Kirstie's Christmas Crafts - Book Review
Kirstie’s book has lots of great festive ideas & activities
I know, I know, you probably think that it’s too soon to be talking about Christmas. However, when it comes to crafting, I always think that getting a bit ahead of the game can’t be a bad thing, especially when Christmas crafting is the best and there is simply SO much of it to do.
One of my go-to sources of Christmas craft inspiration is Kirstie Allsopp’s book - Kirstie’s Christmas Crafts. This book is simply fantastic, packed full of lots of great ideas, hints and tips to make your Christmas feel super special and handmade.
The book itself is set out really nicely; there are wonderful images to help inspire and show you how it’s meant to look (mine never does!) and simply numbered step-by-step instructions. Kirstie has also included some little stories or historical facts to add a bit of character as you go through.
The book itself is split into 7 sections:
Deck the halls - wreaths & decorations
Season’s Greetings - cards, tags & wrapping
The Christmas Table
Perfect presents
Edible gifts
Food & Drink
Children’s Christmas Crafts
I’ll pull out some of my favourite ideas, and ones that i have tried along the way.
Felt hearts are the perfect Christmas gift
In "Deck the Halls”, there are some wonderful decoration ideas. These span from festive bunting to wreaths to the smaller ideas such as felt hearts. You can read my blog on making felt hearts here. What I like about these ideas is that some of them can help you use up Christmas material, if you think about them that way. For example, you could make Christmas bunting or a Christmas stocking from Kirstie’s book. One that I think is really special are the “Kissing Balls”; I am a sucker for personalised and slightly trashy Christmas tree decs, and these are spot on.
Fabric window cards are a great handmade Christmas card option
You can also use up leftover festive fabric in the “Fabric Window Cards”, which are a neat way to make personalised Christmas cards without the cost. A personal favourite are the “Oven Baked Gift Tags” which I’ll talk about in another blog post, which I made in 2019. I put individuals’ names on the tags and used them to label their presents, plus they are now a Christmas tree keepsake for the years to come!
Moving into the gift ideas, the “Lavender Bath Bombs” struck me as a great idea for that mother-in-law, aunty or grandma who has everything but probably would love a personal, homemade gift. On the other hand, the “Boxing Day Chutney” would be a real treat for the tricky to buy for, men of the family!
The book ends with some fantastic ideas of nibbles, treats and puddings which are always helpful at Christmas time when you’re needing inspiration.
Lots of edible treat ideas such as Marzipan penguins
For me, it’s a great go-to book that I reach for year on year to find some inspiration. I always love making homemade gifts as these always seem to be the ones that mean the most to friends and family, so this book helps me keep my ideas fresh year on year!