Simple and meaningful Christmas prep: A Christmas craft afternoon with Hobbycraft
This post contains a paid advertorial from Hobbycraft. All thoughts and opinions are my own unedited and unaltered as always
The Christmas preparations can all be such a rush can’t they.
You feel like you’ve got a million and one things to do and that list just keeps on growing. My Christmas has whittled down over the years and I’ve finally cracked curating my own version. The time, energy and money I give it have all reduced dramatically as I’ve shifted my focus away from the people pleasing materialistic side in favour of the more slower, steadier more meaningful side.
I can struggle to get on board with the Christmas mania, because in all honesty it’s a very emotional time for me, but this year I was determined to give myself permission to take plenty of time for myself and take things slow.
The hustle and bustle of the high street or endless parties I never wanted to go to aren’t what Christmas is about for me. I’d rather turn down the volume a little, put Michael Buble’s Christmas album on, boil the kettle and indulge in some creativity. This is where the idea of a Christmas craft afternoon came from. I thought it would be the perfect way to set some time aside, enjoy some cosiness and avoid all the overwhelm that often comes with Christmas.
I’ve teamed up with Hobbycraft to give you some simple ideas and tutorials for how you can spend your own Christmas craft afternoon as a way of slowing things down, spending quality time with those you love and enjoying some creativity.
A simple wreath
There’s something special about wreaths. They’re timeless, add a touch of nature to any home and are surprisingly super easy to make. There really is no need to go out and buy a ready made one when you can quickly create your own and enjoy some mindfulness while you do it. You can tweak them throughout the seasons too. Wreaths don’t have to be decadent, in fact I’m all in favour of keeping them simple.
What you’ll need;
grapevine wreath base or any kind of wreath base you fancy
greenery (foraged, garden centres or florists)
decorations such as dried apples, wooden stars, dried oranges, pine cones or cinnamon sticks
some ribbon
Michael Buble’s Christmas album (optional)
– It is possible to make your own wreath from vines but a natural ‘here’s one I made earlier’ is going to save some time and provide the perfect shape to work with
-Gather what you want to include first and lay it all out in front of you so you’ve got piles to choose from
-Wire small clumps of green together and weave things in. Don’t feel like you have to fill the entire wreath, I think a partial wreath looks just as beautiful
– Add in your finishing touches. You can fix these in place using the wire or you could glue them on using some craft glue
– Add some ribbon like this oh so pretty white vintage one and hang it where you can enjoy it. You could even gift it to someone else to enjoy if they’re a wreath lover too
Simple Christmas wrapping
Choosing my wrapping paper goes hand in hand with choosing my new yearly planner – it’s a really big deal. Less so now than the days I used to trawl the shops looking for the perfect colours to matched my over thought out theme for that year. These days, surprise surprise, I’m in favour of the simple approach.
I’ve been using craft paper for wrapping presents for a few years now. I love how timeless it is and it never fails to make me hum ‘brown paper packages tied up with string’ as I’m using it. It’s one of my favourite parts of Christmas, which is funny given I’m incredibly minimalistic and don’t buy many gifts – but the creative side of it I love. I much prefer to buy fewer gifts and really go to town with the wrapping.
My grandad taught me how to wrap presents. He’d sit me down at the dining room table and talk me through every step. This is the first year without him, but I know he’d be pleased to know I was passing on his tips. I’m going to take you through his simple and easy method with a few creative twists of my own.
What you’ll need
Accessories like these wooden stars (or the same as the wreath above)
-Make sure you get plenty. We’ve all done it; left wrapping up right until the last minute, realised we don’t have enough and then dashed out to the shops to buy whatever we can get our hands on. These craft paper rolls are plentiful but always make sure you’ve get enough – the beauty of craft paper is you can use it throughout the year too as it isn’t themed.
– Using too much paper is the easiest way to make the wrap look messy. Cut away any excess and make sure you only have a small overlap.
-Fold a crease and use a knife to cut your paper – this part my Grandad was incredibly clear on. Wonky lines just won’t do. You’ll always get a nice clean straight edge if you fold the paper before using something like a bread knife to cut it. Watch your fingers!
-Point your corners. Folding the ends of the wrapping paper into a point using 45 degree angles will ensure a neat and tidy wrap. Press your fingers over the fold to make it neat. Secure with clear tape – double sided tape makes for a very neat and tidy wrap.
-Tie up with string. Loop the twine around the present and tie in a knot, then loop it around the opposite way before tying it in a bow. This gives presents that old fashioned vintage look and ensures the string won’t slip off.
-For the weird shape stuff reach straight for the bags. It’s simply not worth bothering with trying to wrap strange shapes neatly. Alternatively you could use craft paper boxes.
-Add a personal touch. This is probably my favourite part. Hobbycraft have got some beautiful crafty decorations you can use including wooden ones which adds a lovely rustic touch. You can paint the stars any colour you like, but obviously I went with white.
-Tag or stencil people’s names on. I personally love vintage style name tags but you can keep things super simple and use a stencil to write people’s names on their presents. It’s unusual and you don’t have to worry about the tags falling off amidst all the transporting, under the tree placing and handing out on the day.
I hope that’s given you some ideas around how to bring a little slow and meaning to your own Christmas preparations. Ever the introvert I enjoyed a crafty afternoon to myself but this would be a great way to spend quality time with loved ones – the perfect alternative to a meal in a heaving restaurant or an afternoon shuffling around the crowded shops.
Thank you Hobbycraft for sponsoring this post and helping us all embrace a more meaningful creative Christmas.
Make sure you tag me in your own craft afternoons on Instagram so I can see how yours goes.
