A Thrifty Tip for Valentine's Day Decorations

I have a money saving hint for buying decorations for Valentine's Day (and many other special occasions).  In my local garden centre, all the Christmas produce is being sold at 75% off.  Looking at the range of ornaments, decorations and baubles, I realised that there were lots things which weren't Christmassy at all.  There was quite a selection of hearts and angels among the more festive designs.  Perfect for St.Val's! So I bought a selection of beautiful heart shaped glass baubles, cherub candle votives, lace winged butterflies and a large wooden heart decoration. The whole lot was worth over £30 but I paid less than £8 for the lot. Much cheaper than buying bespoke Valentine's Day products, plus the quality is far superior to many of the novelty Valentine's Day items on the market.

It's well worth keeping an open mind when looking at things in the post Christmas sales.  There are often things that have multiple purposes and as I love celebrating all the year's special days, I can often find things appropriate to other occasions.  As well as these decorations, the garden centre had ones shaped like gemstones, cars, musical instruments, birds and little toys.  All could be used as decorations for birthdays, themed parties or other events. Just because they are a part of their Christmas range, doesn't mean you have to use them solely at Christmas time!

On Valentine's Day I will be decorating the dining room with my haul to create a romantic setting for our special dinner.  Decorating the room really adds to the ambiance, fun and atmosphere.  I'm planning on spray painting a branch, popping it in a vase and hanging the decorative hearts on it, as a lovely table centrepiece.  

I love a good bargain and I like having a good selection of pretty things ready to adorn my home to make every celebration simply perfect. 

Christmas Tree Baubles from Wilkinson

I love Wilkinson as they always stock a fabulous range of products at great prices.  Their seasonal aisles are always lovely to browse as they have lots of good value items.  This Christmas there are some brilliant presents, tableware and decorations.  We were sent some decorations for our Christmas tree.  They were all in whites and silvers in different sizes with different textures and effects.  We received some individual baubles and some boxes of twelve small ones.

We added them to the tree, which is already a mix and match spectacular of many designs and colours!  Freddy helped me to hang the ready strung baubles.  His favourites were the small white glittery baubles (12 for £2.50) and the individual reflective silver one which reflects sparkly rainbow colours(£1.50).

If you want to add some extra decorations to your tree this year, or if you want to buy a complete matching theme for your tree, Wilkinson definitely has some lovely stuff in store!  Or you can shop online at www.wilkinsonplus.com with delivery to your home or to your nearest Wilko's.

Oh Christmas Tree! #Project52

I never used to put up my tree until Winter Solstice but this year, infused with an unexpected dose of festive joy I have gone all out to celebrate the whole of December with my family! So on December the first we found the tree we wanted to bring into our home for Christmas.

The next morning, the children decorated the tree, sorting through decorations that spanned two decades of my family Christmases.  Each one brought with it its own special memory.

The theme and colour scheme isn't exactly like the trees you see on the TV ads, but it is exactly how my children wanted it to be.  It's loud, mix 'n' match and completely original!

Decorated with laughter and music filling the house, the tree exudes joy.

The lights sparkle in the darkness.

The crazy array of ornaments, toys and baubles are just perfect for my slightly crazy family!