Festive dash
Only two days to go! Here’s a guide for last-minute prep for everything from free gift wrapping ideas to alternative Christmas trees to a DIY table set, writes Bea Taylor.
GIFT WRAPPING
You’ve done all of Santa’s work, but now have the gifts to wrap and no wrapping paper in the house.
Well, stress not Christmas elves – there’s a wealth of items in your home that you can use instead.
Recycled cloth gift bags: A lot of products now come in cloth bags, so you might have a few of these lying around the house. Simply place your gift inside and tie a ribbon around the top.
Spare bits of material: Similarly, if you have any spare lengths of material, or even neck scarfs, bundle a gift up in this and, just as with a cloth bag, tie it together with a ribbon or twine.
Brown paper: Take a roll of brown paper and draw or paint Christmas illustrations onto it. Now you have your very own handmade Christmas wrap.
Newspaper: Everyone has some of this hanging around the house. It’s a great substitute for bought wrapping paper, and if you need to make it festive, use bright red ribbon or get the paint brush out.
THE TABLE
If you’re short on time, interior designer Amanda Holland from Small Acorns advises that you go for a “light, bright” table look that’s easy to put together.
Use a table cloth or that roll of brown paper you used for gift wrap and run it the length of the table.
Forage for bright flowers in the garden. “Nasturtiums, dahlias or wild flowers have the right relaxed look,” she says.
Napkins should be bright but don’t need to be matching. Holland prefers linen napkins and if you don’t have your own, you can quickly make some by cutting up material and fraying the edges.
“The good thing about this sort of table setting is that it works best if the tableware and cutlery are mismatched,” she says – perfect for that last-minute dash.