'When I first got my hands on this wonderful book I flicked from page to page enjoying the imagery and seeing how well everything had been put together. The ease of negotiating the steps to compile each of the crafts is heartwarming. Some books of this kind make it seem so difficult to a novice but this has projects for all levels of experience and it''s not just for Christmas either, many of the idea''s can be re-worked and used all year round. My only problem with this book is in trying to decide which idea''s to use this year and which will have to wait for another time!
'
Customer Review:
Review by: Tracey, 02 October 2008
'From the front cover onwards, this is an attractive and eye catching book, with very good use of coloured lettering for the title.
The Contents page and index are well laid out and make it easy to find everything. The print size makes this easy to read and to follow the instructions in all the exercises. Although there does not appear be a key to the ''star'' difficulty ratings it is very easy to rate the difficulty levels for the easy to follow instructions.
The instructions are all very clear and easy to follow with some excellent green tips. There are a number of double page sections with more ''green'' information, help, information and advice, with the Directory at the back of the book giving further excellent information
The pictures in the book are colourful and very good clear quality pictures. They are also helpful in the exercises and add an extra quality to the book as a whole.
This book is for anybody who loves Christmas and anyone who loves crafts. It doesn''t matter if you are a beginner or more experienced, there is something in this book for everyone at every level, including the children.
I have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone and I think it would also make a lovely present for Christmas or at anytime of the year.
All in all a very attractive, easy to use and very well presented book.
'
Customer Review:
Review by: James Fenlon, 28 September 2008
'This is a wonderful book for the upcoming holiday season and would make a fantastic gift for any parent or child who enjoys crafting their own presents or cooking their own Christmas treats. With step by step guides and fully illustrated, I have (with the enthusiastic help of my children)already made some fabric Christmas cards and a tin full of sweets and treats! Highly recommended'
Customer Review:
Review by: Clair, 25 September 2008
'This beautifully set out book contains a wide range of festive ideas to make your Christmas stylish yet sustainable. Tree and table decorations and gift ideas through to traditional recipes fill the pages, with most indicating the level of difficulty. Many of the projects would be suitable for encouraging young children to join in too.
The essence of the book is to minimise the environmental impact of the usual seasonal excesses, which it encourages via many useful tips throughout the book. It is also achieved, in part, by encouraging the use of natural and recycled materials, with the end results looking far from “home-made“.
My only criticism of this philosophy is that many of the objects that I wanted to make required me to buy materials rather than being able to find something suitable to re-use from around the house!'
Customer Review:
Review by: Leigh Wharton, 22 September 2008
'As many of you reading this will know the quality of a DK ( Dorling Kindersley). From start to finish this book does not disappoint you. The Christmas book is jam packed full of ideas from edible tree decorations to making your very own pot pourri.
The book is spilt up into five different sections Welcome, Christmas Tree, Giving, Table and Food.
WELCOME
In this section there are simple decorations that you can make to make your home more festive and welcoming to guests and yourself. This section helps you to set the mood and tone at this festive time of year. Some of the nice suggestions are to make a dried leaf wreath and how to plant a winter garden.
CHRISTMAS TREE
As the chapter title suggests this section of the book is about the Christmas tree. Ideas that they give you are how to buy and recycle a real Christmas tree, and the different decorations that go on the Christmas tree both material and edible decorations. The iced biscuit decorations are a must! They can be made with children, pupils e.t.c with a minimal effort. (Adult supervision is a must especially if making with particularly young children).
GIVING
In this section are ideas of presents and gifts that you can give to family and friends alike. There are some excellent ideas like fruit jam and glossy lip balm! There is a nice double page spread on eco gifts.At the back of the book there are many templates that you can use to make the activities more easy and achievable. In the eco gift section it gives you nice ideas on what to buy than to make, and how you can help the plant too!
TABLE
This section gives you ideas on how to decorate your table at Christmas.
FOOD
This chapter of the book has to be my favourite! This chapter gives you a wide range of foods to make, from mulled drinks to making your very own home made stuffing. My favourite would have to be Vanilla cookies! They look divine on the page and i will definitely will be giving them a go this coming festive season.
Throughout the whole of this book on the top left hand corner there is a star symbol rating of each category indicating the level of difficulty. Three stars being difficult and one star being easy. This gives you a clear and concise knowledge on how to tackle the activities. Many of the activities in this book are child friendly. Both good for crafters and cooks alike!
I have to comment on the quality of photographs in this book. They are to put it bluntly outstanding. There are many close up“s and double page spreads.
At the end of the book there is a section on the different templates that you can use to make your activity easy and trouble free.
Throughout this book is a recurring theme of how to make the above things naturally, and in your own locality, and how to recycle things that you might have in your house! This book attempts to reclaim Christmas from the commercial side to the more family oriented side of life.
I would definitely recommend this book to you. I intend to make many of the items in this book in the school that i work in.
I would give this book 10/10'
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