VICTA’s Christmas decoration gallery 2023
Thank you to everyone who entered the year’s ‘Tree for Treats’ Christmas competition. Children with a vision impairment and their siblings were invited to create sensory decorations to go on display on our trees at centre:mk’s magical display! This year we were also delighted to receive lots amazing entries from schools that have a VI provision. We had so many incredible entries that delight all the senses and really spark the imagination.
Below you will find photos and descriptions of the decorations on display and details of the winners… why not try making some of these yourself at home? Your treats will be in the post soon!
With special thanks to centre:mk for displaying our decorations for everyone to enjoy! You can visit the display until 6 January and you will find our trees as you walk through the lit up archway alongside the train.
Competition winner
Sebastian, age 5
Sebastian has made a display of a snowman. He used half an orange sphere to put the snowman inside and has decorated the inside with star stickers, white pom poms for clouds, and cotton wool at the bottom for snow. The snowman is made from two white pom poms which have been stuck on top of each other. He has two eyes drawn on with a pen. He gave the snowman a blue paper hat and a silver pipe-cleaner scarf. The top of the outside of the orange half sphere is decorated with a rainbow of tinsel pom poms, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Six lollipop sticks hang from the bottom on a silver pipe cleaner. The sticks are purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red, and are decorated with different sequins and charms of different colours. A gold pipe cleaner is used to hang the decoration.
Congratulations to Sebastian, we loved how his decoration is so bright and vibrant and has so many different tactile elements. It’s a really unique and fun decoration and looks wonderful hanging on the Christmas trees at centre:mk.
Sebastian’s decoration hanging on a tree at the Christmas display
Runners up
Felicity, age 12
Felicity has made a tactile Christmas wreath with a Christmas scent. The base shape of Felicity’s wreath is made of a cardboard circle, she has decorated the wreath with a range of different tactile materials which she felt and then chose from the craft shop. Felicity has used red velvet feeling bows all around the edge of her wreath, then soft felt holly leaf shapes for the first layer. Then she used soft red pom poms and shiny green spongy-feeling holly leaves. Felicity finished her wreath by adding rough, woody-feeling pinecones and then in the middle there is some very spikey, jaggy Christmas tree mini branches. Felicity stuck all the bits on using mainly glue and Sellotape and then added some sprinkles of mixed spice and cloves to give the wreath a festive, Christmas-like smell.
Stevie, age 14
“My entry is based on the theme ‘the snowman’. We added lots of different materials for touch, a bell for sound and we added broken cinnamon sticks in the hat for smell. I brailled ‘We’re walking in the air ‘ on the lollipop stick and attached it to the snowman’s legs.”
The snowman is made from white wool that has been wrapped around two spheres. The hat is made from green material and has a gold bell on it. He has felt black buttons, eyes, a smile and an orange ‘carrot’ nose. He is standing on a green lollipop stick with the braille message on it which is held on by his white pipe cleaner feet.
Winning Primary School
Chantry Primary Academy, Luton
Ages 4 to 11 years
“The children worked their socks off to create these fabulous decorations and have included gingerbread scents and tactile features to their creations. The children also wanted their decorations to be bright and bold so anyone with a sight impairment could still see them. There are 17 pupils currently in the VI provision ranging from reception classes up to year 6.”
Some students at Chantry Primary made 7 snowmen using pompoms. They have stuck a smaller fluffy white pom pom on top of a larger one. The first snowman has 2 googly eyes and small blue pom pom earmuffs. The second snowman has a blue bow on its head and a blue scarf made of translucent ribbon tied around its neck. The 3rd snowman has 2 googly eyes and a gold pipe cleaner scarf. It has a red nose made from a small red pom pom. It is wearing a tall red bobble hat on its head and there is a gold ribbon attached to the top to tie it up. The 4th snowman has 2 googly eyes and an orange pipe cleaner hat. It has a red pipe cleaner scarf around his neck and some blue translucent ribbon tied in a bow around its neck. There are 2 gold bells on either side of the knot. The 5th snowman has a red and white candy cane on the top of its head and a red shiny ball on its side. The 6th snowman had googly eyes and a blue pipe cleaner smile. It has a shiny blue hat and blue translucent ribbon tied around its neck in a bow. It has some green pipe cleaner on its head and on its side. The 6th snowman has a tall red bobble hat on its head and pink translucent ribbon tied around its neck.
