When it comes to fairy gardens, they don’t get more magical than when they have a winter theme. Think sparkling frost, miniature Christmas trees, cosy cottages and fresh blankets of snow, add in a few fairies wrapped in their winter clothes, and you’ll have the ultimate magical fairy garden!
As a general rule, winter fairy gardens usually fall into one of two categories: Christmas themed or more general winter wonderland themed. In both cases, you can use accessories such as fake snow, miniature buildings, real and artificial plants and fairies or other festive characters to bring your fairy garden to life. Winter fairy gardens can go indoors or outdoors. For outdoor gardens, avoid any small plastic pieces that may harm wildlife and be sure to choose plants that can endure winter temperatures.
Below are 8 ideas you can try for your winter themed fairy garden, plus ideas for accessories, plants and bases.
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1. Disney’s Frozen fairy garden
If you have kids or love Disney then you’ll be well aware of Frozen, the tale of two sisters, one of whom has magical ice powers. Surprise the Frozen fans in your house by making an Arendelle themed fairy garden, featuring Anna and Elsa. The beautiful fairy garden below is by TinyCreationsandMore on Etsy, but you could get creative with the kids or make them one as a Christmas present using twigs, artificial snow and, of course, little figures of Anna and Elsa.
2. Add a winter games theme to your fairy garden
No winter is complete without playing in the snow and you can capture the fun and excitement of a rosey-cheeked sledging trip or snowball fight in a winter themed fairy garden. Sledging, snowball fights and even skiing all make fantastic, playful winter themed fairy gardens.
If you need a figure for your snow themed fairy garden, TheFairyGarden sells this beautiful Christmas fairy on a sledge which would look wonderful surrounded by snow and miniature pine trees.
3. Snowy animal themed fairy garden
Penguins, polar bears, arctic foxes and reindeer all bring winter magic to a fairy garden and animal themed fairy gardens are particularly popular with children. Miniature winter animals are available from most hobby shops around Christmas time or try the Christmas decoration aisle in supermarkets to find a bargain. Alternatively, if you have kids, they may already have some winter animals that you can borrow from their toy box and incorporate them in a magical Christmas scene.
4. A cosy winter fairy house
When the Christmas chaos gets too much, what fairy wouldn’t want to escape to a cosy cottage in the woods? Many hobby and home and garden retailers sell tiny houses specifically designed for winter themed fairy gardens or to be used in dioramas, so you shouldn’t have too much difficulty finding a cosy getaway for your fairies.
If you want to have a go at making a winter fairy house yourself then try Hobbycraft or The Works for wooden fairy houses which you can decorate to your own taste. Or you could make one from scratch using foraged items from nature. You can find out more about making inexpensive fairy houses in my blog How I Made Two Cheap Fairy Gardens For Less Than £1 Each.
Converting a bird box into fairy house is another option for taking the DIY approach, just make sure you’re not leaving any birds without a home for the winter though! The Works sell a wooden bird box, ready to be decorated and converted into a fairy Christmas cottage, for just £3.
Another option is this bright red birdhouse from Amazon which only needs a sprinkling of artificial snow to be ready for your winter fairies!
You could get really crafty and make your own DIY fairy house from scratch. For inspiration, the house below looks as though it’s been made from balsa wood which has been painted red, and features adorable window frames made from string.
If you’d rather buy a readymade fairy house then Etsy is a great place to find unique fairy garden houses with a festive theme. I love this incredibly cute cottage with a sparkling pine cone tree by Tiny Shacks on Etsy, what fairy wouldn’t want to spend winter tucked up in this cosy cottage?
If you want to go all-out with the a Christmas theme for your fairy house, then it doesn’t get more festive than this beautiful boot from Westfield Farm Shop. It’s bright and bold and has some lovely little details such as tiny presents, and a door that actually opens.
5. Snowman themed winter fairy garden
There’s a lot of crossover between winter themed and Christmas themed fairy gardens but none more so than when snowmen are included! A smiley snowman is the perfect addition to a winter fairy garden and luckily, there are hundreds of different styles of snowmen to choose from!
One of the least expensive options for adding a snowman to your winter fairy garden is to use a Christmas tree decoration. You’ll be able to pick these up for a few pounds at supermarkets and department stores, or you might even find one in a charity shop in the run up to Christmas.
The snowman themed fairy garden below is from FairyfolkBespoke on Etsy – designs are available from mid-November.
6. Keep your winter fairy garden traditional with a Nativity scene
Incorporating a Nativity scene into a fairy garden or festive diorama is a fantastic way of teaching children about the Christmas story and adding a traditional touch to your Christmas decor.
