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Add a little homemade magic when decking the halls this Christmas with our guide to decorations, name tags and place settings

crafts LIBERTY MENDEZ photographs MIKE ENGLISH

Clementine-printed gift tags

Got leftover clementines or oranges? Use them to create bespoke name tags – they’re a beautiful addition to a gift.

1 clementine, orange or other citrus fruit paint brush acrylic paint card hole punch string or ribbon felt tip or permanent marker stencil (optional)

1 Cut the clementine in half and leave it to dry out overnight. 2 Paint a thin layer of acrylic paint over the top of the cut-side of the fruit. Press the painted side onto the card, repeating until the sheet of card is filled with prints – you may have to reapply the paint. Leave to dry completely. 3 Cut the card into rectangles around the clementine prints. Hole-punch the top of each rectangle and tie a 15cm piece of ribbon or string through each hole. 4 Write the recipient’s name across the print using a felt tip pen or marker, and stencil, if you like.

tip

Use different coloured paints and card to create unique designs.

Fairy case ornaments

These adorable Christmas tree decorations are a perfect festive activity, and handy for using up leftover fairy cake cases.

selection of patterned paper fairy cake or cupcake cases glue stick golden string or ribbon hole punch

1 Flatten each fairy cake case and cut into quarters. Decide which mix of patterns you’d like for each tree ornament – you’ll need four quarters per decoration. 2 Put some glue on the pointed top of a quarter (this one will be at the bottom of the ornament), with the curved edge facing towards you. Put another quarter on top, facing the same way and making sure a little of the first case is still on show before pressing down into the glue. Repeat twice more. There should be four quarters glued on top of one another to make a tree shape. 3 Cut a 15cm strand of string or ribbon. Punch a hole in the top of the ornament, then thread the string through and tie the ends together. Repeat the process with the remaining fairy cake cases.

tip

If you’re using plain cases, you can put stickers on the ornaments or draw or paint a design. Wreath place settings

These cute wreath place settings are a wonderful way to decorate the table. Any guests coming to dinner can take theirs home to use as a festive decoration.

2 shades of green card hole punch (optional) red card glue stick ribbon or string (optional) brown card felt tip pen stencil (optional) glittery letter stickers (optional)

1 Cut a circle out of a piece of green card, 20cm in diameter, then fold in half to cut a 10cm circle out of the middle. This forms the base of the wreath. Cut 8cm-long holly shapes out of the different shades of green card (see our template, below), you will need 20-30 per wreath. Use a hole punch to cut out small circles of red card to make the berries. 2 Glue the holly leaves around the circle of green card, filling the gaps with overlapping pieces. Glue the berries in clusters at the bottom points of some of the holly leaves. 3 If you would like to hang the wreaths, hole-punch one of the leaves at the top of the wreath and tie the ribbon or string through it. 4 To make a name tag, cut a small rectangle out of brown card and write on it using a felt tip pen and stencil, if you like. Alternatively, use glittery letter stickers. Glue the name tag to the bottom of the wreath. Repeat the process for the remaining place settings.

Holly cut-out guide

Our favourite festive food jokes

Q Why was the turkey asked to be in a rock band? A Because he was the only one with drumsticks!

Q What do you call a train loaded with toffee? A A chew chew train Q Who hides in the bakery at Christmas? A A mince spy

Q What do snowmen eat for lunch? A Burrr-itos Q What do you get if you cross a Christmas tree with an apple? A A pineapple

Q What’s the best thing to put into a Christmas cake? A Your teeth! Homemade crackers

Use up leftover wrapping paper and toilet rolls to create Christmas crackers, then fill them with our favourite food jokes (see below).

leftover thick wrapping paper empty toilet rolls scissors glue stick cracker snapper strip sticky tape string or ribbon small gifts or sweets, to fill

1 Cut out a 30 x 20cm rectangle of wrapping paper. Flip the paper over so the reverse side is on show with one of the longer ends closest to you. Place a toilet roll, vertically, midway down one end. Mark the paper at either end of the toilet roll, then set the toilet roll aside and fold the paper in at the marks. Snip into the folds using scissors. Unfold the paper and stick the toilet roll in its original position with glue. Fold in the ends to just beneath snipped parts, if you want to hide the reverse of the wrapping paper. Put a cracker snapper strip through the toilet roll and trim, if you need to. Attach each end to the paper using sticky tape. 2 Roll the paper around the toilet roll and stick it in place with glue. Scrunch the paper around one end of the roll, being careful not to tear the cuts you’ve made, then secure with string or ribbon. Tip in jokes you have written (opposite) and sweets, or other treats, through the open end of the cracker, then secure that end with more string or ribbon.