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Eco-Friendly-Christmas-Decor Recycles What You Have and Makes Use of Natural Materials
Embellish your eco-friendly-christmas-decor using simplistic
"christmassy materials" like natural-christmas-garlands suited to the holiday season.
Not only will your decorations look lovely, but they will be fun to
put together, and cost efficient overall at the same time.
The more steps you take towards keeping it simple, the more your
carbon footprint will be reduced as well.
You can start by resisting the urge to go shopping, at least not yet.
It's very difficult I know to not want to buy up the so many beautiful
decorations that the stores display so well to tempt us.
To help get through this, a few of us in my family decided that
since we all tire of our decorations eventually, we would buy each-other
a little something every year. Just one item. That worked well, and
over the last few years, some of us have managed to have a few newer
decorations to look at for a change.
Still, sometimes we do forget what decorations we actually have stored
away, until we get them out and take a good look.
TIP - If you have boxes and boxes of christmas nic-nacs, don't display
every item you own all at once. Keep your eco-friendly-christmas-decor to a minimum inside and out; change it slightly
next year. You won't get bored so fast with what you do have.
So, take a look at the christmas decorations you have now.
Sort the keepers or
family treasures you will never part with, but aren't using, and make sure
they are well boxed and put away.
Sort next what you probably won't use like ornaments or wreaths, garlands
etc. that seem literally worn-out. Maybe they are getting a bit "faded"
or slightly shabby looking. Start a box and keep them for a little
eco-friendly-christmas-decor scenes or focal points outside.
Like with Autumn, I have a box that I keep for exactly these types
of holiday decorations for use in a planter, or an outdoor wreath.
They won't last forever being out in the type of winter I get, but they
certainly are ok for that purpose until they actually fall apart.
I do love to use my outdoor picture frame that I bought at a garage sale.
It's great for changing "seasonal themes" and it doesn't take much to
come up with something to put in them. I simply used this year an old
garland and cut it, some old ornaments and dollar store piks. The basket
beside it simply holds a few cut pine branches, with 2 wired red christmas
ornaments onto it.
I also redid a wreath that I bought at a garage sale a number of years
ago for three dollars! It's fairly big too.
Have I mentioned it enough on this site, that the garage sales are the
best times to pick up used holiday decorations?
This wreath was pretty beaten up. I took off the old lights that didn't
work, chunks of glue, and badly faded and ripped decorations. I wired and hot-glued
my own ornaments from a table centerpiece that had fallen apart.
I have had this wreath above my fireplace, but this year it is outside. Kind of a nice addition to my own eco-friendly-christmas-decor, because it's VERY MUCH recycled.
Do you have too many decorations? So many you don't ever use alot of
them at all?
You can always sell them in a garage sale, or give them away.
Attach a
tree ornament or two to a christmas gift. It makes a great decoration, adds to
someone else's collection, and it gets a new use somewhere else.
Donate what you don't need to classrooms, hospitals, shelters, or wherever the
need is greatest. They decorate too, and your gently used eco-friendly-christmas-decor extras
will be brand new and fresh to them.
This a great way to easily reduce and recycle what you no longer want to
use this year perhaps, or you don't need to keep at all.
You can make the transition from Fall decorating to a wintery christmas-theme
rather simply by switching the items in any window box displays if you have
them, or in large urns, half-barrel planters etc. first with greenery, and
other natural materials.
Go For A Walk In Your Yard or In The Woods
Gather up natural berry branches, acorns, pinecones, seed pods and whatever you can use towards your eco-friendly-christmas-decor look.
Cedar boughs, pine branches, spruce branches, and tall leafless branches
work well for filling large urns and planters. They give depth, height and
a nice warm and naturally inviting organic look. If you can get branches
with bunches of pinecones, they certainly add a lovely bold effect when
spaced throughout. The winter berry branches placed randomly will hold
as well.
Remember when cutting, be kind to the tree. Cut close to the ground and to
the trunk, and don't take everything from just one spot.
As soil in planters that are forever outdoors begins to freeze up, it
serves to anchor these items well. What helps eventually is a bit of light snow
and then some really good cold weather.
Boughs that are real or fake are timeless christmas staples for
eco-friendly-christmas-decor. It's all about recycling too.
Not only are they pretty in the outdoors, boughs placed inside across a
mantlepiece, a bookcase, on a bannister, across the top of your kitchen
cupboards, on a fence, or where-ever you want to arrange them are beautiful as well.
While arranging your branches in large urns at your doorway are nice,
do the same inside your home, and do them up with some clear lights and
nothing else for a nice warm glow.
Make them last longer if you can, using an oasis foam to keep them
moist if possible.
Why not break with the traditional wreath, and make your own eco-friendly-christmas-decor in the form of a door swag?
