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Welcome to Mumsnet's Christmas workshop.
There's something so special about homemade decorations.
And it's a great way to make memories
and to give your home the personal touch.
I'm going to show you some fun, quick, easy craft ideas
to get you and your children in the Christmas spirit.
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Christmas might be the most kitsch time
of year, which is great if you love kitsch things, which I do.
And maybe the most kitsch declaration of all
is the pinwheel.
I call them pinwheels kind of inspired by the pastry
and the way that it's folded.
They're retro.
They're super cute.
They're really quick and easy to make.
You can hang them on the tree.
And they're made from a material so they
don't weigh down the branches.
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So we're going to start with the material.
And you just need to line them up and place one
on top of the other.
Cut a slit at each corner, not all the way down, about 3/4
per corner.
You don't want to cut it all the way.
That's the really important thing.
So here's one that I made earlier.
And, as you can see, I've cut slits
down all the four corners.
And you can see the nice contrast in design
as you fold fold it in.
And I've actually just used a little bit of crayon to mark
the centre point, where I need all my points to be.
So if that helps, you can do that, as well.
And then we need to move on to the glue gunning.
And just put a little pea-sized blob into the centre there.
And you want to take alternating corners as you go.
And don't hold the tip, as you might burn your finger.
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And then you just want to carry on doing alternating corners
into the middle.
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And you can move on to decoration and embellishments.
So the really fun part.
I'm going to use this heart button here.
And, as it's slightly larger and a slightly heavier object,
it we'll need a little bit of extra glue.
And stick that heart on top and just hold that down again just
for about 10 to 15 seconds.
And then we just need to fix some string on the back
so that you can hang it up.
So that's it.
And there you have a lovely pinwheel
for your Christmas tree.
And it looks quite festive, I think.
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Nothing says Christmas like festive twinkly lights.
The great thing about these is that they actually light up.
And they're super quick and easy to make with the kids.
And they'll think they're absolutely magical.
So here's what you'll need.
You'll need some paper, of course.
I've got two sheets here.
One of is plain and one of them is this lovely Christmas sheet
music that I've just printed out.
So I think I'm going to go with that one.
So you'll need to cut out a sheet of your paper 13
centimetres by 13 centimetres.
So you just need to fold it down the centre.
And then I'm just going to turn it towards me so that the fold
is the closest to me.
And then you just need to draw three lines about there
and about a couple of centimetres from each side.
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And then you just need to cut your slits.
Try to get them as even as possible.
And you just cut into where the two pencil markings
kind cross over.
And then the final one along the pencil
line all the way up to the line.
And there we go.
That's all my slit's done.
So now that all my slits are cut,
I'm just going to put the scissors down, and unfold
my paper, and fold it down the other way.
So now the pattern is on the outside rather than the inside.
And then you're just going to get two pieces
of your double-sided tape.
And you're just going to stick one along the side.
And then you just need to get another piece
of double-sided tape and stick it along the bottom.
So now you're just going to peel off
the backing from the double-sided tape.
And then you just need to roll your candle
in the strip of the tape, taking the piece of paper
along with you as you go.
And you can use a quick stick with this,
as well, whatever's easiest.
And then it's bring everything together, and stick your paper
along the side there.
So now that that's all stuck together, let's
turn it up like this.
And, if you push it out, all the little slats kind of
come out at the side.
So it just needs a handle now.
So we're just going to take this pre-cut strip of paper,
tape this on the inside.
So that's your handle done.
And then you just need to turn it on.
And there you have it, a little lantern.
And you can make as few or as many of these as you like.
They can be as big or small as you'd like them to be.
You just get a piece of string and you
can hang them over the fireplace or hang them on the Christmas
tree, if you like.
And they really brighten up the room.
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So this one is a hoop ornament.
I really like these because you can customise them
as much or as little as you want.
And you can really put your own personal stamp on them.
And they're great for the kids as well.
And they're lovely little keepsakes
over the years for many more Christmases to come.
So here's what you need.
So I've gone with an iron on motif.
I'm going to use this crown here.
And it's got a special back so that you can actually
iron it onto the material and you don't need to sew.
And I've gone also with some pompoms.
They kind of look like little snowballs,
which I think is quite cute.
And, of course, you'll need your fabric.
So I've gone for this circle, nice red festive colour.
And I've made sure it's slightly bigger than the hoop.
Now you just need to iron on your motif to your material.
So just place it as you want it to appear.
Unfold the washcloth, nice and down,
and just lay it over the top.
There we go.
And then I can feel the embellishment there.
I'm just going t hold the iron on top of it--
that's makes a very satisfying sound--
for around 30 seconds.
28, 29, 30.
And let's see if that has worked.
So, as you can see, it has.
It's nice and stuck down.
Then you need to take your sewer's hoop.
If you're not familiar, then they're easy to use.
You just take the smaller bit just
pop it underneath your fabric.
And then we're just going to take the larger hoop
and just slot it around there.
And, as you can see, it's got a little screw at the end,
so you just need to tighten that up.
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So now we're just going to stick the pompoms
on to the side of the hoop.
I've got my trusty glue gun again.
And I'm not going to be too precious about where
I stick these.
But I'm just going to pop them along the side of the hoop
there.
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There we go.
So then you just need a piece of string
so that you can attach it to the tree.
So I've gone for a little candy cane stripe here, and a loop.
And then just to neaten it up a bit,
you can just get a circular piece of paper,
fold all the material in, and just glue
the circle over the top.
And there you go, a sweet little decoration
that's completely made by you for the Christmas tree.
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So there you have it, some quick, easy, fun ideas
for the holidays that you can make yourself
and that won't break the bank.
And from all of us at Mumsnet, have an amazing Christmas.
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