The best DIY hacks using Kmart products for Christmas decorations, gift wrapping and more

Preparations for the most wonderful time of the year are in full swing, and many of us are trying to find a way to make it just as sparkly, colourful and joyful as Christmases past – even with the cost of living crisis.

Few do this better than Kmart's clever and creative fans who always manage to find a way to solve their décor dilemmas with the store's bargain buys.

Christmas time is no different, with shoppers coming up with plenty of hacks to make the season special and save cash in the process.

Watch the video above.

READ MORE: Stunning $12 Kmart hack you'll be seeing everywhere this Christmas

These DIYs range from decorations to gift wrapping, and often involve a little DIY magic.

Here are some of the best Christmas hacks from Kmart shoppers:

Textured pastel baubles

While you can buy pastel baubles in many stores, it's rare that you find them with a matte look and rarer that they'll also have textured detailing.

One Kmart fan showed that it's possible to have both using the popular balloon bauble hack, but with a twist.

Ange McKenzie shared her process in a TikTok, first buying pastel balloons for $1.75 and 10 red baubles, some with textured detailing for $2.50.

READ MORE: Unlikely $25 buy that has shoppers in a frenzy over its storage potential

The matte look of the balloons and the ribbed surface of the baubles make them look far better than any other balloon baubles we've seen since the hack emerged online a few years ago.

"You just snip the end off the balloon, really stretch it over there and I did leave a little bit extra at the top and then I kind of just twisted it and put the cap back on," she said.

"And they almost have this velvety look to them and they're so pretty in their pastels."

While McKenzie is a fan of the traditional Christmas look, she has a second tree that she has styled with the pastel baubles.

The DIY hack was a hit with people who watched the video, with one inspired to give baubles a different look with black balloons and another who hasn't been able to get the right pastel baubles.

"Obsessed! I'm having a pastel Christmas and it's been hard to find baubles,' she said.

DIY gift bags

The stress to find the perfect present is only surpassed by the stress of wrapping it nicely. Then there's the tinge of sadness that comes from throwing away the wrapping paper and bows you spent your hard-earned money on.

Fabric bags are becoming a popular alternative to paper gift bags. Not only do they look good, but can be re-used every year, saving you plenty of cash. But you do have to outlay some money first, and while prices start at a few dollars they go up as the size of the bag increases, and depending on what store it's from.

One shopper has solved this expensive dilemma by making her own using a surprising Kmart item.

Instead of heading to a craft store and buying fabric, this woman bought a Christmas themed single-bed quilt cover for $14, and shared the stunning results in the Facebook group Kmart Hacks & Décor.

And because it's reversible, she ended up with two designs of material totalling four metres of polyester and cotton fabric to use. This is about on par or cheaper than buying the fabric itself.

"I was sick of wasting wrapping paper so decided to spend some time and make my own Christmas drawstring bags to reuse each year. Kmart to the rescue: I used a single Christmas quilt cover set $14 and macrame cord $7 for a total of $21. It made 14 bags all up in various sizes and shapes. Perfect as front and back of quilt had different designs for each of my kids," she captioned the post alongside photos of the bags she made.

While Kmart does sell reusable gift bags, the 23 x 17cm size are $3 each, so to get 14 of those it'd cost you $42. This shopper has saved herself $21 and never has to spend money on gift bags again (provided the gift recipients hand them back or reuse them themselves).

READ MORE: Six alternative Christmas tree and decorating ideas

The hack was well received by Kmart fans who offered other ideas for DIY fabric bags. Some use Kmart tea towels for sewing projects like this, while one person who can't sew just uses pillowcases to pop gifts into.

Another buys Christmas-themed fabric from Spotlight when it goes on sale after Christmas to make bags for the following year.

View gallery

Kmart buys that add a festive fun to every room of the house

Fuller-looking Christmas tree hack

The quest for the perfect Christmas tree often seems elusive, especially when those large fluffy movie-perfect trees can be expensive.

So sometimes our best option is to find ways to make the tree we already have, or an affordable new one, look better.

One of the biggest issues with Christmas trees is making them look fluffy and full, but one woman has found a solution using Kmart's $12, 1.8m Christmas light-up green garland.

READ MORE: Christmas tree decoration hacks that require little effort

"I was sick of having gaps in my Christmas tree and could never fluff it up enough to fill them in so this year I grabbed the last two garlands with lights at my local Kmart and wound it up the middle. Problem solved," she captioned a post in the Kmart Hacks & Decor Facebook group.

To use the garland she added it to the tree "down the bottom I wrapped it about a third out from the centre but once I got over half way I wrapped it tight to the centre. I did it as I assembled the tree and before I fluffed each layer to make it super easy."

READ MORE: Christmas tree decorating made easy with ornament calculator

DIY Christmas wreath hack

There's something special about approaching the door of a house adorned with a Christmas wreath, and you can make your own for under $30.

A creative Kmart shopper used a $2 pool noodle from the store to make her own by taping the ends together with duct tape.

She added tinsel, baubles, battery-powered lights and a red velvet reindeer and attached them using a hot glue gun.

The project was so popular last year, she re-posted it in the Facebook Home Decor & Hacks Australia page "for anyone needing wreath inspo".

And the post certainly did just that, with many in the group saying they were planning to make one, or sharing images of wreaths they'd made with a pool noodle, tinsel and baubles.

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