From Halloween costumes to Christmas decorations and Hanukkah tables, we help you tap into your inner crafting genie. There’s no need to buy when you can make it yourself!
Halloween is creeping and crawling towards us, Diwali is just about to explode onto the scene. There are Hanukkah tables to decorate, and school Christmas-jumper-days to prepare for. If you’re short on decoration inspiration, then here are the websites you need to help you craft the best holiday season yet – while saving some cash, and possibly even the planet.
Pinterest it perfect
Pinterest, the social network equivalent of a pin-board, enables its 445 million users to share, categorise and collect images and ideas – a perfect muse if you’re ever stumped for inspiration. Over 60% of ‘Pinners’ (that’s Pinterest users, to you and me) say that it’s the place they head to when they decide to start a new project. So if you need to dress your home, child, or even pet for the holidays, then it’s a good place to begin. You’ll find everything from DIY Diwali bunting to free Hannukah party printables.
Ho Ho Ho and Halloween how to guides
If you are a DIY fanatic (or have one in your family), you may already know Instructables, a website devoted to user-created do-it-yourself projects. It’s a treasure trove of step-by-step instructions for creative projects of all kinds, and it lights up during the holidays. The Halloween hub is packed with ‘Instagrammable costumes, terrifying edibles and ghostly decorations’, while the Christmas projects are merry and multitudinous, too.
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Do you wanna build a snowman (out of socks)? Then head over to TikTok’s Easy Christmas Crafts page, where there are video tutorials for exactly this purpose. Or check out the Halloween Crafts page where you can make ghosts from toilet paper and spooky bats from the inner tube. The Hanukkah projects for kids page will show you how to make your own menorah, while the Diwali decoration DIY page collates together clever ideas for making festive garlands.
Craft a cultural Christmas
If you’re ditching the tinsel this year for a more cultured and eclectic Christmas aesthetic, then The Victoria and Albert Museum website has you covered. Its Christmas tutorials teach you how make your own crackers, wrapping paper and tree decorations, inspired by Japanese woodblock prints, or using bespoke designs by the artist Joanna Clay.
Do some eco deco
The Wildlife Trust’s guide on how to have an eco Christmas is full of great ideas for cutting back on cost and consumption without cutting back on cheer. For starters, check out this step-by-step guide to making your own Christmas wreath. It will also bring some festive cheer to your neighbourhood birds.
Don’t forget to cast an eye over your local Freecycle, Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace pages before heading to shops to buy anything new. You can usually bag a bargain and stop otherwise useful items going to landfill.
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Glue together gorgeous geegaws
The NSPCC’s Christmas crafts page is filled with ideas and instructions for creating DIY Christmas cards and decorations using easy and affordable materials like pinecones and paper. Get the kids involved, and you’ll soon have a production line to rival Santa’s Workshop.
Time to face the party
Instagram is plastered with makeup influencers, many of whom post wildly creative tutorials – especially during the autumn and winter holiday season. If you want to create a Halloween look to die for, or a cute Christmas face, then the video tutorials from professional makeup artist (and former Glow Up contestant) Sophie Baverstock are a great place to start.
Perfect your playlist
Nothing gets the holiday cheer going like a proper playlist, and Spotify has one (or 1,000) for every occasion. Its official Halloween playlist is a bone-rattling rollercoaster ride from Monster Mash to the Ghostbusters theme tune via Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (I Put a Spell on You) and the Specials (Ghost Town, of course). Spotify’s Hanukkah playlist has some interesting choices (with Adam Sandler’s Chanukah Song kicking things off), while Christmas Hits includes the biggest Yuletide anthems of all time.
Best of all, Vodafone Pay Monthly mobile customers can add Spotify Premium to their plans for a low monthly fee. So crank the volume up to 11, and get your seasonal shindig started.
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