It wouldn’t be Christmas without the lights and the glitter; and making your home look fabulous is a traditional part of the festivities. This year, why not ditch those tired strings of tinsel and get a little creative with your décor? 1. Go au natural: Your Christmas tree shouldn’t be the only piece of festive fauna decorating your house at Yuletide. Use glossy evergreens such as holly to create table centerpieces, or spray fir branches with silver paint and use them in place of tinsel. Pine cones and red berries also make great vase fillers over the Nativity period – decorate them with red bows for added effect. 2. Get arty: Don’t throw away old Christmas cards – instead, use them to create fantastic festive collages to hang in your hall or kitchen over the festive season. Homemade cards from children make great decorations, and if you haven’t got any saved from last year then you could always encourage your own kids to get drawing. 3. Let there be light: Attractive lighting is the key to great Christmas décor, so plan your lighting scheme before thinking about other decoration. Candles look fantastic at Yuletide, particularly when decorated with wreaths and pine cones, while fairy lights wound around banisters and furniture are an attractive extra touch. Don’t forget to keep naked candle flames away from soft furnishings and other Christmas paraphernalia, particularly when kids are around. 4. Adorn the outside: Nobody’s suggesting that you invest in a vast, neon Santa to grace the front of your house – not unless you want to, of course – but some subtle garden decoration won’t go amiss. White fairy lights concealed in trees and shrubs are an elegant touch, while a Christmas wreath hung on your front door will strike the right welcoming note. 5. Gorgeous gifts: Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the presents waiting underneath the tree, so why not make these the focus of your decoration? This is one area where you can really go overboard, splashing out on colourful paper and plenty of red ribbons. Wrap gifts well in advance, and put them underneath the tree to add to your home’s festive feel and increase the anticipation for Christmas morning. With all those presents and ornaments, Christmas can be expensive; so make sure you get your finances sorted beforehand. It’s a good idea to open a regular savings account as far in advance as possible, and you could also take advantage of some of the great deals currently on offer on current accounts and ISAs with Santander. Budgeting in advance will leave you free to enjoy the festive season without having to worry about money.