Quick Cheap and Fun Christmas And Yuletide Decorations

Decorating the Christmas tree has to be my favourite thing to do at Christmas and although it is said that the tree was first introduced by Queen Victoria even so bringing greenery into the home is a Pagan tradition and one we still follow today Pagan or otherwise! Traditionally Mistletoe and Holly were used to deck the halls and still are today -A fun, cheap and entirely natural way to decorate your home or tree at this time of year is to use Salt Dough moulds and cut outs. Great for the kids too. Colour the salt dough with food colouring or paint with acrylics once baked in the oven and cool enough, finish with a few coats of varnish and your decorations will keep for years if looked after properly and kept in the warm and dry conditions it needs. If your salt dough does soften just pop into the airing cupboard or on top of a radiator for an hour or two. Don't place in the oven if varnished because of fumes!

Ideas: Cut out your salt dough with festive cutters such as Xmas trees, holly leaves, bells, berries and leaves, poinsetias, fairy's, angel wings, you could even make a wreath. Use your imagination and take inspiration from nature and bought decorations. An easy way to make a perfect hole to thread string or ribbon through for your decs is to use a straw, just push through and voila!

Collect pine cones and brush with gold paint or silver paint and glitter -pile high in a gold or silver bowl, decorate with red berries and holly. Collect acorns and brush with gold. Make pot pourri festive by adding your golden pine cones to it, you can use seeds and gourds if you have them.

Salt Dough Recipe

4 cups flour
1 cup salt1
-1/2 cups hot water (from tap)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil (optional)

There are variations to this recipe and it is trial and error sometimes. Bake you salt dough in a low oven, it does take a long time so best to start out low and increase the heat gradually, when it's ready you will not be able to pierce the dough easily, it should be hard all the way through.

Add water until a thick dough is made. Knead until smooth and all air bubbles are removed. make sure you knead well or the air bubbles can expand in the oven and spoil the look of your masterpiece!

Mould, shape, cut out, bake paint and varnish -have fun!