Tricks with sticks to set the mood

The first first year I lived here I was obsessed by all things Greek and everything in the garden had that Greek look. Pretentious though it may have been, it was actually a good style for a small, carelessly plastered house surrounded by crumbling walls, badly painted timber and cheap, rambling plants such as rosemary and lavender filched from my mother-in-law's garden.
The first Christmas, I bought a little conifer in a pot to use as a Christmas tree in the courtyard. It looked ridiculous festooned with tinsel and golden balls and nothing could have been further from Greek style, so I resolved that the next year's Christmas decorations would be far more classy. A small, dead eucalyptus with interesting bark followed in 2001 and was strung with nothing but a set of elegant and hideously expensive fairy lights.
I'm over Christmas decorating now, but The Partner likes a bit of tinsel and the occasional Christmas carol, so I'm committed to making some sort of effort.
Lack of time, a dislike of pine needles all over the furniture and a reluctance to spend lots of money on things that (arguably) look pretty, but don't make flowers or grow fruit, have influenced me to decorate the house with found items from the garden.
If you want to try it, here's the plan.
Buy the base for a Christmas wreath from a craft shop and accessorise it with items from the garden or beach.
Beach-themed wreaths are perfect for the New Zealand summer - needing to collect shells, pieces of driftwood and other flotsam and jetsam from the shore is an ideal way to get out of more boring pre-Christmas jobs like cleaning the windows and other tasks designed to make visitors think you're a fantastic homemaker.
Grab some white rope at the hardware store to accentuate the beach theme and to hold the whole thing together.
A fisherman in the family will come in handy for more than supplying the barbecue if he has a few spare bits of net and a fishing lure or two.
Choose your greenery and encase it in fishing net. String it with lures, shells and pieces of driftwood and hang it with rope.
A tropical approach suits our Kiwi summer really well, so form some lush leaves from the garden into a circlet, secure with fine wire, and add tropical blooms.
You'll need to replace them every couple of days, but that can be a pleasure in itself. If you want to use pohutukawa blossoms or similar fluffy flowers, cover them with hairspray.
If you have a magnolia whose leaves have a russet brown underside, use them to make a circlet and decorate with ribbons in gold and bronze tones. A big gold bow adds flair.
Save any empty birds' nests you happen to find, line with fern leaves and fill with cloves, nuts and cinnamon sticks to provide the sights and smells of the season. Or use small cane baskets.
Buy a wire obelisk at the garden centre, wind it with tulle, filmy netting or very fine wire netting and entwine it with foliage and flowers. You may add one silver ball or something in glass. Buy heaps of candles and set them in the garden where they will draw attention to your favourite plants.
On Christmas morning, pick the nicest blooms from the garden and float them in pools, ponds, bird baths or basins of water.

Little extras go a long way

* If you have a surplus of fruit and time, jams, relishes, chutneys and fruit curds make great gifts, and a few hours in the kitchen doing something simple and pleasant is a great way to relieve stress and take some time for yourself.
* If your tomatoes are ready, relishes and sauces are easy to make, go a long way, and look gorgeous and festive in glass jars. Even simpler, cut lots of tomatoes in half, drizzle with olive oil and a few drops of balsamic vinegar, and slow roast in the oven for a few hours. Pack into little jars. Your kitchen will smell amazing and the taste of the tomatoes is intense.
* Cut similar-sized citrus fruit into quarters and squeeze into jars. Add mint or rosemary and fill with neutral-tasting oil.