Advent ideas which will not only inspire you but will also make Christmas 2016 the best! (& we bloody need it after what this year’s brought upon us!)
? Get a green Christmas trees his year
And when I say green I mean forest friendly. Environmentally safe. One that won’t take away from our current oxygen levels. Being nature aware in 2016 doesn’t mean getting a wonky fir twig. If you have kids (or are a keen DIY-er) you can make your very own Christmas tree from an old palette (follow instructions here). If you want to avoid all the fuss but still get a beautiful (& reusable) Christmas tree then you can get a pre-made hanging tree from Cox & Cox (buy here).
? Bake multi-purpose gingerbread biscuits
Because 2016 has seen activewear on the red carpet & lipsticks that you can eat for breakfast. Make gingerbread biscuits that build houses (even if just the gingerbread ones) and that are hanging in there just to be dunked into your cuppa. Literally. To keep you on your toes – a recipe for my favourite gingerbread biscuits will be up on Wednesday!
? Get fancy, oh so fancy Christmas tree decorations
I know, I know – those 50 baubles for a tenner from Asda are ever so tempting! Just remember though – Christmas comes around just once every year. But it does return at the end of next year! And the one after. And the one after. Why don’t you get some proper nice decorations that will last you a couple of seasons – or even forever?! I believe in being super picky when choosing Christmas tree decorations – I don’t have many at the moment but I make sure I only pick the ones I absolutely love. Kinda like my grandparents did. They still have tinsel from the 1920s, can you believe that?!
? Get a wreath for your door. Finally.
Christmas wreaths are such an elegant, grown up affair. Christmas wreaths say – the people who live here have got their act together. They know what they want from life. They don’t live in constant dread of accidentally clicking on their mobile banking app & seeing their life is in deep, deep minus. They don’t wear the same socks twice because laundry days are just too bloody difficult. Be a grown up this Christmas and get a fabulous wreath. And then watch Disney (or Russian cartoons – I prefer the latter), eat bars of chocolate for breakfast and wait for Santa with big, expectant eyes of a kid.
? Look back
Not to make yourself feel even worse about 2016 but to remember all the Christmases people have celebrated since the very beginning of Christmases. You know I love my vintage and antique bits & bobs and Christmas is the perfect excuse to bring some of the retro glamour back. That Bethlehem you inherited from your great great nan? Put it on your mantle piece (try not to worry that it doesn’t go with anything in the living room, sigh) and admire it. Think of the people who used to look at the very same decoration some 50 or 100 years ago.
? New & different (yet still on trend) gift wrapping
We all love the plain rustic looking postal paper with a twine and a little ivy leaf. Perhaps with a Dymo label on a piece of white cardboard. Or black cardboard – yeah, that’s proper Anthropologie, isn’t it! Give it a kick this year with something less expected – glitter, all things over the top shiny – even copper! Draw sparkling stars and print off blindingly glossy name tags.
And if your heart’s set on any of the above decorations then head over to Cox & Cox (here) because that’s where I’ve grabbed all these gorgeous images from. If you fancy the little house from the picture at the top then head over to Oliver Bonas (this one’s sold out buy you can buy a similar one here).
What’s been inspiring you this Christmas season so far?