A group of orangey-brown gingerbread men made from felt. They have googly eyes, some have pom pom noses, and some have pipe cleaner smiles. They are decorated with gems, buttons, and sequins. Some have red and white striped string scarves. They all have gold ribbons at the top for hanging on a tree.
A group of air-dried clay creations. There is a blue and pink snowman with orange buttons, a red smile, and black and white eyes wearing a yellow and orange striped top hat. There is a small white snowman with black buttons, a black smile and eyes, a black top hat, and a red scarf with yellow spots. There is a rainbow candy cane. There is a rainbow with white balls of clay to make clouds. There is a colourful snowman with an orange nose, eyes and a black top hat. There are other colourful shapes.
Winning Secondary School
Moorend Academy
Ages 12 to 15
Congratulations to Moorend Academy who made these cheerful, spiralling, hanging snowmen. The students made their decorations by cutting paper plates into a spiral shape and using the centre of the plates as the snowmen’s faces. They have been decorated with all sorts of tactile elements – tissue paper, stars, cotton wool, pom poms and sequins. We loved how joyful they looked as a set and how they bounce up and down when they are hanging. It’s almost as if they are dancing!
The entries
Dayzie, age 14
Dayzie has made a snowman’s face in a glass ball and filled it with lots of white pom pom balls. He has white pom poms for his eyes, bright blue Wikki Stix for his nose and a smile made from a silver ribbon. She has cut up a black sock for his hat and the word ‘VICTA’ is written in silver dotted stickers along the bottom.
Jayden, age 13
Jayden has made a snowman base out of green air-drying clay. It has a snowman in the middle with a silver XMAS sticker above and a piece of blue ribbon to hang it up.
Eliza, age 8
Eliza has made a green harp out of a cardboard box. She has stuck 5 pipe cleaners that are blue, red, gold, purple, and silver to represent the strings. She has used another purple pipe cleaner to make the string to hang it with.
Dotty, age 8
Dotty has made a wooden circle tile with a rainbow made of multi-coloured dotted stickers. She has written Happy Christmas in braille also in red and green dotted stickers. She has attached a metal hook to the top with some string so it could be hung as a decoration. It smells amazing!
Freyja, age 16
Freyja has used a small plastic jar-shaped hanging Christmas ornament to make her Christmas decoration. She has put tea light inside the jar which can be turned on using the switch underneath, she has added some white bells and fake snowballs inside the jar around the tea light to give the effect of a snow globe, the bells inside give the bauble a jingly, noisy sound. There are also mini bells at the top which also add an audible feature. Freyja has decorated the outside of the jar with small wooden shapes, she has used a range of shapes that include a snowman, a star, a gingerbread man, a Christmas tree and a Christmas bauble shape. When the light shines through the jar and it’s dark the wee wooden shapes make a pattern.
Gabriella, age 3
Gabriella has made an ornament made out of a foil ball; there are green, red and pink pom-poms stuck on it, as well as pink, purple, blue and green flower gems. There are also circle and square gems that are blue and white, with a pink pipe-cleaner for a hoop so it can be hung on a tree.
Mera, age 12
“I made a sledge from the Snowman story using cinnamon sticks and decorated it with black peppers that I coloured and the presents are representing the VICTA rainbow colours.”
Bella, age 17
“I have made a Christmas tree with tactile sprinkles and braille that says ‘Merry Christmas’. A lollipop stick snowman with tactile buttons, hat, face, and scarf. A salt dough snowman with a glittery hat. A tactile face, scarf, and a bead for his buttons. Lastly, I have made a rainbow star that has tactile lines on it.”
Emily, age 13
“I made a snowman with felt as I thought something that had a nice soft feel would be nice for a blind or VI person could feel. I also finger knitted a scarf for the snowman and it’s not breakable. I also used card straws for the arms.”
