Nimble little fingers make light work of festive decorations

Save your energy this Christmas and get the children to make the trimmings, says Suzanne Harrington

DESPITE marketing campaigns to the contrary, the magic of Christmas is generally limited to the children, while the hard slog of Christmas is unlimited for the parents — especially mothers, because we’re masochistically conditioned to take it all on and aim for the kind of sparkling perfection you only see in Marks & Spencer adverts. Add to this annual heightened-expectation-athon the ongoing economic grimness and the whole idea of Christmas can end up as appealing as a dental appointment. With a migraine. On a shoestring.

So how about getting your kids to do Christmas? They love it, after all, so why not give it over to them?