Best of..... Christmas Decorations

We are now officially on countdown until Christmas. It's just 22 days left and there's no better place to be at Christmas than at home (unless you have extremely bad-tempered relatives). So to make sure your humble abode looks as cosy and welcoming as possible, here's a roundup of the must-have Christmas accessories for the festive season. These are the products that are now adorning my house.

1. Lakeland LED Mini Christmas Tree

This is a really cute little tree that looks like it has been plucked from fresh fallen snow. The frosted clumpy effect at the base gives this effect. What I love about this tree is that it is battery operated so there are no trailing wires and it looks great wherever you put it. I have placed one in my son's room and one in the centre of the dining table. It looks really magical as it flickers from purples to pinks. It's quite small at 35cm so is great for highlighting any advent calendars or Christmas cards. Particularly good for anyone who likes all things contemporary, as this is a modern cone-shaped tree.


2. Lakeland LED Votives
What can't you highlight with these gorgeous votives? You get all the benefits of a cosy candle but you don't have the worry of them catching fire or burning out. As the flame flickers the reindeer and snowflake silhouettes glow magically, you could picture these in a magical cottage somewhere. Red inside and silver on the outside, they look magical even when the LED's aren't on. Because of the sheen of the red and silver you can almost be fooled in to thinking that something is shining inside. These can be placed as a table centrepiece or they can be placed under the Christmas tree to give all the presents an enchanted ambient glow. They also co-ordinate with the Christmas check overcloth pictured below.

How cosy does this look?

3. The Eden Project Baubles
Obviously we were drawn to these stunning baubles because of the beauty of them, the red and whites look really festive. However, there were quite a lot of other things that impressed us about these baubles. One of the main advantages of these baubles is that they are very child-friendly. Come Christmas time and you usually have to be on guard in case the children go near the tree and smash glass baubles; these are made out of recycled newspaper and so are safe for children to hold.

Even better is that they come in their own Jute bag. A Jute bag is made from plants; it lasts, it looks great and when you can't use it anymore it biodegrades completely.
Aside from being really eye catching and safe for children, these baubles are also eco-friendly. They are made and painted entirely by hand in Kashmir, India by a small family firm. The family firm is a sustainable fair trade business which provides much needed work in the local area. So when you look at these baubles you get a warm glow in the knowledge that you are not harming the environment and are helping workers get a fair wage. I think the pictures speak for themselves in terms of beauty.......

They are available in two different sets. Set one comprises of painted balls and set two comprises of hearts and stars. Team the two sets up for a really festive look.




4. Lakeland Flashing Bauble Trio

The Lakeland Flashing Baubles are a treat for any tree. Take one boring looking tree and add these baubles and you instantly add a magical element. The noses of the characters light up and flash in various parts around the bauble. They all have protruding noses, which gives the bauble a 3D look. Hung from ribbon they look very classy. Batteries are included for the baubles and you have an on/off switch on the base of each.
As if that wasn't good enough, they come in this gorgeous gift box, which you can place under the tree to look like a present.

5. Lakeland Dancer and Prancer

Add these to any room in the house and watch for smiles from everyone. These are a pair of hand-made felt reindeer decorations. Their feet are weighted and they have button joints so that you can pose them in virtually any position you want; stand them up, sit them down or pose them with Santa. They are fantastic quality, which is always what you can expect with Lakeland products. They co-ordinate with virtually all of Lakeland reindeer products, which makes it easy to create a recurrent theme.


6. Eden Project Christmas Crackers

If you are fed up of the usual junk that goes in to Christmas Crackers then Eden Project's Christmas Crackers are for you. No rubbish in these ones although the hats are made of recycled paper and contains a packet of seeds and an environmental message. Even the boxes the crackers arrive in don't go to waste as you can use them as a postage box to send the crackers to a loved one as an alternative gift.

They look a lot more funky and modern than most crackers on the market. It's nice to know that the contents won't end up in the bin either. Give a gift that lasts.....

I think you will agree that they look great!




7. Original Gift Company Christmas Rose Centrepiece

To add the final touch to your Christmas decorations, how about this Christmas Rose Centrepiece from Original Gift Company! Although this rose decoration looks incredible in the photo, it looks even more outstanding in real life! The centrepiece is made by a company named BLOOM. It's a glorious seasonal silk arrangement of crimson and burgundy roses, sedum and red hydrangeas. The flowers are held in a glass comport and looks really realistic as you have ice-cubes, berries and leaves contained within it.

The beauty of this rose centrepiece is that the flowers will never wilt and die; the everlasting arrangement will remain undiminished in beauty for years to come. The beauty is clearly evident. I would go as far as to say that no other ornaments would be needed if you had this centrepiece.

Have a fantastic Christmas!