Christmas decorations and cards can work out very expensive! Why not make your own this Christmas, saving money whilst adding a personal touch to the festive celebrations?

Here are some simple step-by-step guides to making baubles, a wreath, Christmas cards and an Xmas Star, courtesy of Dremel.

HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS BAUBLES

Home made Christmas Baubles

Step One

Cut a length of ribbon long enough to fit around the bauble adding a little extra to overlap the ends. Glue it around the bauble. Cut two lengths of braid and glue them along both edges of the ribbon on the bauble.

Step Two

Work in small sections at a time so that the glue does not dry before the ribbon has been pressed onto it. Alternatively, glue one strip of braid along the middle of the ribbon.

Step Three

Apply dots of glue along the ribbon to decorate it, adding sequins and gems for extra embellishment. Make small dots of glue above and below the ribbon decoration for a more glittery bauble.

Materials required:

Plain baubles
Selection of ribbons and braids
Dremel Glue Gun and glitter sticks
Sequins
Small glittery gems

HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS WREATH

Home made Christmas Wreath

Step One

Apply glue to the bottom of a pine cone and stick it onto the wreath base. Glue cones around this one, angling them slightly for an uneven look. It is a good idea to tie a length of ribbon onto the wreath base at this stage if needed to hang the wreath to the door when it is finished.

Step Two

Continue to glue pinecones onto the wreath, covering the entire surface so that it cannot be seen. Select smaller cones and glue them on top of this first layer to create a little depth.

Step Three

Using glitter glue sticks, apply small dabs of the glitter glue onto the pinecones to give them a gentle shimmer. Tie two large bows and glue them together to form a double bow. Glue this to the top of the wreath using the glue gun.

Materials required:

Wreath base - use a plastic wreath base available from florists’ suppliers or try twiggy wreath bases available from flower shops and garden centres
Dremel Glue Gun and glitter sticks
Pine cones
Ribbon to hang the wreath
Wired ribbon for the bow

HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS CARDS

Step One

Measure and draw four strips of paper measuring 17cm by 1cm using a ruler and pencil. Cut them out with scissors

Step Two

Lay the strips over each other in a star shape, gluing each one down at the middle. Apply a dab of glue to the centre of the star shape (on the back) and stick the end of one of the strips onto it. Continue with the remaining seven strips to form a 3-D shape.

Step Three

Cut a square of paper and stick the star onto it. Decorate the star with a button and sequin attached with a large blob of glitter glue. Stick the square of paper onto paper of a different colour or pattern and then glue them onto a piece of silver card that has been folded in half to form the greetings card. Apply spots of glue around the edge of one of the squares and add extra glitter on the stars and patterned papers using the glitter glue.

Materials required:

Selection of patterned papers
Silver card
Dremel Glue Gun and glitter sticks
Scissors, pen and ruler
Buttons and sequins

HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS TREE STAR

Step One

Take two lengths of wire and glue them together to form a cross shape using the glue gun and glitter glue sticks. Lay two more wires across the first two to make a star shape and glue them together in the middle.

Step Two

Start to thread beads onto the wire, using the same arrangement of bead shapes and sizes on each arm of the wire star. Continue until the star is complete and you are happy with the arrangement.

Step Three

Apply small dots of glue between the beads to hold them in place and form extra decoration. Trim the ends of the wires with wire cutters if necessary. Using green glitter glue, add dots to the centre of the star, fixing a bead in the middle. Twist a length of wire around the middle of the star to use as a fixing to hold the star in place on the top of the tree.

Materials required:

Florists wire (four lengths)
Dremel Glue Gun and glitter sticks
Pearl beads in different shapes and sizes
Wire cutters

The Dremel Glue Gun Hobby Set including 12 glitter sticks in 6 different colours plus 10 glue sticks costs just £24.99 this Christmas from DIY shops or online from http://www.dremel-direct.com or http://www.tool-shop.co.uk/

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Gogoblin, the top children’s wish list and party website is a way of making sure that your little ones get exactly what they want on Christmas morning: no duplication; no ‘wrong’ presents, no wasted money.

