Wrapping presents with DIY gift tags

Well I've wrapped all the presents - phew!

I'm afraid, for the MIAMI purists, I used virgin wrapping paper - but most of it was surplus from last year, supplemented by a stash left by a friend who was staying here this week and bought more than she needed and bequeathed the rest to me.

In mitigation I did make all my own gift tags and I have to say they are blooming lovely - much nicer than shop bought ones. I had a pile of last year's Christmas cards and cut them, punched a hole and threaded through some gold thread I had in my stash.

Amazingly I managed to find a large card in purple tones that perfectly matched some of my wrapping paper and got half a dozen tags from the one card - I couldn't believe how well the colours matched. In the photo here it's hard to tell which is the card and which the wrapping.

If you think recycling involves some kind of compromise in quality I hope these will convince you otherwise. And if you aspire to cut out buying any paper at Christmas check out our main website and read  >> How to have a paperless Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Clare F

Easy Christmas tree decorations

These gold Christmas tree decorations have adorned my tree every year since 1992. They were made for me by my sister-in-law Lucy and are my favourite tree ornaments.

They look very easy to make - just pieces of corrugated cardboard covered with crinkled paper - added papier mache style and then sprayed with gold paint. Despite being really simple they are very effective and the crinkly surface helps them catch and reflect the light.

For more handmade Christmas decoration ideas look at the MIAMI website

Clare F

Getting in the Christmas Spirit!

I love Clare F’s piece yesterday about renting a Christmas tree, but my vote has to go to the upcycled trees this year.  I love the ingenious use of waste products at the best of times, but think of the added pleasure of gathering your stock for this tree...

This one was created outside the Nanjing mall in China and is huge but, if you really like the idea, you could create a smaller version for your own home. Yes, you'd have to save a fair few bottles, but I can think of a few men (and women) who have more than enough bottles in their recycling boxes already! 

So if you want to have a go at a more modest version this video may be for you.

>> Click here for lots of great ideas for making your own handmade Christmas decorations

Rent a Christmas Tree

A glossy flyer came through my door this week from Christmas Tree Angels: London's first sustainable Christmas tree rental service. The trees are grown from seed in pots and are delivered into your home - upstairs if required - and then collected at a convenient time after the festivities. You can even arrange to rent the same tree the following year. Once the trees get too big for use they get planted out to live out their retirement in a plantation.

I applaud the idea - there's nothing more depressing than seeing the wanton waste of trees that happens each January when they are dumped in skips or sent to the shredder - so I rushed to the website to find out what it costs. Unfortunately that's where my enthusiasm waned - it's a whopping £75 minimum to rent the smallest tree (a 4 foot Fraser Fir). They also offer additional options +£15 to choose your own tree, +£12.50 to insure it! and +£30 to pre-agree the delivery time (the free delivery option does not allow time-slot selection). Now I can understand that the operating costs are likely to be much higher than those for bought trees - but this is so high in the absolute as to put all but the most wealthy sustainability advocates off. 


I decided to do a bit of research and have discovered that while the concept may be new to us Londoners, there are a few similar firms operating elsewhere. I found a company in Dorset that will rent a 5 to 6 footer for £45 if you collect and return it yourself - or £59 for the full delivered option.
 Trees for Rent

Meanwhile if you want to make and mend your Christmas decorations we  have tons of great ideas on the website - from how to make salt dough tree decorations, to making stars and gift boxes from old Christmas cards.  Start your own Make it and Mend it Christmas now


Clare F

Come to Devon and make your own homemade Christmas

We've decided to emerge from  MIAMI Towers and run a real live event - and we hope you can come along and join us!

The lovely people at the beautiful Rill Estate in Devon have invited us to run a couple of one day workshops there.

We 're going to do live work sessions on card-making, fabulous show-stopping Christmas table dressings, gorgeous home-made Christmas decorations as well as gift ideas and wrapping.

You'll get all the materials provided, plus lunch and teas and coffees, the chance to meet the MIAMI team and other like-minded people in a convivial atmosphere and beautiful setting.

Who needs to be a couch potato and sit at home watching Kirstie Allsopp  pretend to make her homemade Christmas when you can do it for real?

What are you waiting for? We have 2 days available - Monday 15th or Tuesday 16th November.

>> Find out more here

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 

Tips and workshops from Christmas past

Want to pick up tips about ‘make do and mend’ Christmases? London’s Geffrye’s Museum, dedicated to the quintessential style of English middle-class living rooms from the 1600s, has a special Christmases Past exhibition focused on making everything yourself.

Get down there (all links below) between 24th November and 3rd of January to see how we used to decorate our houses for Christmas how we used to celebrate. The special Christmas past exhibition complements the museum’s ongoing Eco Home exhibition.

As well as exhibits, the Geffrye is putting on a series of workshops and events so you can learn how to make festive swags and garlands (12th December) and how you can make all manner of decorations by upcycling old fabrics (5th December).

What a great way to spend a pre-Christmas Saturday.

>> Get more information about  visiting The Geffrye Museum