So many people are asking if its too early to decorate for Christmas.  Some families already have their Christmas trees up and complete with fairy lights and tinsel already while others have not even seriously considered decorating yet.

The traditional time to set up the Christmas tree is on the 8th December, which is also the religious Catholic holiday of the Immaculate Conception and to keep it up until the 6th January, which is the Epiphany.  However, while some start decorating right after Halloween, and some in a special celebration on Christmas Eve, the majority of family’s seem to run by the Advent Calendar chocolate box which starts its countdown on the 1st December.

So, if you, like us are itching to get started but feel that 17th November is far too early to crack out the tinsel, why not make an Autumn Decoration with the kids instead and add a bit to it each day until the 1 December, when you can start on Christmas proper.

Take a cardboard box and cut it to suit you.  Then get little fingers busy with painting an Autumn scene with trees and falling leaves.

Make a little hedgehog out of the offcuts of cardboard and add him to your Autumn scene.

Add leaves, pinecones and acorns to complete the look.  We went for a lovely walk Dromillihy Woods near Leap and collected our leaves there.  It is an old woodland site, which means it has been consistently wooded since the 1830s but was recently refurbished by a dedicated association from Connogh and with the help of Coilte (who own the woods). The aim of the project – to upgrade and expand the existing amenity, car park, making it more visible and inviting from the road and to upgrade the picnic area and develop a 1.6km looped way-marked trail, has been very successful and the result is a lovely recreational amenity which is enjoyed by countless families. There are also a number of nature information signs on the walk giving details of the woods and of the wildlife in the area.

Keep adding bits to your Autumn box as November goes along.  Before you know it, the 1st December will be here and we  can all unpack Christmas.