Day: 2 December 2022

There are just a few weeks until Christmas and even less until the kids break up for their winter holidays, so it’s the perfect time to get creative and decorate your home with some Crimbo-themed crafts.

Forget last year’s tatty tinsel and dodgy fairy lights; it’s time to channel your inner elf and turn your front room into a festive wonderland (and keep the kids busy while you’re at it).

In this quick read, we’ve pulled some cracking craft ideas out of our Santa hats to get you and your loved ones in the mood for a cosy and cost-effective Christmas. 

Snowpeople 

What you’ll need:

– Cotton wool

– Glue

– Paper or cardboard

– Scissors

– Felt tip pens

– Coloured tissue paper or felt

Check your bathroom cupboards, it’s likely you’ve got an unused bag of cotton wool lurking around. So, get the kids to create some wintry wall art. Draw two circles on a piece of card for the snowperson’s head and body, and cut out. Glue cotton wool over the head and body, and hey presto, you’ve got a snowperson. Use bits of felt or tissue for the facial features, the scarf and buttons. Easy-peasy.

Tip: You can create a fluffy Father Christmas beard with cotton wool and draw/stick bits and pieces on his face, too. And if you’ve got some paper plates lying around, you can use these for faces or stick two together for a snowman/woman. 

Homemade cards

Save some pounds by getting the kids to make Christmas cards. After all, who doesn’t love the personal touch? Draw, stick, paint, it all works and keeps the little ones occupied while you enjoy a coffee (and get ready for the tidy-up afterwards).

To make the cards extra special, cut out some photographs of the kids that they can stick on and send to friends and relatives.

Festive hats 

What you’ll need:

– Coloured paper

– Scissors

– Glue

– Sequins/felt to decorate

Christmas hats are easy to make and are a great addition to a family s-ELFie (see what we did there?). Use brightly coloured paper to create a cone shape and stick the edges together with glue or tape. Add some cut-out ears for elf hats or some fluffy cotton wool for a Santa hat. Decorate with sequins or felt tip pens to add extra pizzazz.

 

 

 

Energy is a hot topic. From price hikes to conserving energy, every day there seems to be a new thing to think about. And now, research has shown that being more energy efficient could even bump up the value of your home.

Boiler company BOXT found that increasing the EPC rating of your home to C or above could boost your house price by 23%. So, if you’re thinking about selling your property, you may want to consider improving its energy rating to maximise value.

For property newbies, an EPC is a measure of how energy efficient a property is. The ratings lie on a scale of A to G and are accompanied by a report on how to reduce fuel usage and decrease carbon emissions.

In this two-minute read, we look at some quick and simple ways to enhance your property’s energy efficiency level and/or reduce your energy bills.

• Install a smart meter

Smart meters are a great way to let you and your supplier know how much energy you’re using and how much you’re spending. The government ordered all gas and electricity suppliers to provide smart meters to their customers, so they’re free of charge and do away with the need for individual gas and electric meter readings.

• Switch to LED

If you haven’t done this already, then you’re missing out. Advantages of LED bulbs include lower energy usage, longer lifetime, different colour lighting and increased durability. This small change could make a huge difference to your bills and reduce your carbon footprint.

• Upgrade your boiler

While this is one of the more costly changes on our list, it is the top way to improve the energy rating of your home and reduce your heating bills. But if you can’t afford a new boiler right now, get a professional in to give it a full service and ensure it’s running at optimal level.

• Draught excluders

Probably the easiest way to keep your home warm and reduce energy loss, draught excluders quite literally plug the gap, preventing heat loss and reducing draughts. You can get movable draught excluders to put in front of doors and self-adhesive ones to stick around windows. If you’ve got a fireplace that you don’t use, think about ways to block heat escaping from the chimney.

• Curtains

Thick curtains prevent heat loss from windows and keep your home nice and cosy. It may mean paying out for new drapes, but thick, lined curtains will make a difference to the comfort and cost of heating your home.

If you’re thinking about selling, speak to one of our team members at Chamberlains to find out how much your home is worth.