The vast majority of commercial Christmas decorations on the market are either entirely made from plastic or contain some form of plastic. Why not switch things up this year and make your own festive decorations from recycled materials?
Let’s take a look at 5 simple DIY Christmas decorations that you can make from recyclable materials lying around your home.
1. Origami Paper Decorations
Have you got any old books in your house that you no longer want or maybe even some newspaper that you are finished with? Origami decorations are a fantastic way to reuse old paper. There are tonnes of simple and easy to follow origami tutorials on YouTube for you to choose from.
2. Salt Dough Decorations
As we all know, food waste is a huge global issue and these next decorations are a simple way of reducing food waste in your home. I was setting out a bag of flour at home one day to make a batch of cookies when I realised that it was gone out of date. But instead of throwing the bag of flour out, I decided to make some salt dough decorations.
Here is a simple salt dough recipe:
What you’ll need:
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 1.5 cups water
- Cookie cutters
- Acrylic paint
- Clear nail varnish
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F.
- Mix your flour, salt and water in a mixing bowl
- Knead the dough for 10 minutes. If the dough is too dry, add a small bit more water but not too much as the dough should be quite rigid.
- Roll the dough out with a rolling pin to 1/2 cm.
- Use the cookie cutters to cut out shapes from the dough.
- Place the decorations on a baking tray and place in the oven for 1-2 hours.
- Once the decorations are baked and cooled, paint them.
- When the paint has dried, cover the decorations in a coat of clear nail varnish to add a glossy finish.
3. Milk Carton Festive Lanterns
Milk cartons can make very pretty lanterns! Rinse out an empty milk carton and then cut off the top of the carton. To make the pyramid roof, simply cut four triangle shapes into the top of the carton. It is up to you to decide what kind of pattern you would like for your lantern but you will need a cutting blade in order to cut it out as a scissors will not work. Once you have cut out your pattern, use acrylic paint to design the lantern.
Please note: do not use a real candle in the lantern as the carton is flammable. Instead use an LED tea light.
4. Toilet Roll Stars
These cute star shaped decorations are a great way to recycle empty toilet rolls. They are also extremely easy to make. All you have to do is cut your toilet roll horizontally into 6 pieces. Then use PVA glue to stick them all together. Once the glue has dried, punch a hole in one of the sides and place twine through it to hang it on your tree.
5. Jam Jar Snow Globes
You can use any kind of jar to make these snow globes really. You will also need:
- An old Christmas decoration (or alternatively, you could make a figurine using the salt dough recipe in this blog)
- Glitter
- Glycerine
- Water
- Super glue
Method:
- Glue your figurine to the lid of the jar and allow to dry.
- Fill the jar will water and place 2-3 drops of glycerine in (this is to make the glitter float).
- Place as much glitter as you want into the water.
- Put the lid of the jar back on and ensure it is closely as tightly as possible.
- Shake your snow globe and watch the glitter magically float around your figurine.
I hope you enjoyed these DIY Christmas decoration ideas. If you would like to stay updated with our eco blog, sign up to our newsletter.
