Christmas is just around the corner, and there’s no better way to get into the festive spirit than by decorating your home with your children. While traditional ornaments and lights are timeless choices, adding a personal touch that showcases your small family can make the festive season even more special. If this is your first Christmas as a single parent family, making personalised Christmas decorations can also mark the start of this new chapter.
So, try these fun and unique Xmas decoration ideas that will not only brighten up your home but are also family activities that add a little magic to the Christmas season:
1. Family Photo Garland
This is perhaps one of the most personalised ways to integrate your family into your festive décor. Here’s how:
- Choose some of your favourite family photographs.
- Print them in small sizes, either as regular photos or on sturdier cardstock.
- Attach a ribbon or twine to the back of each photo.
- Hang these DIY photo ornaments on your tree, windows, or walls.
This method allows you to reminisce about special moments every time you see those beautiful photos. You could use shots from favourite family holidays, your kids’ milestones, or any fun theme you can think of. There are so many ways to create personalised ornaments out of photos – just let your imagination run wild and flaunt your family’s personality through these memorable moments.
2. Customised Stockings
Instead of using the same old Christmas stockings every year, why not create new, personalised ones yourself? Your family will appreciate the effort:
- Buy plain stockings and decorate them with your family members’ names using fabric paint or embroidered patches.
- Add other personalised elements such as small photos, favourite quotes, or even a footprint for a baby’s first Christmas.
3. Handmade Snow Globes
Homemade snow globes can encapsulate a favourite family memory, and they are not just great Christmas decoration but also make lovely Christmas gifts that won’t break the bank:
- Take a small, clear jar with a tight-fitting lid.
- Inside, place small figurines that represent a cherished family memory, for example the kids building a snowman or riding their sledge. or trip, maybe your first single parent holiday.
- Add water, a dash of glycerine (to make the snow fall slowly), and glitter. Seal the lid, give it a shake, and you have a bespoke snow globe!
4. Personalised Advent Calendar
Instead of the usual chocolates or toys, fill your advent calendar with family-centric tasks or memories, for instance:
- a note prompting everyone to share their favourite holiday memory
- a recipe for a homemade mug cake, your kids can prepare themselves
- a note asking every family member for an act of kindness that day
- a note asking your children to bake cookies for an elderly neighbour
- a note asking your kids to share their funniest Christmas memory
- a request for a cosy family Christmas movie night
Another idea would be to write down 24 reasons why you love your child. These could be personalised to each child and contain little anecdotes or references to their individual personalities or little anecdotes about them. This approach to an advent calendar can become a beautiful daily ritual leading up to Christmas Day – and it’s inexpensive too!
5. Family Recipe Card Garland
Celebrate your family’s culinary traditions by creating a garland from recipe cards.
- Ask every family member to name their favourite dishes.
- Write down or print out some cherished family recipes on cardboard.
- Punch holes at the top of each card.
- String them together with some festive ribbon.
Hang the garland in your kitchen or dining room. It serves as both decoration and a source of inspiration for holiday meals.
6. DIY Family Christmas Wreath
A family wreath is a twist on the traditional holiday wreath.
- Start with a plain wreath.
- Decorate with elements that represent each family member or event, such as a special toy for a child, a ribbon in a favourite colour, or a dried flower from a memorable trip.
- This wreath not only becomes a centrepiece for your door but also tells a story about the family inside.
7. Personalised Christmas Tree Skirt
The base of the tree shouldn’t be neglected. Customise your tree skirt to reflect family milestones.
- Using a plain tree skirt as your canvas, paint or sew on designs that are meaningful to your family. Hand and footprints would work, or paper decorations that your kids have made in the past, such as stars and the moon in silver or gold foil, or other colourful paper decorations that mean something to you and the children.
- You could also paint the skyline of a city you visited together or a timeline of significant dates or milestones over the last 12 months.
- As an alternative to a tree skirt, you could decorate the tree base using sacking, surrounded by pretty, little parcels with everyone’s names on – reminiscent of Santa’s sack of gifts.
For more fun Xmas ideas, why not check out Pinterest?
8. Memory Lanterns
Light up your home with lanterns that tell your family’s story.
- Take some clear lanterns or mason jars.
- Inside each, place a small keepsake or photo.
- Add a tea light or fairy lights to illuminate the contents.
Place them on windowsills, the fireplace mantle, or even outdoors for a heart warming glow.
In Conclusion
Decorating for Christmas is always a delightful activity, but incorporating family into the mix makes it even more heart warming. As the years go by, these personalised Christmas decorations will serve as beautiful reminders of family moments, growth, and love of your small family. So, this festive season, why not start making memories that will last a lifetime with these innovative Xmas decoration ideas?
