The best Christmas things aren’t new – and that’s precisely the point

What’s the Christmas decoration you’ve had the longest? Mine is a set of silver paper streamers that originally belonged to my grandparents (and which, if the price in shillings on the original box is anything to go by, pre-date 1971). When I get them out, I can picture my late dad balanced on a chair, pinning them to my childhood dining room ceiling.

It’s the old, slightly broken stuff that makes Christmas: the things you bring out every year, imbued with Christmases past. “I love finding a prime spot on the tree for a little beaded fairy I got at a fair in primary school,” says Filter audience editor Ella Jinadu. “It has pipe cleaner arms and legs so you can wrap it around the tree in different poses. When the lights catch the beads, it looks fab.”

For the Filter’s editor, Hannah Booth, it’s the decorations her 12-year-old daughter made when she was little, but more recently she found some vintage ornaments at a Christmas market that feel like future classics. “A set of gorgeous retro wooden tree decorations [the seller had] bought in NYC in 1974 (the year I was born): ice skaters, angels, rocking horses. I know I’ll have them for ever,” she says.

Sew this is Christmas

If you want to start decorating traditions of your own while reducing waste in the process, take inspiration from Hannah Rochell’s piece about genuinely reusable Christmas stuff. From Swedish angel chimes to a sumptuously embroidered fabric Advent calendar that can be filled with sweets, chocolates or other treats, the items are designed to be brought out year after year. For those without the time to make a foliage wreath this year, there’s also a particularly beautiful reusable one crafted from recycled saris.

If your focus is on cutting down on shopping this year, Hannah Rochell has also written about Christmas gifts you can make (no specialist skills required). It features expert-developed creations such as Little Duck head chef Sara Thomson’s recipe for spiced beetroot pickled turnips, which are “a brilliant pink jar of goodness”. There are also instructions for Sarah Raven’s bulb “lasagne” pot, which will begin a months-long relay of blooms in your recipient’s garden come February, and an easy DIY scented room spray by Duxmore Botanics founder Char Legge.

Here at Filter HQ, we may have tasted many shop-bought treats in the last few months (all in the name of Christmas research, of course), but even the most bougie tin of biscuits doesn’t beat something homemade. “I always take cinnamon stars along to any Christmas gathering,” says editor Hannah Booth. “They’re a tiny bit time-consuming, but worth it because people are always more impressed than they really should be.” Meanwhile, production editor Emily Goddard likes making fudge – a tradition started with her late father.

For those with more savoury tastes, Ella says homemade chilli oil is a good bet. “You can tailor the oil to the spiciness you want and add different flavours in there too. Remember to properly sterilise the bottles or jars before adding in the oil,” she says. Happy making.

This week’s picks

• Jess Cartner-Morley’s November style essentials: fancy flats, sexy knits and a Christmassy pigeon

• ‘An extravagantly illuminated beast’: the best artificial Christmas trees – tested

• The best Christmas gifts for mums, grannies, aunties and friends

• The best Christmas gifts for dads, grandads, uncles and friends – tested

• The 36 best Christmas gifts for every kind of teenager – chosen by teens

• The best beauty Advent calendars, tested – from bargain buys to cult favourites

• ‘A wonderfully fluffy but crunchy-edged bite’: the best (and worst) supermarket crumpets, tasted and rated

Editor’s pick

The turn towards winter can be painful – but a great coat gives you a reason to be cheerful about the changing seasons. And if you’ve finally worn your old one beyond the point of repair, as I have, our guides to the best men’s and best women’s coats can inspire your next buy. Whether you’re looking for a classic wool-blend women’s coat or a men’s long rain jacket, we have you covered (literally).

Monica Horridge
Deputy editor, the Filter

In case you missed it …

Another thing we love about autumn is hearty home cooking – no more heatwave-induced salad days. If you love the cooking but hate the stress of food shopping, Jane Hoskyn tested nine of the best recipe boxes and meal delivery kits, and was surprised by the quality. They’re “the best thing to happen to time-poor foodies since, well, sliced bread”, she wrote. “They’re cheaper than a takeaway, often less processed than a ready meal, and much more culinarily adventurous than beans on toast.”

Get involved

Have you received a present you love, or bought a gift you like so much that you keep buying it for your friends or family? Let us know by emailing us at thefilter@theguardian.com.