Christmas Fun Guide: Cheap & Cheerful Festive Crafts from The Works

Being on maternity leave this festive season, it means I've got lots of time to have some crafty fun with Carson - something I am LOVING!

I've stumbled across The Works when I was looking for inspiration and have found some little gems that I wanted to share with you...

carsonsmummy.blogspot.co.uk



carsonsmummy.blogspot.co.ukComplete with ribbons, shiny pins and colourful buttons in an array of shapes and sizes, Carson and I had so much fun adding our own touch to the tree this year. 


He's super proud of his bauble (as I am of mine!) and it takes pride of place on the front of the tree.

Time needed: 30mins.
Cost: £4 to make 2 baubles
Ease of use: 9/10, Carson got a little frustrated at times because I was telling him to be careful with the pins.
Final Result: GORGEOUS!


carsonsmummy.blogspot.co.uk


carsonsmummy.blogspot.co.uk
I used to make my own mobiles as a child. I fondly remember my dad drawing then cutting out several mini Santas then a large one. We'd colour them in before he attached them all together with string. 


I can't draw for toffee so when I saw this set for a solitary quid - I absolutely had to try it out. It comes with coloured felt pens and glitter glue and all the drawing and cutting out is already done for you.

Any child who loves colouring in will be happy for up to an hour decorating and glitzing up this decoration. Carson gives this a huge thumbs up.

Time needed: 60 mins.
Cost: £1
Ease of use: 9/10, slightly fiddly to attach the dangly images using the thin string as the holes are a little wider than the knots you can make. Tape fixes this easily.
Final Result: For a quid, it's a must-have for the kids.


carsonsmummy.blogspot.co.uk


carsonsmummy.blogspot.co.uk
Ahhh a snowy scene on Christmas Day. OK maybe that's a rarity these days, but you can create your own little one in a globe, that's also a fridge magnet!

Colour in the background image of your choice (there are 4 to choose from), then use the foam cut out pieces to create an overlay to add that third dimension. There's even googly eyes! 

Time needed: 30 mins.
Cost: £3 to make 2 globes
Ease of use: 10/10 absolutely nothing stopped us!
Final Result: Magic.

carsonsmummy.blogspot.co.uk


carsonsmummy.blogspot.co.ukWe made our own crackers last year, we bought the kit from Marks & Spencer for £10-£12 ish and we were really pleased with the outcome. No more chucking away the rubbish plastic tat that come inside the usual crackers, oh no! We can pop in a treat that we know we like! So we said we'd make our own every year.

This year though, I found a kit that were much much more cost effective - half the price in fact. Complete with hats, jokes, ribbons and snaps it really is fun constructing your very own 'personalised to taste' crackers.
Carson opted for a chocolate coin in his, whereas I opted for some scrummy Celebrations instead.

Time needed: 30 mins.
Cost: £5.99 to make 6 crackers
Ease of use: 8/10 - Slipping the tabs together and tying the ribbons is fiddly. Keep the kids involved and let them pass you the stuff as you need it, they'll only get really annoyed when they can't do it themselves!
Final Result: A personalised cracker with a joke and a hat - a lovely touch at dinner!


carsonsmummy.blogspot.co.uk


carsonsmummy.blogspot.co.ukWe've got these ready for Christmas Day, it saves the kids (and adults!) from any frustration at the table.  At a cost of just £1 for a pack of 4, these place mats are a steal. An absolute steal!

Time needed: If yes, then buy these!
Cost: £1
Ease of use: 10/10
Final Result: A hot Christmas dinner without falling over the kids!


WIN WITH THE WORKS!!

This selection of wonderful crafts are surprisingly affordable. I mean, I doubt you could make them at a cheaper price be it from scratch or in another kit. All of the above would only cost you £15.99 in total, giving you some quality finished products whilst providing a whole lotta fun in the process.

Take a minute and imagine what you could buy for £25. Now that you've imagined it, get entering below. That's right, I've teamed up with The Works to offer one of you lovely lot the chance to win £25 to spend with them.

There are no mandatory entries but if you do them all not only will you have a greater chance of winning, you will also unlock a free daily entry which could add a significant boost to your chances!

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Please note that I received the above items free of charge for the purposes of review.

Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

98 comments:

  1. These look fantastic and the kiddies look like they had so much fun. I will be checking them out for sure as I know my sons would love making these x

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  2. What a great idea to make your own Christmas decorations. By involving the whole family, you make the celebration more personal. I can see the pride on your son's face. Fantastic.

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  3. Love the little pic of Carson giving a thumbs up! I used to do loads of craft style bits with my daughter when she was small.

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  4. What fabulous ideas! I love going to The Works, there's always plenty of things in there to buy at really affordable prices in order to keep your kids entertained! I've found loads of books for my daughters there too for this Christmas!xx

    Http://www.itsalwaysdarkestbeforethedawn1.blogspot.co.uk

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  5. Thank you for another lovely giveaway :-)

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  6. Great prize, both me and my daughter are bookworms so this would be amazing :)

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  7. The Works is a great shop, good for bargains.

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  8. Great giveaway- I love the works!

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  9. I love The Works - so can find so many great things there. Fingers crossed

    Laura x

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  10. fab i love the works they have some great stuff

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  11. these all look fabulous thanks for the giveaway and merry xmas

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  12. The Works is a great shop for books and art supplies. Great prize.

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  13. Love The Works - some super bargains!

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  14. I love the Works! Great prize!

