Sustainable DIY Christmas decorating

Christmas is a joyous, festive and full of fun time of the year, and let's face it- who doesn't like giving or receiving a gift? 

I love this holiday and thoroughly enjoy the magic, especially now with my small family. So, not wanting to be the Grinches of Christmas we at An'du decided not to list any scary wasteful facts about Christmas, but thought instead that we'd share some of our more sustainable traditions and also a few fun DIY Christmas decorations that are (mostly) simple while also being charming and effective. If you have any sustainable Christmas traditions please put them in a comment below. 

 

Sustainable Christmas Traditions

Grayson tradition number 1:

Sustainable gifting

This hasn't always been the case, but as a family now, if we can't get a gift that we know will absolutely hit the spot then we have a go in trying (if time allows) to make something. I have previously made flower pots out of old jam jars, paint and left over cork then planted them up with garden cuttings. My sister always makes (much anticipated) calendars for everyone, filling them with family photos from the last year. Mum has made beautiful smelling lavender bags (lavender from her garden of course) and a few years ago, having collected the ends of the wax candles which were decorating the tables at our wedding, she proceeded to wrap them in some newspaper, tied them with twine then added a few drops of orange essential oil -  so  turning them into handmade firelighters for our wood burning stove. Our winter was punctuated with little moments lighting our wood burner and remembering our special day! As for dad - he  always makes delicious cranberry jelly for us all which sees us through most of the winter months. 

 

Grayson tradition number 2:

Sustainable advent calendars

Homemade advent calendars. This one is pretty time consuming, but so worth it! A few years ago dad constructed advent calendars out of cardboard and old wall paper. Each year (when we have the time) we swap, so that some years my sister and I get them and other years, we fill them for mum and dad. Often we fill these with little consumables; spices, speciality teas, chocolates, nuts etc but sometimes we find lovely little gifts or decorations that fit with our sustainable ethos (plastic free toothpaste tabs, wire brushes etc) to fit inside some of the larger boxes too. One year my sister filled them with jokes and riddles - I think that was my favourite. 

 

Grayson tradition number 3:

Sustainable wrapping paper

Saving and re-using wrapping paper! It's an oldy but a goody and I know heaps of you do it too! When the paper gets too tatty and old it gets thrown or recycled (check if you can recycle it by doing the scrunch test - if you scrunch it and it springs back out, then it has plastic in it and can't be recycled) and inevitably some new paper gets introduced through friends and colleagues that keeps us going. One little tip if you'd like to start doing this is to try and wrap without using sellotape. Try ribbons and string instead. Not only looks better, but preserves the paper for longer too! 

 

Grayson tradition number 4:

Sustainable Christmas food

The leftovers! I appreciate that this is in no way exclusive to us, but making good use of left-overs is super important! Food waste can be massive and let's face it, who doesn't love Christmas dinner a few times in a row. 

 

Grayson tradition number 5:

Sustainable Christmas Trees

Living Christmas Trees. You can do this one of two ways:

Living in a pot in the garden and named Navid, Mum's tree gets dug up each year, decorated, then replanted once the festivities are over. Navid is very happy coming inside for a few weeks as long as he's not near a radiator and gets plenty to drink. 

The alternative version (far more costly, but much less effort) is Christmas Tree Rental. There are now quite a few companies around London who do this simple idea. Instead of cutting a tree down, you get one delivered, alive, and keep it alive until its pick up date. You can even get the same tree year on year with the same company, although you might have to pay a bit more if it ends up growing into a new size category!

 

Sustainable DIY Christmas Decorating

Okay, now onto the fun bit - decorations! Nothing better than decorating the tree and the house for Christmas. This year, why not try bringing a but of hygge into your vibe and check out the following ideas below!

 

1) DIY white clay ornaments

What you need:

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 cup cold water 
• Ribbon/ string 
• Cookie cutter shapes
• Food colouring (optional)
• Stamps/ things to imprint (optional)

Method

1. Mix the baking soda, cornstarch and water together in a large pot 

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches the consistency of mashed potatoes, which takes about 10–15 minutes. Add food dye at this point if you want colour.

3. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate 

4. Cover with a damp cloth and let cool 

5. Knead until smooth

6. Now get creative! Roll out to about 1cm thick and then cut into desired shapes and use flowers, leaves, stamps or even little hands or feet to make imprints in them. 

7. Punch out little holes using a chopstick

8. Let them air dry overnight (the slower the drying process the less chance of cracks, so maybe even place on a slightly damp towel if your house is particularly warm. 

9. Thread with ribbon or string and enjoy!

 

2) Orange slice hangings

These types of decorations come in all shapes and sizes but are super simple and incredibly effective. I've added a few pictures here for inspiration, but essentially all you need to do is slice the oranges (no thinner than 0.5cm or they will curl in the oven) and bake on a low heat (around 80 degrees C) until they are dry (around and hour). 

You can then use a needle and thread to string them up into garlands, hangings, individual Christmas Tree decorations, whatever takes your fancy. 

You can add all sorts such as star anisee (use a glue gun or needle and thread to secure these on) or cinnamon for more festive smells and beautiful designs. Beads can also look very effective. You can combine an orange slice and a little white-clay star (see above) for a very effective Christmas wrapping tag. 

3) The chestnut/ acorn wreath

What you need:

• Chestnuts or acorns (I suggest about 10 per wreath)
• Wire
• Needle or bradawl if you have one
• Ribbon/ string

Method:

1. Make holes in your chestnuts by poking them through with a needle or bradawl. To soften the chestnuts soak them for an hour before hand. 

2. Thread the wire through the chestnuts and bend into a circle.

3. Twist wire together to secure

4. Tie on string or ribbon - ta da!

 

4) Acorn hat mushrooms

What you need:

• 
  Acorn cups
• Little stems of branches (silver birch looks great, but any will do)
• Wire
• Hot glue gun
• String/ ribbon

Method:

1. Using a needle, poke two holes in the top of an acorn cup.

2. Cut a short piece of wire and poke through to create a hook and secure by twisting together on the underside of the acorn cup.

3. Match up acorn 'hats' to wooden stems and glue on using the hot glue gun.

4. Thread with string or ribbon and hang :)

 

5) Rosemary wreaths

What you need:

• Rosemary sprigs
• Hot glue gun (optional)
• Ribon or string

Method:

1. Bend sprig of Rosemary into a circle shape

2. Secure with a small dot from a glue gun or tie with twine, string or ribbon

3. Add decorative bow with string or ribbon

These are the simplest of all the DIY ideas in this blog and look fabulous as decorations on gifts. They are also very cute hanging around windows. 

 

6) Candle decorations

What you need:

• Candle
• Garden twine
• Dried orange slice
• Star anise
• Any other natural decorations
• Glue gun

Method:

1. Simply wrap the candle with the garden twine until you have desired thickness

2. Glue on orange slice and star anise and any other decorations that take your fancy using the glue gun.

Again, another incredibly simple idea but very effective and look gorgeous as a centre piece on the Christmas table without taking up too much room. 

 

 

7) Origami star

What you need:

• Paper/ newspaper
• Scissors
• String/ ribbon

Method:

Far easier to watch a video than have me try and describe all the different steps! Just google making origami stars and there are plenty to choose from.