Give joy and colour. Blooming poinsettia gifts

A lush red poinsettia becomes a special gift in a homemade bag fashioned from scraps of wallpaper. A wooden tag with a personal message and decorative rose hip sprigs add a personal touch to the surprise – perfect for anyone who loves handmade items.

You will need: a piece of wallpaper (at least 30 x 30cm, depending on the size of the bag), a ruler and pencil, scissors or craft knift, hole punch, two metal eyelets, eyelet press, cord or ribbon, a potted poinsettia in a planter, a label maker and self-adhesive ribbon, decorative wooden tags (e.g., in the shape of a Christmas tree or star), rosehip sprigs (Rosa multiflora), or other decorative natural materials.

Left: A bucket of Christmas cheer:

Bright red poinsettias, fragrant pine sprigs, sweets and little surprises make this gift a loving token of appreciation with festive charm – perfect for those who like a classic Christmas.

The contents can be varied to suit the recipient.

Step 4: For the open houses, fill the bottoms of the cut-out containers with moss. This will hold the mini poinsettias securely and add a natural touch to the display. Then place the plants in their pots into the container houses and surround them with more moss to cover the pots. Tip: Water your poinsettias well before placing them.

Step 5: Arrange the mini poinsettia houses and the houses to hold tealights, the mini fir trees, apples and larch branches on the wooden board. If necessary, use hot glue to ensure nothing moves. Place the electric tealights inside the closed houses. Wrap your Christmas village well in paper to protect the poinsettias from cold and draughts, and transport it immediately to its destination.

A decorated straw wreath frame transforms a simple bowl, filled with pink mini poinsettias, into a special gift in an instant.

To make this festive arrangement, you will need a planting bowl, a straw wreath frame the same diameter as the bowl, wide red ribbon, five or six mini poinsettias, rosehips (Rosa multiflora), ornamental apple stems (Malus floribunda), decorative wire, florist mossing pins, a hot glue gun and glue sticks and baubles of various sizes.

Here’s how to do it: Wrap the wreath frame with the ribbon. Then place the rose hips loosely around the wreath and secure by binding with the decorative wire. Attach the apple twigs to the wreath with the mossing pins. Place the wreath on the rim of the bowl and attach the baubles to it with hot glue. Finally, plant the poinsettias in the bowl.

Tip: A drainage layer in the bottom of the bowl and careful watering will prevent waterlogging.

Festively presented or creatively wrapped, a poinsettia makes a beautiful and personal gift. These magnificent winter flowers are also ideal for decorating gifts in style.

As cut flowers, they add a personal touch to lovingly wrapped gifts.

Tip: To keep the cut flowers fresh for longer, immerse the stems in 60°C water for five seconds immediately after cutting.

Then place them in cold water and wrap them in florist tape or place them in a water-filled test tube.

A lovingly presented poinsettia is a welcome gift for many occasions in the last weeks of the year. A particularly good time to give someone a poinsettia is 12 December – officially Poinsettia Day.

This holiday has been celebrated in the USA since 1852 and is now becoming increasingly popular in European countries.

It was named after Joel Robert Poinsett, the first US ambassador to Mexico. He was so fascinated by the wild poinsettias of the Central American country that he brought them back to the US some 200 years ago.

In his honour, 12 December, the anniversary of his death in 1851, was officially declared Poinsettia Day by the US Congress. Since then, this date has been seen as the perfect opportunity to give poinsettias as a small gesture of appreciation.