7 Simple, Sustainable Christmas DIY Decor Ideas

As the Christmas holidays loom, two thoughts may come! First: Is there a way to save cash by creating Christmas DIY decorations? And how will we keep the kids busy when the school holidays begin? Well, we’ve looked around for some ‘handy’ ideas. Here are some DIY Christmas decoration ideas and crafty pursuits to help you make the holidays productive. What’s more, these are sustainable, biodegradable and recyclable solutions that will stop you from accumulating any more of that plastic Christmas tat this year!  

Wow Them With a DIY Wreath

You couldn’t get more trendy these days than with a handmade wreath. There are loads of tutorials online.  Chances are, your local florist will probably be hosting a wreath-making workshop in the run-up to Christmas. There is even a handy blog that takes you through the steps “ How to Make a Wreath (It’s Easier Than You Think)  

Materials To Make a Christmas Wreath

 
  1. Good pruning scissors or sturdy hand shears
  2. Thin paddle wire (22 gauge is ideal)
  3. Pliers or wire snips
  4. A circular wire frame (pre-bought or make one of your own with rattan or pliable twigs)
  5. Your favourite found greens, twigs and foliage. You may even source some extras from the local florist – such as Red Berries, