Christmas will soon be upon us and whilst for most it is a time of enjoyment and excitement there is also the underlying worry of expenditure, especially in the current financial climate. Why not break out your creative side, grab the kids and make a few homemade Christmas decorations. They are great for families of all sizes and ages and as most of the items you use are recycled they are great for the environment as well. So, grab your pens, and your kids, and read on!

You don't have to be a great artist to make your own decorations. Indeed the best ones are ones that have been made with pleasure and imagination. Most of the items you need can be found in your house: toilet roll holders, egg boxes, cotton wool etc. It is also good if you can get hold of basic items such as glue, glitter, poster paints, coloured paper - although if you're a busy mum like me you will probably have these items to hand already.

You'll be amazed at what you can make: from toilet roll tubes, coloured paper and cotton wool you can make snowmen, candles, Father Christmas and even the nativity scene. Upside down egg boxes make great tree decorations which you can paint or add glitter too. For that extra sparkle why not use tinsel to hang. Collect fallen pine cones when you next visit a forest; painted with silver or gold paint and with a sprinkling of glitter they make wonderful decorations for a shelf or mantelpiece. This one will have the health and safety bods screaming; find a nice log (preferably one that has great gnarled bark). Decorate with white paint, glitter, small twigs and candles to make a winter snow scene for your table centre piece. And if you are truly traditional (and have a real fire) you can burn it at midnight on New Years eve to say goodbye to the old year and herald in a new one.

I love this one. It's simple to make and really looks great and can be used either hanging or as a shelf decoration.

Christmas Lantern.

You will need (for one lantern):

1 toilet roll tube

1 sheet yellow/gold/red/orange paper (you decide which looks the best)

1 Sheet black paper

Glue

Scissors

String (or tinsel)

Cut a piece of black paper so that it fits around the toilet roll tube and is at least 1 cm longer than the tube either end. Glue the piece of brightly coloured paper to the tube ensuring there is no overlap at the top and bottom. Fold the black paper in half, top to bottom. At the fold make regular cuts approx 0.5cm in width and 2cm in length, right across the fold of the paper. Stick the top end of the black paper to the top of the roll and leave until the glue has set and the paper is firmly fixed. Then attach the bottom as the top and you will see that the cuts fold out and open to show the bright paper underneath like a lantern. When the paper is firmly fixed make two small holes in the top and tie string/tinsel through to hang.