Christmas: We spent £20 on decorations in Swindon for the Adver office

Whether it be wreaths, baubles, or anything in between, every year the age-old challenge of sprucing up your seasonal décor presents itself yet again.

Thanks to the Adver, and one overly eager reporter, you can now view a varied list of festive decorations sourced from a variety of stores without even having to leave the warmth of your home - unlike said reporter. Lucky you.

From discount stores to supermarkets, we have scoured the lot to compile a collection of lights, tinsel and more which will brighten up your displays at an affordable price.

Yes, we quite literally gave a reporter £20 and let them go wild in Swindon. Here is what we managed to pick up…

The Adver's Christmas haul from several different stores across Swindon. (Image: Newsquest)

Poundland (£8 spent)

We start off with one of the best budget options on the high street with Poundland where the majority of the stock is priced at, you guessed it, a pound. The store did not disappoint either as we managed to pick up three items from Swindon town centre.

Firstly, we had to start with the classic Santa hat. A red and white design that is as timeless as it is festive. At just £1, this headwear was a bargain and a great way to commence the shopping spree.

Coming in at £1 also is a golden wreath that comes equipped with a loop to allow the shiny circle to be hung from wherever you deem fit to bless with golden glamour.

We round off the Poundland haul with the most expensive item on the list. 100 bright white lights will set you back £6 but they do come equipped with eight different functions. The 10 metre cable of lights can be used indoors as well as out and are mains operated.

Poundland's seasonal offerings include the classics. (Image: Newsquest)

Primark (£4 spent)

Having sorted the basics out already, our next port of call was some less sparkly and lit decorations that would more suit the shelves in your home and for this we chose Primark.

Swindon’s store in the town centre was covered in Christmas merchandise but despite some uncontrollable excitement, our reporter selected two items from the selection.

Firstly, we opted for an ornate silver penguin that was reasonably priced at £2.50. Folks often select reindeers as the chosen spirit animal of Christmas so the Penguin, now residing in the Adver office and named Pingu, provided an alternative to your standard Prancers and Dancers.

The second item we chose was a word block but fear not, it was not “live, laugh, love” but rather a more relaxed “Noel” to remind those in the house what time of the year it is. The sign, priced at £1.50, features Rudolph and his red nose courtesy of a bobble attached with copious amounts of glue.

Primark was full of great festive additions for your home. (Image: Newsquest)

Morrisons (£1 spent)

We managed to pick up just the single item from the only supermarket on our list. Morrisons provided us with a very classy light-up snow globe alternative for £1.

The song goes “driving home for Christmas” and this is reflected within the miniature plastic dome as a car can be seen, constructed out of wood, with a Christmas tree mounted on top of its roof.

A small yet warming edition to our Christmas extravaganza.

We picked up just the one item from Morrisons this year. (Image: Newsquest)

OneBeyond (£2.50 spent)

Heading into OneBeyond, we found several decorations that could be used in a variety of places including tables, shelves and more.

We settled on picking up a miniature transparent Christmas tree made from plastic that illuminates in a variety of colours. The fibreoptic fern cost just £1, making it a fantastic edition to an ever-growing lights collection at the Adver that would rival Blackpool.

Our business in OneBeyond was far from over though as we then sourced a glittery stag ornament for a further £1.50. The red sparkly mammal manages to stand up despite its thin legs and has only fallen over twice since arriving at Adver HQ.

OneBeyond was also called at during our Christmas shopping spree. (Image: Newsquest)

Poundstretcher (£4.50 spent)

Our first purchase of two from Poundstretcher was a £2 dancing Rudolph the reindeer. The plastic creature is powered by the sun with solar ensuring that Santa’s best pal dances for hours, giving even Anton du Beke a run for their money.

I know what you are thinking, how can we get this far along on a list of Christmas decorations with no mention of tinsel? Well fear not dear Adver readers and keep your Santa hats on for we did indeed pick up some sparkly rope for your viewing pleasure.

Poundstretcher offered a wide range of tinsel but we settled for the silver translucent version as you could get a 5 metre set for just £2.50 compared to a smaller set for the same price in classic Christmas red.

This way you can keep it up for New Year celebrations and it to our dashing Pingu. Everyone’s a winner.

Here is what we picked up from Poundstretcher. (Image: Newsquest)

So there it is, the complete Adver Christmas decoration shopping trip.

Do you think we got our money's worth or did we miss out a staple decortation that your home could not go without?

Either way we hope you had fun along the way. Our reporter sure did; can you tell from his face?

The festive spirit was strong in the newsroom. (Image: Newsquest)