Ditch the plastic and the tinsel, says Kerry Fowler, and instead create beautiful, natural decorations during a crafting session with your nearest and dearest
Every year my brother has a Christmas making-day at his house for his six grandchildren and any adults who like to get busy with old-fashioned paper chains, print-block cards and a huge, precarious gingerbread house. Over the years, he has welcomed us all round his big kitchen table to get messy and creative, as we put together chocolate trains, paper star decorations and spiced named biscuits to hang on the tree. It is a tradition that brings everyone together mid-December and cements the start of festivities – and it’s hard to say which generation enjoys it most.
‘Christmas is a time of anticipation, and there is a little magic and quite a lot of joy when you sit down to make decorations by hand and with the people you love around you,’ says Lucy Hunter, florist and author of The Flower Hunter: Seasonal Flowers Inspired by Nature and Gathered from the Garden (Ryland, Peters & Small, £30). She’s right; as anyone who sits round my brother’s table will attest, there’s so much more meaning to homespun, rather than shop-bought.
We also spend time in his garden, gathering greenery that we use to create mantelpiece garlands: a simple way to reconnect with the joys of the festive season. ‘People have been gathering holly and ivy in winter for centuries to decorate their homes,’ says Lucy. ‘Greenery was even collected in pre-Christian times to help celebrate the winter solstice and celebrate new growth. To spend a couple of hours outdoors in the garden, foraging for decorations, brings us back in touch with the landscape and ourselves, and hopefully inspires us to create something wonderful for Christmas.’
FESTIVE FORAGING
Luckily, inspiration is never more than a short walk away. Ivy tumbles over walls; holly bushes abound; and pine cones crunch under our feet in local parks. ‘There is so much if you just stop and look for a while,’ Lucy says. ‘Give yourself 10 minutes to find little treasures highlighted by the frost or that are caught in the winter light. It is mindful, and it slows you down.’
It’s always more eco-friendly to look for windblown material, such as branches, leaves and seed heads. Whether you’re in a little local park or a huge forest, follow the Woodland Trust’s guide: take only what you need, and don’t pull anything up from its roots. It’s also handy to take a bucket with you to hold your treasures and wear gloves to protect hands.
Look for natural material that speaks of the season and brings festive colour, such as rosehips, crab apples (these make lovely baubles for the tree – pierce and tie with string or ribbon), berried holly and greenery in all its shapes and scents: pine, eucalyptus, rosemary, thyme. And, of course, ivy and mist
