Deck the halls with budget holly

Christmas is finally just around the corner and, even if you’re a typical Scrooge, you can’t escape the general festivities of Manchester. Santa is on top of our Town Hall and the Christmas markets have begun so just before the countdown to exams begins  — sorry for mentioning it — here are some ideas for ways in which you can spruce up your halls or house for less money than you might expect.

The tree: Over the past few weeks, Sainsbury’s has been getting more and more into the Christmas spirit, with mince pies having been stocked in the first week of November. However, it wasn’t until just recently that they brought in the abundance of little trees that mark the beginning of Fallowfield’s Christmas season. Christmas trees are going for a budget price of £10 and along with that you can get a 24 pack of baubles for £4. If you’re feeling extra creative, dust the tree lightly in icing sugar or desiccated coconut to make it look like it came straight out of Narnia.

The decorations: Of course baubles aren’t enough, we need more! First things first, get down to Home Bargains and get a 6m string of fairy lights for £3.99, perfect length for the tree. For your room or for hanging around the TV in the living room, try Primark’s ‘Snowflake’ fairy lights for £2.50. These can also be strung around the headboard on your bed or wrapped around curtain poles for a festive glow. Poundland is where you want to head for tinsel, because it’s just £1 of course, but also for the fact that they do Disney’s Frozen tinsel, and it’s pink!

Extra festive cheer: When it gets to Christmas every brand seems to release a scent with the word ‘spiced’ in the name which makes it’s so easy to find a cheap way to get your home smelling great. You can pick up 25 ‘Spiced Cinnamon’ tea lights from Primark for £1 or if you want something a little stronger, Febreze have released their ‘Spiced Apple’ spray which you can find for £3 in Sainsbury’s or Tesco.

Hopefully some of these things have given you a little inspiration for how to decorate your home at university for the Christmas season! For extra decorations and ideas, try your luck in Home Sense, which is entirely devoted to Christmas at the moment, or the home section of TK Maxx where you’re guaranteed to find a bargain hidden gem for a budget friendly price.