It’s almost December — the season of merry-making, a celebration of togetherness and let’s not forget the time to give back to mother nature. And, for many of us, Christmas is the best time of the year to rejoice, spread the holiday cheer, meet friends and family, and decorate our homes to bring in all the festive feels.
However, enormous waste is generated each day around the planet, especially during the festive season. It pollutes and harms the environment, and because we only have one earth to call our home, it’s necessary to preserve and protect it. That said, being eco-friendly doesn’t mean you’ll have to say no to Christmas decorations — we’ve got you covered!
Christmas is such a favorite festival for adults and kids alike. So, it’s a blessing to get your kids involved in some DIY art and craft projects. But before you get started, consider jotting your ideas on a planner. Use this as a fun opportunity to bond especially with them!
To help you, we’ve listed below some amazing eco-friendly Christmas decoration ideas so that you and your family can stay green while being merry and festive:
1. Paper Roll Santa Claus
A great way to reuse old paper rolls is to make Santa Claus decorations for sticking on your walls or hanging alongside the windows. It’s a common household supply, cheap, and makes for a great piece of decor.
All you’ll need is a toilet paper roll, cotton balls, white cardstock, glue stick, scissors, and red and black crayons or sketch pens. Take the white-colored paper (you can also use the white side of old greeting cards), draw out the Santa face, color out the red coat and the black belt around the waist. Cut this out neatly with scissors. Now, wrap the paper around the toilet paper roll. Make a small round cotton ball and stick it on the nose area. For the beard, take small pieces of cotton and stick them where the beard will be. To design the hat, fold a red-colored paper shaped like a cone and secure it on the top of the roll. Take a bigger ball of cotton and stick it with glue on the pointed end of the cone. Your paper roll Santa Claus is ready!
2. Paper And Pine Cone Garlands
Before you begin decorating the customary Christmas tree, it’s important to get your props ready. For this, you’ll need paper, sketch pens or colored paper, jute thread, and pine cones. A good thing about making DIY Christmas crafts is to get your kids busy picking pine cones out in the garden and when they are back, share some interesting Bible stories while you assemble the ornaments.
Draw the outlines of a Christmas tree on white paper, fill the inside with green-colored sketch pens or stick a green paper over it and neatly trim the sides so that it takes the perfect shape. Cut out the Christmas tree along the outline and stick it on the jute thread. You can alternate between one Christmas tree cutting and a pine cone alongside the yarn to make it more creative. Secure them one below the other and let the strings dry completely before you hang them on the walls or use them to decorate the tree. These swathes of greenery will surely brighten up the dull corners of your home in no time!
3. Brown Paper Gift Packaging
The pile of gifts that we receive from our dearest ones during Christmas generates so much waste! To encourage an eco-friendly Christmas decoration and celebration, nudge them to send you gifts packed in newspapers, biodegradable packaging, or simply plain paper that’s easily disposable without guilt. If you’re sending out gifts or placing gifts under the Christmas tree for decorations, you can cover them by reusing old gift wrapping paper, ribbons, printable gift tags and labels, and some pine cones for the extra dash of creativity. This is smart and sustainable too! If you receive non-biodegradable ones, preserve them for reuse later.
4. Handmade Christmas Tree With Corrugated Cardboard And Wood
This is a cool eco-friendly Christmas tree concept to try this year, especially if you run short of space to place a large tree at home. It’s so simple and cute you’ll want to have this permanently installed in your bedroom. You’ll need some help with one, especially if you are new to carpentry. Yes, you will need to chop some fine pieces of wood and stick that on the Christmas tree-shaped cardboard, mimicking the branches of a pine tree. As shown above, cut out some stars and snowflakes from colored paper and stick them on the tree. Have a 7-inch long cone-shaped wood stand to fix the Christmas treetop in place. Neatly position it in a well-lit corner of your home.
5. Origami Star
Origami crafts are a fantastic way to unleash your creativity for unique Christmas decoration. They are fun to make and a great way to reuse old papers lying around.
Take a square piece of paper and fold it in the shape of a triangle. Now, fold the upper layer such that the top meets the vertical line in between. Then, flip the paper over and fold it in half. After this, you’ll need to make the squash fold by opening the top flap and pressing it down. The vertical edge of the paper should line up on the left side. For the other half, take another square piece of paper and fold it in half in a triangle shape. Now, again fold them the same to form a second triangle. Apply some glue in the middle of the paper. Then, open the first flap of the first part and slide in the second half. Stick both together, and your origami Christmas star is ready.
6. Tissue Paper Snowflakes
Another simple yet elegant home decor for Christmas is paper snowflakes. You can hang them from the ceiling as faux snowfall or string them as garlands. Take some tissue papers and beautifully cut out some simple snowflakes from them. You can download ready-made printable snowflake designs available online or draw a snowflake design in the shape of diamonds, hearts, mandalas, snowmen, or stars. Then, apply the folding technique and cut the snowflake along with the design. Experiment with as many decorative cuts as you like.
7. Mason Jar Lantern With Crochet Cover
Mason jars are so cute and pretty, especially when they hold electric lights or small bulbs. But how about using the old crochet covers your grandma made to wrap them? Or you could try making some crochet patterns, tutorials of which are available online. Cut the crochet out in the exact shape of the jar and stick it around with colorless glue. You can play with colorful threads and make different shapes and designs to match the Christmas spirit. Place tea lights or a bulb inside, and you have a beautiful mason jar lantern ready.
8. Handmade Christmas Wreath
There’s lots of room for creativity in making wreaths. Homemade Christmas wreaths have such a nostalgic feel to them and are so easy to make. Use twine to thread together pine sprigs, cones, and cranberries, or use a hot glue gun to paste the leaves and twigs to a sturdy cardboard wreath base. There’s almost no waste involved in this decor, and you can hang it over the front door or your hallway. This is a kid-friendly, sustainable Christmas wreath design; sure to leave everyone delighted.
9. Gingerbread Man Christmas Decor
How about infusing some fun indoor activities like baking into your home decor — make something that’s edible and easy to compost, leaving no waste at all? If this sounds interesting, the gingerbread man decor is such a cute Christmas decor to try! And while you bake them and put them together to decorate your Christmas tree, you can eat some of them with your kids too! Now, how lovely does that sound?
10. Hanging Christmas Cards Wall Decor
Christmas greeting cards have such beautiful memories attached, and what better way to cherish them than hanging them on a string to decorate your wall, windows, or doorways? And when the guests arrive, you could even show them those that they perhaps sent to you, and you’ve taken good care to preserve them for so many years! You may also coil some lights along the line of cards to draw some extra attention to them.
Let’s all make a conscious pledge this year to celebrate Christmas, ensuring zero waste around us. Whether or not you’re someone who wishes to leave minimal carbon footprints, these eco-friendly Christmas decoration ideas are great options to choose from. Which one among these will you be making this year? We’d love to know! Do share your sustainable Christmas decoration ideas with us!
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