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The row of glass tumblers in the picture above, filled with nuts and almonds and topped with small apples, could pretty up your mantelpiece, or the length of the Christmas table, or a windowsill.
Each ‘unit’ is quite small, but in a long row, or bunched together, Christmas lights and decorations obey the same rule as other small objects – put lots of them together and they will make a big statement.
From Cast-off to Gorgeous
I seem to remember it was crème caramel that came in these little glasses from the supermarket.They're perfect for creating Christmas lights and decorations, because ...
... they're just big enough to hold a tea light, and they have this lovely groove around the top. It will hold all manner of ribbon in place, even if you attach heavier objects to it.
So let’s turn each of them into a ‘prototype’ for Christmas lights and decorations:
- red-and-green ’traditional’ with big bow and evergreen twig
- cool and contemporary, with colored string and lots of Christmas balls (‘baubles’ if you’re English), and
- cute and fruity, with cranberries and ribbon and a tiny bit of glitz.
Traditional Christmas Lights and Decorations
Well, it doesn’t get much more traditional than big-red-bows-and-evergreens.Wired ribbon works best because you can shape it, and work the bow into a really lush sculpture.
Wind the ribbon round the neck of the glass twice. That way, you make sure that the ribbon looks the same width all round the rim. I made two knots; the second one holds the twig in place over the first.
If you’re using many of these lights together, you could vary the display a little. For example,
- try different types of evergreen leaves, e.g. holly, thuja, juniper, cypress, box, or conifers like fir or pine
- include a small pine cone here and there
- add a few nostalgic Christmas tree ornaments to some of the glasses
- use slightly different hues of red for the ribbon (this will look good if you’ve got a fair number of lights assembled).
Contemporary Christmas Lights and Decorations
This glass has a broad band of colored string around the rim. Starting at the top, wind the string tightly around the glass and then knot the two ends together carefully.It might help to glue the string down at the start and at the end to keep it in place.
Thread small Christmas tree balls onto one or both ends of the string, and knot the string together. This pulls the balls into a tight bunch.
For variations, particularly if you’re using these lights for Christmas table decorating, you could
- add a name tag to each light and use them as ‘place cards’ on the dinner table
- vary the size/number of balls in the decoration
- tie in a few Christmas balls in odd colors for added punch
- instead of ball ornaments, use other Christmas tree decorations.
’Fruity’ Christmas Lights and Decorations
Of the three, this one is the easiest to make. Place the tea light in the glass and then fill the sides around it up with cranberries.At the end, slide a few glitzy bits (stars, little balls…) down the sides so they come to sit right behind the glass and reflect the sparkle from the other Christmas lights.
Make sure the bow is of a generous size; leave one or both ends trailing a little and twist them into graceful wavy shapes. This looks particularly good if you’re using several of these lights together.
For more ideas on Christmas lights and decorations, check out the links below:
Easy Christmas table decorating
Christmas ideas with candles
Christmas decorating with a flavor: orange pyramids and cookie decorating
Free Christmas paper craft patterns (lanterns that make a great gift, too!)
Old-fashioned (and easy-to-make) Christmas tree crafts
How to make Christmas tree balls
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