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For one-off designs, it’s worth looking at www.plumo.com and www.traidcraftshop.co.uk, which sells a jute reindeer made in Bangladesh for £2.50; www.onevillage.org has a range of handmade decorations from around the world.

For bright colours at a cheery price, visit www.woolworths.co.uk, where you can buy 16 glittering red baubles for £3.99, or www.matalan.co.uk, which sells a multipack of 27 baubles in pink, purple and red for £3. It has a wide selection of decorations to hang on your tree, including feathers, beads and gold-sequined baubles. A tube of 12 gold baubles costs £3, and a gold-bauble garland that links shades of gold with tinsel costs £25, both at www.pier.co.uk.

For more twinkle, add lights: www.christmastimeuk.com has every type of flashing and non-flashing lights imaginable; and www.cotswoldco.com has a delicate 5m Starlight Garland for £42.95.

If you want to go to tinseltown on your tree, then click on to www.matalan.co.uk for 8m of tinsel for £3.

Gone green this Christmas? To adorn your sustainably grown tree with more ecofriendly decorations, then you could string popcorn through the branches, hang tangerines (for ribbons go to www.vvrouleaux.com — you can place an order but have to pay over the phone) or, better still, hang handmade edible chocolate decorations, available from www.fairtrade.org.uk.

And don’t forget what’s underneath. For wrapping paper, tags and ribbons, try www.christmastimeuk.com, or visit www.thewrappingco.com, which has winter-stripe, black-and-white bauble and glitter-tissue designs to wrap up presents for discerning adults.

American-based company www.paporganics.com sells a holly hemp wrapping paper with festive peace-dove designs for £2.60 plus delivery per sheet, or go to www.naturalcollection.com for recycled wrapping paper. Two sets of robin wrapping paper and tags is £7.95.

Keep the home fires burning

A roaring fire provides the perfect backdrop for any Christmas scene, whether you are sipping mulled wine, roasting chestnuts or just slumping in front of the television.

Arrange to have seasoned Scottish logs delivered to your door from £20 at www.druidswood.co.uk, or stock up at www.onlinelogs.co.uk, where you can buy bulk bags of seasoned split logs (price varies according to your delivery postcode).

For added scent, try cinnamon-infused pinecone firelighters in waxed cupcake pots — they make rooms smell wonderful even before the fire is lit. Use them in woodstoves, campfires or fireplaces; priced at £16 for a box of 10 from www.coxandcox.co.uk.

Before setting a fire, book a visit from a chimney sweep to make sure your hearth is safe — and to check the way is clear for Santa Claus to drop in. The National Association of Chimney Sweeps (www.chimneyworks.co.uk) has a list of members countrywide.

Roasting chestnuts on an open fire, as Bing Crosby famously sang, is all part of the fun — but do it safely either with a chestnut roasting pan, £9.95 from www.alacook.co.uk, or with handmade traditional swivel-wire toasting forks, £18.50 from www.re-foundobjects.com.

If you don’t have a fireplace, you can always cheat. For £14.95, at the press of a button the Fireplace DVD from www.firebox.com will blaze away on your television or computer screen. You can even match the flames to your mood, choosing from a range of fire effects.

Deck the halls

Don’t neglect the rest of the room. When your mantelpiece, table tops and shelves are filled with cards, display them in a wirework card holder from www.re-foundobjects.com for £24 (that doubles as a postcard holder the rest of the year), or corral them with a Christmas tree-shaped, wire-frame card holder for £28 from www.plumo.com. It also sells a reindeer peg-box set for £4.95, complete with 2m of gold string. For an even simpler solution, www.gripping-stuff.com sells bright red, green or grey ribbon that cards stick to instantly, so no messy walls or fiddly hanging.

Use candles to create atmosphere. At www.cotswoldco.com you can buy a mixed-cone garland for £14.95 that will set off any mantelpiece, as will the firm’s range of festive letters: NOEL, below, will set you back £22.95; PEACE will cost £28.95.

For a traditional Nativity scene, www.christmascribs.com sells handmade sets from £29.70.

Remember to hang up your stocking: www.cathkidston.co.uk has pretty retro ones for £10, or you can buy a stocking stuffed with old-fashioned sweets from www.conranshop.co.uk for £12.

Make the most of the garden

The garden needn’t be the Cinderella of your Christmas party: it can present a beautiful scene to view from indoors if its wintry strengths are lit up — the outline of a tree, for example, a sculpture or an urn.

You can find a large selection of candles, lanterns, bamboo oil torches and flares for the purpose at www.onestopcandleshop.co.uk (which sells indoor versions as well). The Garden Glow, for example, priced at £36, is a large, ovoid wax container into which a small pillar candle fits. The effect is subtle and sophisticated.

Outdoor LED lights can be bought at www.lights4fun.co.uk. The company’s range includes net lights in a variety of colours. Throw the white ones, £32 for 100 bulbs, over a small tree to make it look as though it is glinting with snow, or wrap a net of coloured lights over an entrance porch or column to welcome guests.

There are also plenty of options at www.johnlewis.com, such as red berry twinkling indoor or outdoor lights for £15 (120 bulbs). The Brompton Garden Lantern, £99, is a sturdy light that should withstand gusts of wind.

For a cheerful party look, www.crocus.co.uk has low-voltage lights in the shape and lurid shades of cocktail-filled glasses, at £24.99 for 20.

If your garden lacks interesting shapes to dress with fairy lights, try a folding willow obelisk frame, from £12.95, at www.harrodhorticultural.co.uk, or a box topiary spiral from www.boxwood.co.uk, starting at £75.

You can also hire topiary plants for your party from Boxwood, starting at £9 a day.

For guests who venture into the garden for fresh air or a furtive fag, www.plantstuff.com has a spun-steel brazier, £64.50, to keep them warm.