Christmas decoration ideas: Eco-friendly ways to jingle your bells
by
Checkatrade

It might surprise you to know that you already have all the crafts and tools needed to decorate your home for Christmas (probably). So, if you want to make some DIY decorations, items that’ll come in handy include scissors, wire, wire cutters, paper, twine, cotton wall, scrap materials, ribbons, empty glass bottles, glitter, citrus fruit (to dry) and some creative flair!

Some other ideas include: coffee filter garlands, Christmas candle jars, festive upcycled pillows, orange peel candles, lolly stick snowflakes and the classic Christmas twig.

It’s time to get crafty. If you’re serious (which we know you are), then you’re going to need a glue gun, various stencils, a beautiful colour scheme, and an eye for detail.

We love pine cones. Like mulled wine and Christmas markets, they embody the festive spirit. You can find them on most Autumnal and winter walks (just look under conifer trees).

They also keep well throughout winter, whether you clean and wax them to use in your homemade garlands and wreaths, or you spray them with frosting and tie ribbons at their stems for a ceiling mobile.

Whatever you do, consider introducing these natural (and free) tree organs into your home this year.

If you’d like to make some traditional Christmas decorations, then consider repurposing old items lying around your house.

For example, glass jars and tea lights make lovely hanging lanterns. You can even braid the twine that holds the jars yourself, leaving the only expense in the form of ceiling hooks to hang them from. There are plenty of other ideas when it comes to glass jars too. Check these out for some inspiration.

Other ideas include: coconut shell wax candles, 3D paper snowflakes, baubles in lanterns, citrus and eucalyptus garlands, and twine ball ornaments.

Depending on your office, keeping things lowkey is either on-trend or discarded in favour of tacky overkill.

We’re here for both.

Sprucing up your desk with a mini-Christmas tree or a stack of perfectly wrapped homemade presents gives you an edge. However, if you want to wrap tinsel around your chair and blue-tac antlers to your monitor, then we say let those bells jingle. It’s Christmas and the spirit takes us all in different ways.

Children transform Christmas. They give us a reason to put out mince pies and sherry, add fake footprints in the snow, and embrace our inner Santa Claus – the replacement you’ve needed since you found out St Nicholas didn’t come down the chimney every Christmas Eve after all. (He walks through the door like everyone else, obviously!)

Another great thing about Christmas is the variety of activities on offer. Instead of scratching your head trying to figure out how to entertain your offspring, you can put them to work by getting them to help you make a myriad of DIY decorations.

Tissue paper wreaths, toilet roll reindeers, felt elves and more bunting than you have places to put it are just a few ideas. However, we invite you to let your imagination run free and wild (like your children), because this is the only time of year you can reclaim your creative youth and build that long-lost snowman you used to fly around with once upon a December.

We don’t recommend you opt for decorations the space station can spot as it passes (purely because of the electricity bill), but it’s always good to see your options… which are many. (And many more than that).

This year, less is more. So, why not consider investing in some LED or solar-powered lights? That way, you’re saving the planet and making it sparkle with Christmas joy at the same time. What’s not to get on board with?

Other eco-friendly outdoor Christmas decoration ideas include bottled snow cones, green moss wreaths, salt dough decorations and DIY pallet Christmas trees. We recommend you consider all of them for a magical (yet sustainable) celebration.