Ewan, age 7
Ewan made this tree hanger to look like a reindeer, with a large furry red nose, google eyes, pom poms as baubles and pipe cleaners for tinsel so they are all touchable.
Martha, age 8
I am Martha and I am 8. My decoration is a green paper Christmas tree. It has glitter tinsel that you can feel and sequins on the ends, the other side also has sparkly tinsel across it.
Finley, age 4
Finley used wooden sticks for his decoration. He painted them white for a snowman, who he named Mr Snow. With help, Finley glued them together and added a red scarf, an orange carrot nose and two blue buttons.
Laurel, age 10
Laurel created a braille tree on her Perkins and cut it into a triangular Christmas tree shape. She stuck little star gems that are pink, purple, green and yellow with a heart gem that is also yellow on it. At the bottom of the decoration, Laurel has stuck cut-out pictures of Santa, an elf, a polar bear, and two presents. There are also candy canes, and stockings, with a green cut-out star at the top of it. Lastly, there is a strip of multi-coloured gems across the middle and a red pipe-cleaner to make the hook.
Riley, age 9 and Ethan, age 7
Riley (9) and Ethan (7) enjoyed making these snowmen decorations with their grandparents. They wanted to make the snowmen tactile with a variety of different textures as well as lots of different eye-catching colours. Riley decided that candy canes made from twisted pipe cleaners would be the perfect finishing touch.
Both of them have made snowmen, with crumples of paper stuck all over them to make it look like snow. The snowmen have orange, yellow and green pom-poms for their buttons and noses with a piece of fabric wrapped around them for scarves. They also have black top hats, made out of felt, and pipe-cleaners for their arms and their canes. They then have googly eyes and a ribbon for their hooks.
Ethan, age 3
“I cut out some tactile bits from old Christmas cards. I also used some lumpy stickers so my brother can feel it. I like the lights best.”
Ethan has decorated both sides of his decoration which is a circle of white paper that has been collaged. The first side has detailed picture of Santa stuck down. He is holding a stack of presents and is smiling and waving. There is a brown and white dog wearing a red Santa hat in the bottom left corner. There is a string of green, orange, blue, and yellow fairy lights stuck across the top left corner. At the bottom there is a small oval of paper saying Merry Christmas. B
The other side has a fireplace with blue leaves on the top. There is a picture of a cartoon Santa waving in the fireplace. To the left of the fireplace there is a picture of a Christmas tree drawn with green swirly lines, a holographic blue snowflake above, and a bright orange stocking to the right.
Dexter, age 8
“I helped my dad programme the laser cutter to cut out my very own Christmas tree. I then added lots of sequins, so it feels cool. I brailled Merry Christmas but it was too big for my tree. Next time I want to make a bigger tree.”
Dexter has made a decoration by cutting out a green sheet of paper in the shape of a Christmas tree, and sticking red and silver sequins all over it. Behind it is a sheet with Braille, and the ornament is topped off with a red star and a piece of string for the hook.
Romi, age 3
“Romi has nystagmus and Achromatopsia but doesn’t stop her doing what she loves – baking and crafts so this decoration is a perfect mix of her favourite things to do.”
Romi’s decoration is a little clay, sparkly snowman, with red felt for a scarf and a drawn on face and red hat. The carrot nose is orange, and the eyes and mouth are black. Then there is a blue ribbon that was threaded through a hole in the top of the snowman to make a hook.
Freya, age 13
Freya has made a sock snowman that she’s stitched and filled with stuffing. The buttons are black buttons that are stuck on, and his face is drawn in pen. The nose however, is orange beads that have been stacked on top of each other and stitched down. The scarf is a woven piece of rainbow thread and the hat is a blue glove that’s been cut and stitched to look like one. The hook is a string with lots of different colours of beads on it, mainly pink, purple and blue.
Rupert, age 6
Rupert has made a snowglobe design by turning a small cylinder jar upside down, using the lid as the base. He has put a green Christmas tree decorated with green and red ball balls and a gold star at the top in the inside of the jar. He has ¼ filled the jar with fake snow. The decoration hangs using brown string connected with a silver piece.