Gogoblin is a unique site, enabling you and your children to create lists of the specific toys and games they want for any special occasion, giving parents and friends some much needed guidance. They can either buy a present from the list, quickly and simply online, or they can use the list as a pointer as to what that child is into. Gogoblin also provides some great online shopping for the under 16s, and is extremely easy to use - even for grown-ups!

The site is also designed to help organise people who have a lot of kids to buy for: parents, grandparents, family and friends can view and manage all the wish lists of children they are buying for - nieces, nephews, friends’ children - and the important dates, in one place - Gogoblin’s ‘to-do list’. So the site hopes to take the stress out of gift-giving for everyone - both the wishers and the givers.

Visit www.gogoblin.co.uk.

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This Christmas, the Practical Parenting Gold Award winning new LeapFrog Tag Reading System, will take learning to read to a whole new level. Combining the enjoyment of reading with an interactive learning experience through fun games and activities, Tag has already been tipped by Woolworths and Argos as one of the top new toys for Christmas.  [See Agros Top Christmas Toys and Woolworths Top Christmas Toys]

LeapFrog Tag

The Tag Reading System consists of an electronic reader which, when used with the range of exciting LeapFrog book titles, makes story time come to life. With every touch Tag’s built-in camera reads words and pages aloud, with characters and pictures making noises to enhance the reading experience. The groundbreaking Tag technology helps children learn to read, develop their vocabulary and learn how to spell, through games and activities within the books.

The Tag system works by “reading” by identifying dotted media. A small, sophisticated infrared camera works as an imaging system to recognize letters, words, and symbols when written on special dot-patterned paper. Using an optical pattern system and digital processing techniques the Tag reader can determine its precise location within the dot media. This enables a child to jump around within a book, or back and forth between different books in a seamless way.

There are more than nine titles in the LeapFrog Tag range, from classics such as Paddington Bear and Dr Seuss, to contemporary characters like Ariel from Disney Princesses and Po from Kung Fu Panda.

The current full list is:

Disney Pixar Cars
Disney Princess
Kung Fu Panda
Go Diego Go
SpongeBob Square Pants
Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends
Olivia
Paddington Bear
Dr Seuss The Cat in the Hat

Exciting titles due to launch in 2009 include Dora the Explorer, Scooby Doo and the eagerly anticipated Madagascar 2. Tag stores up to five titles and is small enough for learning on the go.

A unique benefit of Tag is that it connects to a brand new online Learning Path*: a dedicated website where kids can unlock fun rewards and activities and parents can follow their child’s learning progress.
Tag is suitable for 4-8 years old. RRP £39.99 which includes the title Ozzie & Mack

The new technology means that children are no longer confined to repetitive books. With Tag, reading becomes a joy and a game! Children are now able to get a sense of independence as they can to read by themselves or with their parent. For more information visit www.leapfrog.com/tag

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The Toy Retailers Association recently listed their Dream Toys list for Christmas 2008, which reported here.

Boots are stocking 5 of these products which can be ordered online.

Gr8 Girls Cup Cake Maker - £30

Girls will have hours of fun cooking and decorating delicious cup cakes with Gr8 Girls Cup Cake Maker.
£30.00

Click here to buy.

FurReal Friends Biscuit My Lovin’ Pup - £150

FurReal Friends Biscuit My Lovin’ Pup is a fully interactive life-size golden retriever and a perfect friend for dog-loving kids.

Click here to buy.

High School Musical Dance Mat - £25

Dance and groove with this High School Musical Dance Mat!

Click here to buy.

My Life - £50

My Life lets you have fun by making a virtual life that can be shared with your friends.

Click here to buy.

Clone Wars Helmet - £30

This Clone Wars Helmet features voice amplifier and plays signature phrases.

Click here to buy.

At the time of writing, you can also get 600 extra advantage points when you spend £60 at Boots!
Click here to visit the Boots online store or click on the banner below for one of their latest online offer.

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