Plants normally associated with warmer climates make great additions to a Nativity scene. Try adding succulents such as tricolour sedum, green wheel sempervivum and silver spoons to your scene.
7. Make a Christmas tree the focus of your winter fairy gardens
Christmas trees add height and realism to fairy gardens and can create a beautiful focal point. As they’re so striking, you could keep it simple with a Christmas tree and minimal accessories, such as in the fairy garden below by TinyCreationsandMore on Etsy. This would make a wonderful table centrepiece at Christmas.
There’s more on artificial miniature Christmas trees further down the page, but if you want to add a real tree to your fairy garden then dwarf lemon cypress trees are ideal for indoor and outdoor gardens. They won’t grow too large, but they will need bringing inside or protecting if winter temperatures go below zero.
If you want to put presents under the tree then you could make your own mini gifts by wrapping up tiny boxes, such as raisin boxes or making your own tiny cubes from cardboard and wrapping them in sparking paper. Alternatively, you can buy Christmas ornaments that look just like tiny gifts.
I love these three hand-painted Christmas packages from The Fairy Garden and they will no doubt delight any visiting winter fairies (and humans!).
8. Make a festive fairy village
I remember being enchanted by the lit-up festive villages in our local garden centre when I was little. There’s something so magical about tiny Christmas villages that kids and adults alike love them, make one as a gift or as a festive table centrepiece.
A Christmas tree is usually the focal point of a winter village, but beyond that, the only limit is your own imagination! To get your ideas going, take at look at these two beautiful miniature villages below which feature vehicles, snowmen, a sleigh and even a train track.
There’s a huge range of village-themed accessories available, you can buy huge sets which feature entire villages if you’re creating a full winter village. Or if you’re going for a more subtle scene there are a few key pieces you can buy to really make your village a true winter wonderland.
I love this red telephone box from The Fairy Garden which comes complete with tiny robin perched on the top. It’s suitable for outdoor use too!
This beautiful festive bridge would be a wonderful addition to a winter fairy garden that features a river. If you want to add water to your fairy garden, then you can find out how to make water features for fairy gardens in my blog post 10 Easy DIY Fairy Garden Ponds, Streams And Rivers To Try Yourself.
Essential products for a winter fairy garden
A fairy garden base
Fairy garden bases can be made out of anything that will hold soil. And if you’re planning an artificial fairy garden, you won’t even need to worry about drainage or what size base you use, you could even choose a base as small as a teacup. If you want to learn more about what you can use for a fairy garden base, read my blog post What Base To Use For A Fairy Garden: Advice, ideas & pictures.
A pretty vintage teacup makes the perfect base for this super cute fairy garden below by Jennifer at The Fairy Garden
Other options for a winter fairy garden base include festive planters, such as this small Santa planter from Amazon below.
A large red planter like this one would make a bright and cheery fairy garden base. Or you could up-cycle an existing planter with some red paint and Christmas embellishments.
You could even use an old chair, as this YouTuber below has done, to create a beautiful base for a festive fairy garden.
Artificial snow
You can find artificial snow in most hobby shops, especially in the months before Christmas, or you can find it online all year round, such as the snow below which is available from Etsy.
If you’re making an outdoor fairy garden, don’t use artificial snow in it as it’s made from small pieces of plastic which could be harmful to wildlife.
Miniature pine trees
There are lots of options for miniature pine trees and they are relatively easy to make yourself – you can learn how to make your own miniature Christmas trees with my blog post Making Model Trees From Scratch.
One of the most popular types of miniature artificial pine trees are bottle brush trees (also known as sisal trees), these are easy to find in garden centres, or you can buy them from online retailers. Tiny pine trees add height and depth to a winter fairy garden and often come in multiple colours, these trees from Amazon cost just £10.99 for a pack of 24.
You could have a go at making your own Christmas trees for a fairy garden by snipping some out of cardboard or paper. Paper trees have a fresh and simple look that fits the Nordic interiors trend, so you could create a tiny hygge fairy garden!
Pine cones and painted twigs also make excellent miniature trees and are free from your garden or local park.
Don’t be afraid to mix artificial trees with real plants – just make sure you remember to add drainage to your base and to water your fairy garden if you’re using real plants!
Real plants that work well in a winter fairy garden include miniature tsuga canadensis and picea glauca, both of which look like small fir trees.
Plants with bright red flowers such as poinsettias and Christmas cactus will add a pop of colour to fairy gardens, though the flowers will be large, so if you’re concerned about scale it’s best to stick to smaller plants.
You can find out more about how to look after a fairy garden, including what to do in winter, by reading my blog Fairy Garden Maintenance: How to look after a mini garden.