Evelyn, age 10
Evelyn’s decoration is a white bauble, with a Christmas tree painted on. The tree has red and green baubles with silver tinsel and a yellow star at the top. There are also two snowflakes drawn on in a bright blue colour.
Rupert, age 5
Rupert has used black scratch and reveal shapes to create his lovely, dangly decoration. He has tied together a Santa, a Christmas tree and a snowman using ribbon so that they hang down. He has scratched away the black to reveal bright rainbow characters. Each shape has been made tactile by adding elements – the Santa has a cotton wool beard and hat and beads for eyes. The tree has tinsel made from ribbon and tin foil. And the snowman has a scarf, pom pom nose and a pair of glasses!
Rupert says “I love rainbows and my snowman has glasses like me. There are lots of things to feel on my decoration.”
Verity, age 8
Verity has made the shape of a tag using white paper to look like a Christmas candle. She has decorated it using yellow and green felt tip pens. At the bottom she has drawn holly and at the top is the flame of the candle.
Frederick, age 8
Frederick used clay to make his two decorations. The image on the left shows a clay bauble that has been painted with pinks, greens, reds and gold. He has wrapped silver flowers around it to make it tactile. The image on the right shows Santa’s face made from clay. It has textured marks in the clay and has been painted beautifully to look just like Father Christmas!
Belmont Academy Primary School
Olivia, age 7
“My decoration is a crafty Christmas tree in the VICTA rainbow colours, at the top is a star and on each branch are three beads. I have put my tree on a sound clip and I am singing Jingle Bells.”
Click play below to hear Olivia sing!
Joshua, age 7
“I wanted to paint a rainbow with textures.”
Joshua has made a yellow star with trails of multi-coloured paper cut into curved shapes each with an individual design. There are 5 trails, the first two are plain orange and purple and the third blue with water droplets. The fourth is green with tinsel wrapped around it and the fifth red wrapped in some ribbon. He has tied off the top of the star with some red ribbon.
Laura, age 4.5
“A rainbow present. I love rainbows and purple!”
Laura has made a purple present with the VICTA rainbow on one side. She has wrapped it with some white ribbon and topped it with a bell. On the right side she has cut 3 semi circles which are blue, purple and green and put them in a line.
Dalton School
Ages 5 to 10
Some of the children have used old donated glasses and turned them into smiley snowmen, using a lot of sensory elements, including touch (different textures), smell (star anise and tumeric) and sound (bells).
Some of the children chose to make a Christmas tree using cinnamon sticks and tree branches for the tree and decorated with tactile decorations.
Exhall Grange
Salt dough decorations in the shape of a snowflake, angel, and snowman, covered in red icing and white sprinkles.
Salt dough decorations.
Craneswater Junior School
This is an entry by the 5 students from The Meteor-Eyes who are the VI club at Craneswater Junior School Portsmouth. The children made their Sensory Snowmen by wrapping screwed up balls of paper with string to make a tactile head and body and adding sticks for arms. They chose material for the scarves, each with a different sensory feel and tied a bell around the waist for sound. The glued on felt carrot noses and used cloves for eyes and a Christmassy smell. They made black hats out of cardboard tubes and discs and stuffed them with cotton wool soaked in gingerbread oil to make them smell even more Christmassy! The 5 snowmen come as a set, each with a brailled word on his hat, and together they spell out “we’re walking in the air’
Great Binfields Primary School
Aria, age 7
Aria has made a reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh. There is a brown reindeer flying made from foam on the left and a brown sleigh with a yellow stripe and red presents made from layered foam on the right. The reindeer has a silver pipe cleaner around its neck. They are connected using a black ribbon.
Westbrook Primary School
Ages 7 to 9
Siana, age 7.5
Westbrook Primary School has made a Snowman out of a piece of card shaped to look like a person. They have ripped up white tissue paper to make his body and added 3 red, green and blue buttons to the middle. He has two silver sequins for eyes and they have drawn on a black smile. He has an orange gem nose and a scarf made from green wool.
