The shopping is done, the tree is up, the relatives are on the way ... and then you have a look around and realise the house is still looking a little bare and you could do with some more decorations. Of course you can nip to your local pound shop and get some stuff there (above are a few decorations I picked up from Poundland the other day at the price of, you guessed it, £1 each). But if you haven’t got the time/energy/resources (delete as appropriate) fear not, here is a very nifty last minute decoration you can make with things you usually have lying around the house. Also great to get the children involved and keep them occupied over the bank holidays:

All you need for this 3D paper snowflake is: 

• Paper (I used normal white photocopier paper as it goes with my Winter Wonderland theme, but feel free to experiment and use different colours if you like)
• Scissors
• Tape and/or glue
• Stapler

There are lot’s of tutorials for it online, I found this one from wikiHow very useful: 
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-3D-Paper-Snowflake

Or for a more visual approach, here is another detailed one from Youtube. Don’t get put off by the measuring, I didn’t bother being that precise and did my cuts by eye and my snowflakes turned out just fine:

Have you got any money saving decorating tips? Please share in the comments section below. Merry Christmas!

I’ve always been a fan of scented candles but this year I seem to be particularly fond of them. Isn’t it lovely to have a warm glow and a nice fragrance filling the house when the days get shorter? So cosy and comforting when it is cold, miserable and dark outside. Unfortunately my hubby didn’t really share my enthusiasm, that is until we went to stay with friends in Las Vegas earlier this year. They had a scented candle, which smelled a little like pecan pie, on display and every time he walked past it he commented on how much he loved the smell. Music to my ears as that meant I now had an ally and could go out and indulge in candle shopping without the raised eyebrow from DH.

I used to be quite content with the cheap and cheerful Ikea variety as long as the smell was pleasant enough, but that changed when I was given a beautiful Designers Guild Peony scented candle by a friend. The fragrance is intoxicating without being overpowering and it wafts through the entire house. My Ikea candles can no longer compete, in comparison the perfume is so faint that you can only pick it up fully if you sit right next to it.

I am a convert and do believe now that this is a case of “you get what you pay for”, but I still couldn’t bring myself to spend £25 or more on a candle. So I was absolutely delighted when I found an entire wall of delicious smellies in my local TK Maxx. I spent almost an hour sniffing (pardon the pun) out a bargain to the point of feeling slightly nauseous and dizzy. Tough research but it had to be done and I learned that some of the well-known names and highest priced products don’t necessarily smell the best, so I’m glad I didn’t get seduced by the biggest savings but went with my nose instead. I came away with 3 gorgeous candles for my Christmas gift stock (only 2 of them in the photo below as the third is already wrapped up as a Secret Santa gift for work) and I love how they come in beautiful containers that can be used for storage afterwards – waste not, want not.

Do you like scented candles? What’s your favourite fragrance?

Please note: This post is not sponsored and I am not paid to endorse any products or services.