Affordable ways to add a festive touch to your student house this Christmas

By Chloe Fox, Fourth Year English

It doesn’t truly feel like Christmas until the decorations are up and the house is brought to life with all things sparkly and cosy, so here are a few low-cost, crafty ideas to get you into the festive spirit!

Fairylight Lanterns

A great way of killing two birds with one stone – you can reuse an old jar and revamp some old fairy lights by sticking fairy lights in a jar, and voila! You have yourself a new light and one perfect for creating a cosy atmosphere in the dark winter evenings.
If you don’t have fairy lights or they aren’t battery-powered, another simple way of creating the same lantern glow is by using tea lights instead.

Paper Snowflakes

Going old-school with the arts and crafts, another simple but fun way of creating your own winter wonderland is by sitting down with friends to make some cute paper snowflakes for your windows. Simply fold an A4 sheet 3 or 4 times and then channel your inner Edward Scissorhands by cutting lots of little shapes so that when you unfold it you have a unique snowflake! String them together afterwards so that they can hang from the window or stick them onto the window with Sellotape.

DIY Wreath Ideas

If you want to go all out this Christmas, there are loads of affordable ways of making your own wreath, some require buying a wire frame or make-shifting your own out of wire or cardboard cut into a circle. Hobby craft do a great frame for just £1.00.

Snowflake Wreath

If you just can’t get enough of making snowflakes, then you can take it to a whole new level and turn them into a beautiful wreath! Simply stick them all to a wire frame and maybe add some glitter or fake berries to brighten it up – whatever takes your fancy! Then just add ribbon to hang it from your door.

Candy Cane Wreath

All you need for this one is candy canes, Sellotape, ribbon and some small paper snowflakes that can be hand-made, and its edible!

Pine Cone Wreath

For a more classical wreath, and for those more ambitious crafters you can create your own pine cone wreath for under £12!

You will need: pine cones, a wire frame, glue, chicken wire, ribbon, evergreen plant cuttings- or fake greenery from craft shops, and LED fairy lights.

You can buy a pack of pine cones from various places online including amazon and eBay for under £3, or alternatively, get in touch with nature by going for a walk and foraging for them yourself! To make them look like they have been dusted with snow you can paint the edges white, or perhaps silver or gold for a more Christmassy look.

All it involves is wrapping the plant cuttings and ribbon around the wire frame with chicken wire until the whole frame is covered and then using the chicken wire (and perhaps glue for extra security) to add the painted pine cones, this look can be topped off with berries or ribbon or kept simpler depending on what you are going for! To hang the wreath simply wrap ribbon around it and hang it from your door.

Dried Cranberry Hearts

For your tree a cute and easy decoration is dried cranberry hearts, simply dry out cranberries and stick them onto bendable wire shaped into a heart and add string to hang them with. This decoration also looks lovely hanging from a window or perhaps a fireplace!

Last but by no means least! The tree. Sainsbury’s currently have real mini Christmas Trees for just a tenner so grab one while stocks last!

Featured image: Flickr/ Sergio Cabezas