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By Richard Croft, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a><\/p>\n If you have a spare afternoon in the run-up to the festivities I can heartily recommend putting on your favourite Christmas movie, gathering a pile of snacks and settling down for a few hours of relaxed crafting. Because there\u2019s nothing quite like making your own decorations to add that extra touch of festive cheer.<\/p>\n Here are some of the projects I\u2019d love to try this year:<\/p>\n Paper Pendant Lampshades<\/strong><\/p>\n These origami paper pendants<\/a> are made using wrapping paper. They\u2019re cheap, cheerful and not too<\/em> difficult to make. This is a really versatile project because you can pick any wrapping paper that matches the rest of your Christmas decorations \u2013 or just use what\u2019s left after you\u2019ve wrapped your gifts. These little pendant shades aren\u2019t just for Christmas either; you could make a new one for every season.<\/p>\n Simple Cardboard and Yarn Trees<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a very simple but very stylish make<\/a> with hundreds of possibilities. The tutorial is in German, but when put through Google Translate, very easy to follow. I\u2019d like to make some extra large trees in my colour scheme to display on the sideboard but these can also be hung on the tree, turned into a garland or arranged around a wreath. A great craft for getting the kids involved too.<\/p>\n Christmas Wreath<\/strong><\/p>\n A wreath<\/a> is practically a Christmas must-have and making one every year can become a lovely tradition. I prefer to keep things simple and natural with some beautiful evergreen foliage. However, wreaths can run the full gamut from bauble bedecked beauties to felt florals and sparkling snowflakes. Martha Stewart has a great selection of wreath ideas, check out a few of them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Paper Poinsettia Flowers<\/strong><\/p>\n