Aizah, age 9
Aizah has made a Santa Clause out of a piece of card shaped to look like a person. They have made his boots with black pom poms and his gloves white pom poms. They have ripped up red tissue paper to make his suit and added a small, blue button to the middle. His hat is made of a bumpy piece of card and they have stuck on googly eyes and drawn a black mouth for his face. They have also ripped up cotton wool to form his beard and added a golden tinsel pom pom to his hat as a finishing touch.
Ibrahim, age 7.5
Ibrahim has made a Snowman by cutting out a white snowman shape and mounting it onto a red background. He has decorated the background with white paint which they have used to make falling snow and the snowman’s arms and hat. The snowman has 4 red buttons in a line in the middle of his body. He has two red painted eyes and a red smile. He has a gold sparkly carrot nose and a rope scarf around his neck.
Aalyan, age 8
Westbrook Primary School has made a Snowman by cutting out a white snowman shape and mounting it onto a black background. They have decorated the background with many different shapes like snowflakes and circles and added two Merry Christmas stickers in both gold and silver to the top left and the bottom circle of the snowman. The snowman has 4 different coloured buttons on his body which are pink, red, blue and purple. He has two blue circle cut outs for eyes and a red Wikki Stix smile. It has a pink heart nose and its arms are red sparkly pipe cleaners.
Maida, age 9
The Snowdog from The Snowman and the Snowdog movie. He is made out of a piece of card shaped to look like a dog. They have ripped up cotton wool to make the body and added a couple of splashes of colour by glueing pink and purple pom poms to parts of his body. He has two black circle eyes and a heart shaped red nose. They have made the dog’s ears look like odd socks by sticking scrunched up green and blue tissue paper on the right and purple and red on the left.
Stanford-le-Hope Primary School
Antoni has used polystyrene balls connected using dowels to build his snowman. He has added sensory elements by coating it in white glitter and mixing in grated apple and cinnamon candle wax to make them tactile and scented. He has cut up different materials to create a scarf and hat. He has also attached bells to the material to add an audio element to his creation.
Charlie has used polystyrene balls connected using dowels to build his snowman. He has added sensory elements by coating it in white glitter and mixing in grated apple and cinnamon candle wax to make them tactile and scented. He has cut up different materials to create a scarf and hair. He has also attached bells to the material to add an audio element to his creation.
Neve has decorated her snowman using white glitter and has mixed in grated apple and cinnamon candle wax to make her snowman tactile and scented. She also added eyes and buttons.
St Michaels’ CofE Academy
Harlen, age 7
St Michaels’ CofE Academy has created a primarily blue snowman with various decorations. It is decorated with a variety of sequins, jewels and has glitter all over it. It has a blue fluffy scarf tied in a knot around its neck.
Tapton School
Ages 11 to 15
Three snowmen faces with brown top hats, and they have either brown or black buttons for eyes. The noses are small, white pom-poms and two have finger-painted mouths while the other has one made with gold glitter.
Two Christmas trees, each made of three lolly sticks tied together in a triangle. One of the decorations has green pipe-cleaner wrapped around the three sticks individually, while the other has the same green pipe-cleaner but is wrapped around the triangle. Both have white, cut-out paper stars at the top and colourful stars dotted around them. They also have tree stumps and purple ribbon to make the hook.
Two snowmen made of tissue paper, crumpled into balls to make each part. One of the snowman’s scarves is blue and white checkered ribbon, while the other is red ribbon. The snowman with the blue and white scarf has a red hat made of felt with a pom-pom on top, and silver sequin eyes. The snowman with the red scarf has a nose made of orange tissue paper and the eyes and mouth have both been drawn on.
Priestley Smith School
Decorated card decorations – bauble shapes and trees with lots of colours and textures.
The children have created paper baubles and decorated them with glitter and sequins and ‘Merry Christmas stickers’. One if the children has themed theirs around ‘The Grinch’ and drawn his green hand creeping in to steal a bauble! On another, they have drawn a charming Christmas gonk. Two of the decorations have been cut in the shape of Christmas trees and decorated with scrunched-up tissue paper. Two more have been made by glueing together coloured lollipop sticks and decorating them with pom poms, glitter and a bell.