You can still make a "Christmas Ball Wreath" with the extra ornaments you do
have, by wiring them onto a grapevine wreath, or a small green store-bought wreath.
Christmas ornaments like toys, birds, and dried fruits for example are lovely
wired onto the branches to give a bright but bold eco-friendly-christmas-decor feel.
This is where
you might find things to re-use from the box of assorted items you are now
keeping. Large christmas balls in the deep reds and greens look especially
nice as always, and stand out well.
Glass balls are nice if window boxes and planters are well sheltered from
snow, ice and wind. I prefer the hard plastic because at least if they
fall out from not being secured well, they won't break into those tiny
pieces.
Clear lights spaced through-out always add to the beauty of any arrangement.
The pinecones you have gathered outside, can be arranged inside too.
Place a basket of them on a fireplace hearth or mantlepiece.
Pinecones also make great little name-tag holders at a dinner party. You can and should bring eco-friendly-christmas-decor
to your dinner table as well.
Want To Scent Your Pinecones?
Scent throughout the home plays a part in your eco-friendly-christmas-decor planning as well.
Dip the tips in glue, and then in cinnamon. Or, ...
you can spray them with a mix of oil and water of any of your favorite
scents. Vanilla would be especially nice at christmas time to add
some seasonal smells to your home.
After spraying, place them in a sealed bag, and let them sit for a few
days. After that, do whatever you like with them. You can place them
in bowls throughout the house, or in the baskets with the pine boughs.
Indoor Air Freshener
Use your favorite essential oils for scent instead of sprays and toxic
air fresheners by combining 4 parts water in a spray bottle combined with
however many drops of oils you want to; you can spritz your natural
arrangements frequently.
Natural Gift Wrapping Decorations Using Eco-Friendly-Christmas-Decor Materials
We know to re-use and save any gift-wrapping materials.
Ever thought of decorating your gifts with natural items?
There are a number of items that can be used to give your
gifts that pretty, organic-designer-type" look.
This looks especially pretty against white paper.
Try using:
pine-sprigs or trimmings
twigs, sticks
winter berry cuttings
holly sprigs
Nuts or dried fruits sealed tightly in a tied
clear plastic baggie with a bow.
These ideas add originality, earthy colors, and a bit of tradition to your
packages under your own tree, not just to the ones you give away.
And as for tradition? It was very very common years ago during
christmas to give gifts of food. Most times, it was all people had
to give each-other.
Fruits are one of the most common items used for eco-friendly-christmas-decor.
There is quite a list too that all fit in with Christmas quite well.
Cranberries, apples, clementines, pears, dried fruits of all kinds and nuts
serve as decorations, as well as centerpieces by themselves in bowls.
Cranberries can be strung for tree decorations or used in natural-christmas-garlands.
They are a natural alternative to plastic beads, just as popcorn is too.
Speaking of food, my daughter made gingerbread cookies one day for something to do. I sprayed them (not sure with what) and
of course they aren't edible, but I keep them because it's something she did. They come out every year and are just a neat
homemade decoration that I like to look at.
You can make your own pomanders for display or hide them if you wish.
Take a large needle and poke holes into oranges, apples, tangerines or
even lemons and attach cloves into the holes. Place them on a decorative
christmas tray or dish filled with cloves and cinnamon, for a lovely
aroma thoughout the room. The fruits can be rotated from time to time
as they dry out.
Cinnamon sticks tied with a bow or a piece of raffia can be used as a great
scent source as well, and placed just about anywhere.
Don't forget, they add a great taste to your hot and cold drinks
as well as just decorate them nicely too for visual appeal.
I usually get one from the food stores in the plant
section, and the price is usually right. I don't do this all the time, in fact
what I use right now, are "fake" poinsettia that I bought on sale after
christmas in a Zellers store I believe. Certainly I would prefer a real one, but
these look lovely and so real. There isn't a thing wrong with them, and so
re-using them as long as I can is fine with me.
A christmas cactus is quite nice, though I don't seem to have the luck some people
do. Must be the location I put them in. I think they require more heat than I
give it. Again, they are relatively inexpensive, and come in so many different
colors like red, purple, pink and salmon colored are the ones I have seen.
The red amaryllis is popular with people at this time of year too, and they are quite gorgeous.
There are so many things you can do with what you already have. Trouble is, some people
don't realize it, and reducing carbon footprints just aren't an issue for many. And
of course, tastes in decorating vary from person to person.
Do you have a favorite way of using an eco-friendly-christmas-decor style during the holidays?
There are so many great ideas to be shared I'm sure. Visit
Eco Friendly Celebration
and we will be happy to post your ideas.
Whether carbon footprints are an issue or not, there is just something about the eco-friendly-christmas-decor
that is at our fingertips. The fact that how it is used, and how it can be recycled in a number
of ways, is just an added plus to how it visually contributes to the natural scenery of the
christmas season.
