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We’re right at the end of a decade and it doesn’t matter if you’re religious or not, December’s the right time to light up your house and open your home to friends and family.

It’s tough to write articles when there’s a miasma of tension stifling our island’s mood.

At House.mt, we’re not a fan of political parties, but we do enjoy parties – especially if they’re in a cosy living room with a fireplace, a Christmas tree and mulled wine. We’ll say this: Our home isn’t blue or red, it’s Malta.

For today, we’re going to look at some Christmas decorations that are sleigh-in’. (And which you can buy or make in time for Christmas.) We’ve made sure to add a health mix of traditional and contemporary ways to deck your halls!

First, we want to kick off our list with some ideas we picked from our sponsors, Christmas World Malta.

In the spirit of ending this year on a good note, we partnered up with Christmas World Malta to give away a seriously grand Christmas tree as a festive giveaway.

Have an empty corner? Enter Your Details here: https://house.mt/win-christmas-tree

Note that only Facebook followers are eligible to win, so head off to our Facebook page and hit ‘Like’ and ‘Follow’.

4 Ideas from Christmas World Malta

There’s this army of Father Christmas figures

And a present set that’ll complete any living room

Looking for a discrete nod to your religious roots? Here’s this trove of tiny Nativity scenes

3 decorations you can get online

Battery Operated LED Glass Balls

This set of three glass LED balls with a 20cm supply cable. The diametres of these balls are 12cm, 10cm, and 8cm. To power them, you’ll need 3xAA batteries (which are not included). This beautiful set is priced at €29.99, and can be bought on Amazon.

LED Illuminated Christmas Decoration

Made from some robust plywood, this stunning battery-operated Christmas village is full of detail and decorations. To light this winter landscape, all you’ll need is 2AA batteries. Its unique lighting base creates a very special mood perfect for Christmas time, that’ll definitely turn some heads. This Christmas ornament goes for the price of €25.99 on Amazon.

LED Decorative Light Star

This LED star is made from real wood. It can be hung on a door or wall, or stood up because of its 3D shape. The beautiful reindeer shape magically comes through when the star is lit. Like the other two entries, this star is battery operated; it requires 3xAA batteries which aren’t included in the package. This star comes in two makes: Tanne, which is thinner and slightly smaller, and the Stern, which is more robust. This star goes for a total of €13.49 for the Tanne option and €16.95 for the Stern.

2 decor ideas you can make yourself

Snowy Mason Jar Luminaries

Perfect way to show off flameless tea lights, LEDs, a holiday garland or flowers. Are especially eye-catching during the night, making them great accessories to have for evening parties at your home.

Supplies needed:

• mason jar (or any glass jar)
• 1 cup of epsom salt
• 1 tbsp glitter (preferably white or translucent)
• mod podge (or tacky glue)
• sponge brush for applying the glue
• twine or ribbon
• small piece of greenery
• hot glue gun
• flameless tea lights (optional)

For a step-by-step walkthrough, this DIY channel offers photos, videos and detailed instructions.

Paper accordion angels

Perfect to hang onto your window, arches, walls or Christmas tree.

Extra: Food and Drink that are pretty enough to decorate with

Jingle Juice Holiday Punch

This Jingle Juice recipe is simple, delicious, and beautiful. And you only need 3 ingredients to make it:

• 1 bottle (750ml) Whipped Vodka
• 1 bottle Pink Champagne or Sparkling Rosé
• 1 (2 litre) bottle Cherry 7-up
• Cranberries for garnish (optional)

First, get a punchbowl and fill it with ice. If you want to be extra fancy, you could buy this ice-mould here and make super-sized ice cubes filled with cranberries and rosemary. But you could totally just add some cranberries into the mix without going through the trouble.

Next, add all your ingredients together and you’re good to go!

Mini Christmas Tree Cupcakes

When it comes to this recipe, it’s the piping that’s really at the centre of it all. Lydia over at Lydiabakes, shows us how to get this, and other, desired tree shapes.

So, any cupcake recipe that you have at hand will do. A cool tip would be to make your cupcake either a red velvet one (to stick with the Christmas theme) or chocolate (to look like the tree’s bark). Once, you’ve picked which type of cupcake you want, we can move on to this beautiful piping.

To get this intricate tree shape, use a 2D star piping tip. Fill the piping bag with green icing and squeeze away until you’ve got a cone shape. Add some hard candy balls as Christmas décor, and cut out a star shape from yellow fondant for the star. And you’re done. Impress your party with these great Christmas-themed drinks and cakes!

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