Kirstie's not very Homemade Christmas

I have to admit to being fascinated by Kirstie Allsopp’s latest TV offering. I found myself multitasking: watching with awe at the amount of money she spends, Twittering about how much money she spends and all whilst knitting a hat with horns…(don’t ask).

I love the way the programme, "Kirstie's Homemade Christmas" was shot, the locations and all the inspiration for homemade gifts, decorations,wrapping etc, but I get deeply frustrated by the amount of money she spends and the fact that she always gets the professionals in to do it for her.   As one person on Twitter put it, ‘Kirsty’s Homemade Christmas is for non-crafters’.  Which is a shame because experienced crafters know how to adapt the ideas and make them within a realistic budget, but inexperienced crafters may think they have to spend extortionate amounts of money (£75 a metre for one piece of fabric!) and that they have to have a professional to teach them how to make something. This is simply not the case! Kirstie could put people off having a go for themselves because they think it's out of range of their finances and skills.

As the shows progressed, there were times I thought I was watching “Let’s go Christmas shopping with Kirstie” rather than a Homemade Christmas. Especially when she went to a market – not her local market, but Covent Garden, just to buy mince pies.

That said, I think it was better than her first series (Kirstie's Homemade Home), but how about a programme that uses recycled and upcycled materials and keeps within a realistic price range?

I understand it's meant to be a inspirational Christmas, but in truth it's more of an aspirational Christmas. Many people are struggling this year and can’t afford such luxuries – so come on Channel 4, how about making it more accessible to us mere mortals. Showing us aspirational is fine, but showing us how to do it within a normal budget is better. £30 a meter to guild a pear is not within most people’s budgets…getting top professionals to teach you the techniques and provide you with freebies is definitely not within my budget. (And the last time I ventured into VV Rouleaux for some braid, the owner didn't spring out and give me a master-class in making fabulous gift trimmings - instead I had to jump up and down to grab the attention of the Sloaney sales assistant who had her nose in a novel and didn't want to be inconvenienced by selling me some of their extremely expensive trimming.)

It's great that Kirstie is getting the message about making things ourselves and some of the ideas are truly fantastic, but please a little perspective on costs next time.

>> Check out some of Hilary's own budget ideas for a home made Christmas on our website

If you want to see Hilary's horned hat (which she knitted for her teenage son) >>there's a photo on our Facebook pagebut you might prefer something a bit less extreme - so try our pattern for knitting >> Cheryl Cole's big fat pompom hat