I had a go at making a few of these myself, both in an attempt to be more sustainable and to relive some happy gift-making memories from my childhood days. It was hard work and time-consuming, but it was good fun too. I constructed a gingerbread house and created star-shaped lanterns from scratch. The exercise also reminded me of an important lesson: that it"s the time you spend with your loved ones – and not so much the material things you give them – that really matters.