Home for Christmas – You don’t have to go out to get the festive feeling

In the run up to Christmas it is easy to get overwhelmed with commitments and things that we feel we must do. Before we know it, we have a jam-packed calendar full of festive commitments, that we whizz through and don’t really get to enjoy. Not to mention the money that we spend doing all of the things that we feel we must do. The festive season is a great opportunity to enjoy ourselves and do things that are special, and also spend time with people that we don’t usually get to spend as much time with as we would like to the rest of the year.

If this sounds like you, here are a few things that you can do to make your festive season a bit more about family and friends, and less about rushing about and spending money!

Making your home the centre of Christmas

Make your home a festive fantasyland – By making your home the place to enjoy Christmas, you won’t be as inclined to spend money going to all the various ‘winter wonderland’ offerings that spring up in their droves at this time of the year.

If you have an outdoor structure such as a shed or an outdoor room like the ones from Worcester summerhouses company World of Smile Summerhouses, you can create your very own Santa’s grotto in your back garden! The perfect place to enjoy a mulled wine, and if you have young children, they are bound to love it!

Enjoying festive food without going out

Enjoy the Christmas Culinary Treats – The perfect time of the year to enjoy festive feasts is Christmas time – but you don’t need to go out to fancy restaurants to enjoy Christmas food. You can have a lot of fun in your own home and make your own mince pies, Christmas cookies and if you are feeling creative your own gingerbread house!

Cookies and mince pies also make great Christmas gifts for family members – just wrap them in a pretty box and you have the perfect gifts! You could also try your hand at making your own Christmas drinks – mulled wine is fairly easy to make, and if you want to get creative with your drinks, then have a look at some of these Christmas cocktail ideas – or create your own!

Bringing the festive feeling into the garden

Staying home for Christmas does not have to mean staying indoors. Most people decorate a tree and put up lights and cards inside, but the garden can join in too.

A shed or summerhouse makes a perfect Santa’s grotto for young children. Add twinkling lights outside, artificial snow on the windows and signs for Santa’s Grotto or the Elves’ Workshop. Without young children, it can still become a cosy fairy house and a lovely spot for a mulled wine on a cold evening.

If you have plenty of trees and shrubs, create an enchanted forest. Fairy lights threaded through branches look stunning after dark, and ornaments such as deer, foxes and owls add to the woodland feel. Small solar lights along a path look good all year round. A smaller patio or balcony can still look festive with potted Christmas trees, holly bushes and seasonal ornaments. Finally, leave out a sign asking Santa to stop, along with some reindeer food.

Summary

This article suggests ways to enjoy Christmas at home rather than rushing between paid-for events. Ideas include setting up a garden grotto in a shed or summerhouse, and making festive food such as mince pies, Christmas cookies, a gingerbread house or homemade mulled wine, some of which can also be wrapped up and given as gifts to family and friends.

Questions this article raises

• How much can a family realistically save by staying home for Christmas?
• What other budget-friendly festive activities work well for young children?
• Which homemade Christmas gifts keep best if made in advance?