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  15. for some reason i didnt think that Works would have Xmas crafty things, thanks for the giveaway)

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  16. I love the idea of making Christmas ornaments. I should try that with my 2 year old (if I can get her to agree to do something).

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  17. What a fantastic giveaway and Christmas guide - The Works are amazing and so affordable!

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  18. Great giveaway- love creative things

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  19. The works is brilliant. Great giveaway!

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  20. I love finding things like this in The Works. Ive got my friends kids some make your own sock monkey's, more because it makes me chuckle x

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  21. I would never think to go to The Works for crafts etc. Thanks for sharing.

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  22. These crafts looks fantastic for adults and kids alike! Will definitely be taking a look in The Works! Thankyou for this fantastic giveaway!

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  23. I love The Works - such amazing prices for really good quality stuff.
    Thanks for the giveaway and Merry Christmas :)

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  24. Brilliant competition! Can't believe those placemats are £1 - M&S have some too but much more than that x

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  25. There's some really good ideas, i especially love the place mats!

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  26. I've just decorated my sewing and craft room I could have some fun doing stuff with the voucher

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  27. I made my own crackers this year.
    yours look amazing.
    Amazing giveaway i love the works

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  28. Looks all good, love creative things, mine never look good though, great giveaway

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  29. I love The Works for books and crafts

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  30. I love the works for arts and crafts bits x

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  31. Pam Francis Gregory31 December 2014 at 08:31

    Some great ideas.

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  32. great non screen based entertainment -love it

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  33. The Works is an amazing shop for all sorts of crafting goodies and books x

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  34. cant believe how cheap all this stuff is! i will remember for next year!

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  35. Wow you seemed to have a lot of stuff, and it all looks so good and real fun that a family can all do together thanks for sharing it with us

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  36. wow such a lot of stuff and excellent value It looks like you all had ral family fun, which is just great I always think that things made together as a family have more meaning. Thanks for sharing all your great ideas with us

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  37. brilliant give away, love doing stuff with my children and partner as part of a family and always looking for more ways to do things as a family too

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  38. great giveaway and great review and what better way to get kids to use their imagination and inspire creativity =D

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  39. Great review, I love the works and so do my kids, it's a great store.

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  40. love shopping at the works, my daughter loves all the book and crafty bits there.

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  41. fab giveaway love the works theres always a tonne of great and cheap craft bits

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  42. Love this kind of thing, I really like The Works for all their creative products

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  43. Perfect for rainy afternoons, my kids love arts and crafts days!!!!!

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  44. I could get sooo much for my kids from the works!

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  45. Brilliant giveaway!

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  46. Got some good stocking fillers from the works

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  47. great giveaway, best of luck everyone!

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  48. My daughter would love to spend this prize money.

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  49. We love The Works could spends hours looking in their stores & then spend a fortune!

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  50. Wish I'd known about the colour in placemats in time for Christmas! they would have been great fun.

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  51. oooooh yes plz love the works :)

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  52. Great shop, lots of bargains, fingers crossed!

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  53. The Works Works for me! Fab Giveaway so everything crossed !

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  54. We love the works for card making supplies :)

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  55. I love The Works, they have such a great range of art and craft products at fantastic prices, and you can get some great book bargains too

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  56. I love visiting The Works and always buy something. I have so many younger nieces and nephews to cater for.

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  57. There is such a great range of products in The Works - and they change regularly so you never know what treasure you are going to find.

    Hazel Rea - @beachrambler

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  58. These crafts look a lot of fun

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  59. Love the Works something for everyone when we visit!!

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  60. Loads of crafty things on that site! Great giveaway thanks!

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  61. Some great items & ideas here, will tuck the review away for next Christmas!!

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  62. Very crafty my daughter spends all her pocket money for works x x

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  63. This is a fantastic giveaway - thank you

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  64. The Works is brilliant - so many great books and creative products

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  65. I love doing crafty stuff with the kids all year round, it keeps us all out of trouble! and The Works are great for supplies

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  66. The works is great for books, puzzles and kids birthday presents.

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  67. The works is awesome for crafts, lovely giveaway :)

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  68. I love the Works, it's jam-packed full of brilliant items. £25 would buy a lot of great stuff.

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  69. I love the works they always have great bargains

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  70. Love the works, could spend hours in there!

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  71. Amazing giveaway, I really like The Works :) x

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  72. That looks so much fun. My little boy loves craft activities.

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  73. Love the works, my daughter loves their art supplies! x

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  74. Just bought some books from there great price.

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  75. I love the works, they have alot of great thing's to make diy projects. And it's so much more special when you make your own christmas decorations too :)

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  76. many thanks - would be very useful

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  77. thanks so much for the chance :)

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  78. I love The Works - some great bargains to be found there.

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  79. Elloooo...I spend a fair bit of cash in the works (on the website) and you can collect nectar points too if you go through the nectar site first. Love the site, and it looks like you all had a blast making everything.
    Mega happy you are doing this too, I need to put another order in to them. They do bargain packs of glue sticks and we go through them at such a rate it's silly! I like their card blanks too, very reasonable prices.
    Lurve x

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  80. great giveaway thanks for the chance

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  81. I love making things and you can get some really good bargains from the works

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  82. I get all my books from the works, great giveaway thanks :) x

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  83. Love, love, love The Works. Always find some really great things in there.

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  84. The works is my idea of heaven. being a stationary freak like i am!

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  85. Love browsing and buying in the Works!

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