Homeowner saves over £200 by making her own spectacular Christmas arch for just £47!

There isn't a celebrity on social media without this season's must-have Christmas arch over their doorway. Turns out you don't have to be a celebrity to get the latest florist trend taking over. As this homeowner proves with her epic DIY Christmas arch – that cost her just £47 to make.

Making this fabulous budget decoration was all in a day’s work, quite literally, for Sarah Whiteley from East Yorkshire.

More brilliant DIY ideas: Why chicken wire Christmas decorations are the latest trend gripping the nation

‘I didn’t want to pay a fortune for the ones I'd seen in the shops,’ she told Latest Deals. ‘The best, most realistic-looking ones cost £250. Plus, I would have still needed to buy all the decorations to add to it. After doing a bit of research, I decided to get creative and was able to make my own for just £47.’

DIY Christmas arch: how to make it

Armed with festive arch inspiration from Pinterest, Sarah started to craft her own festive doorway creation.

‘We live next door to my mum and dad, and my mum passes a lot of her gardening tips on to me,’ she says. ‘I explained to her what I was thinking of making, and she wanted to help so we set to work.’

Sarah bought the metal arch from Amazon for £10. She started by positioning it over the front door, standing it in the plant pots to help steady it.

Buy now: Heavy Duty Metal Garden Arch, £10.50, Amazon

‘I ordered some wet foam brick blocks online to use as a foundation for the foliage,’ she says helpfully, to advise others. ‘These cost £1.29 a block and I needed about 20. Using garden string, I tied the blocks to the front of the arch.’

Next, she went on the hunt for the all-important foliage. 'We are lucky that my garden has lots of foliage. Such as fir trees, conifers, laurel, holly trees, and ferns. I simply started chopping away some of the overgrowth.'

Forage for free foliage

Armed with an abundance of foliage, it was time to dress the arch.

'I started from the bottom using the larger, bushiest offcuts and worked my way up. The pieces I used were slightly larger than I originally thought I would have needed' she adds. 'But they helped to give it the rustic effect I was looking for.'

To add a touch of sparkle Sarah used glitter spray to gentle dust some of the foliage, which cost £3 from B&Q.

'I bought a red flower garland for £8, and cut it up to add a dash of colour to the arch. I secured the flowers with florist wire so they wouldn’t fly away in the wind.'

The twinkling fairy lights were leftover from last year.

Related: Feeling creative? Follow the year's hottest trend for Christmas window painting at home

And there you go. A celebrity-style decorating front door on an affordable budget. ‘Every time I look at it, I smile to myself knowing I saved some money. It feels really satisfying' she says proudly.

Bravo Sarah.