I’m sick of celebs like Stacey Solomon flogging tacky autumn decor – it’s just tat & us mums can’t afford it

LUCY Baker, 48, who lives successful Lincoln with her daughters, aged 14 and 11, and her son, five, says the unit to redecorate for each play – with location ranges similar Stacey Solomon’s – puts excessively overmuch strain connected cash-strapped families.

She tells Lynsey Hope each astir it.

EVERY clip I unfastened TikTok oregon Instagram these days I’m bombarded with pics of pumpkin-orange bedspreads, spooky Halloween ornaments and cute autumnal cushions.

If it’s not store ads pushing maine to bargain integrative tat disguised arsenic festive fodder, it’s celebs specified arsenic Kourtney Kardashian and Stacey Solomon promoting their caller autumn homeware ranges and showing disconnected their professionally decorated mansions.

It’s intolerable to get distant from — and casual to spot however anyone could beryllium convinced into spending £50 connected worldly they truly don’t need.

It volition beryllium successful homes for a fewer weeks earlier being bunged into the loft to marque mode for Christmas decorations.

A full discarded of money.

I’m a engaged mum of 3 and person capable to bash without worrying astir however to get an Instagrammable doorstep acceptable for instrumentality oregon treating.

I’ve hardly paid disconnected the bills we racked up successful September for caller uniforms and schoolhouse shoes.

And present parents similar maine are nether unit to decorate the location earlier fright night.

Don’t get maine wrong, I’ve astir fallen for the seasonal buying con a fewer times.

While buying successful my location municipality recently, I astir bought a pumpkin-shaped make-up brushwood holder.

I had to person a connection with myself earlier placing it backmost connected the shelf.

And I’m not alone.

One successful 5 of UK adults accidental they program to buy, oregon person already purchased, autumn decor this year, according to a YouGov survey.

It’s not astonishing fixed that tempting seasonal wares are everywhere.

Stacey Solomon has a full autumn range astatine Asda, featuring bat-print duvets, skeleton mugs and decorative boucle pumpkins.

I similar Stacey but I astir unfollowed her arsenic a effect of her posts.

Her ideas for decorating the location for Halloween are excessively overmuch — positive she is making wealth retired of it.

I’m each for women being palmy successful business, but this “Do your location up for Halloween” vibe makes different parents consciousness similar they are not bully enough.

They effort to person america our lives volition beryllium enriched if our homes are connected trend.

It’s truthful acold removed from my puerility erstwhile you’d beryllium fortunate to get your chamber decorated each 5 years.

'MASS PRODUCED AND OFTEN NOT RECYCLABLE'

When I was a child, things were made to last.

No 1 had the benignant of currency to bash up their homes for each and each celebration.

Now it’s Halloween, past Christmas, you mightiness get a glitter shot for New Year past Easter trees, decorative bunnies and adjacent Easter crackers. It’s getting to beryllium the norm.

And of course, if you don’t get involved, the mum-guilt takes over.

Just this week, my 14-year-old girl filled an online handbasket with things she wanted for her country — pumpkin cushions, autumn-coloured furniture throws.

It amounted to astir £50. Much to her disappointment, I enactment my ft down and told her it would lone past 2 weeks.

We unrecorded successful a household with 2 moving parents, and portion we’re not connected the breadline, this benignant of happening isn’t manageable connected our budget.

It’s not lone the currency — it’s atrocious for the environment, too.

What happens to this worldly erstwhile the solemnisation has ended?

They’ll privation caller worldly adjacent year. It each feels truthful wasteful.

Stacey has antecedently spoken astir the value of sustainability but these impermanent ranges alert successful the look of everything we person been encouraged to bash to look aft the environment.

Mass-produced and often not recyclable, what’s the stake that astir of it volition beryllium successful the reduced conception astatine the commencement of November?

As parents we person to retrieve these celebrations are not astir however overmuch you walk connected cushions and wreaths, it’s astir having amusive with your kids.

Buy a existent pumpkin, carve it unneurotic and instrumentality it connected the doorstep.

When the cushions and beverage towels are agelong gone, these are memories you’ll treasure forever.

GO FOR TIMELESS STYLE…NOT A FAD

INTERIOR stylist Claire Douglas, who specialises successful location styling connected a budget, says: “Don’t beryllium acrophobic to disregard trends similar these.

"They mostly beryllium to assistance brands merchantability their products and, arsenic such, they determination fast.

“By the clip you’ve bought the latest ‘must-have’ item, the adjacent inclination could get earlier you tin bask it.

"That said, if a inclination truly resonates with you and you emotion a definite benignant oregon colour, clasp it and bask it for the agelong haul.

“If you emotion a inclination but can’t spend to discarded wealth connected buying a full load of caller location decor, determination are immoderate things you tin do.”

Here are Claire’s tips . . . 

SHOP IN YOUR HOME: Take banal of the decorative accessories you already ain and determination them astir from country to room.

Mixing up the decor and creating caller vignettes tin uplift your interiors and springiness a caller fresh look without spending much money.

REPURPOSE AND UPCYCLE: You could location customise oregon accommodate your existent location decor to acceptable a inclination you love, specified arsenic coating pots oregon vases with a tester cookware to adhd a popular of this season’s colour.

Add texture by mixing bicarb into the paint, oregon usage modelling clay to make a trendy 3D effect.

GO THRIFTING: Charity shops are your friend, arsenic are footwear income and flea markets.

Keep your eyes peeled for location accessories that acceptable the measure for the latest inclination without paying afloat whack connected the precocious street.

GO FORAGING: I’m a immense instrumentality of foraging for flowers, foliage, twigs, sticks and branches for styling your location with.

Foraging is escaped and ineligible arsenic agelong arsenic you take permitted locations and instrumentality to the rules.

You tin make astonishing displays for nary cost, positive you’ll get immoderate caller aerial and clip enjoying quality arsenic you bash so.

AVOID PASSING FADS: Lean into the changing seasons erstwhile adding decorative touches to your home.

Celebrating quality ne'er goes retired of manner and is simply a large mode to situation yourself with pops of colour and fragrance for an affectional boost.

Think scented candles and pumpkins for autumn, cosy knits and vases of decorated twigs with twinkly lights for winter, Easter trees and beauteous bulbs for outpouring and caller blooms successful summer.

BE MORE YOU: Most importantly, ne'er decorate your location to delight oregon impressment idiosyncratic else, oregon to support up with radical connected societal media.

Choose location decor that works for you and your family. You’ll spot it each day, truthful it needs to suit your idiosyncratic interior style.

Don’t absorption connected what different radical are doing – examination is the thief of joy.

• For much stylish tips from Claire spot clairedouglasstyling.co.uk and instagram.com/clairedouglasstyling.

DIY HALLOWEEN DECOR

OVER THE TABLE WITCH’S BROOM

Gather unneurotic immoderate twigs and sticks to make a witch’s broom-style show and past weave twinkly fairy lights into it to execute a genuinely magical feel.

EGG CARTON BATS

Take 1 ovum carton, immoderate achromatic overgarment and nylon thread and you tin make immoderate spooky bat decorations connected a budget.

Hang these successful doorways, oregon from your mantlepiece, to execute the maximum effect.

GHOSTLY LEAVES

Take the kids foraging for fallen leaves past promote them to overgarment their finds with achromatic overgarment and gully spooky faces connected them.

Then you tin bent them up successful groups with wide thread.