If you are feeling creative during the festive season follow, this guide on how to make Christmas gift tags. Choose silver birch for cutting the star shape as it’s thin enough to cut. The birch can be bought relatively cheaply and comes in a pack of square sheets.
Try not to worry about the shapes when you are cutting as this adds a homemade feel. You can see from the image below, mine are far from perfect! Make a small in each corner (a sturdy hole-punch should do it) and thread your twine through. Red and white butchers twine also works well. They really do look as pretty as a picture if they are used with newspaper or white wrapping paper.
Now, I know that fresh flowers will not survive for very long once they have been cut and tied onto a present, so the idea below would be a very special Christmas gift tag that you would present soon after it had been made, and not left under the tree for a few days, the effect is instant and stunning. Think about the colour of the flower and whether it compliments the wrap and string. I have chosen purple as it sits beautifully with the slate tag and grey newspaper print. Green foliage also looks great with newspaper but thick cream paper would work just as well (foliage also lasts a little longer than flower stems). Another tip is to use a sprigs of Rosemary, it looks really stylish and will of course leave a beautiful scent on the present (just don’t over do it, one sprig is enough).
The classic pine cone – you can’t go wrong! You have several options of attaching it, either a glue gun or if you don’t have one of these then just wrap some very thin garden wire around the base and then around the twine, make sure you twist the ends to avoid any sharp points. The cone looks even prettier if you spray it white first…
Photography credits. Top two images Jemma Watts, all Christmas gift tags Pippa Jameson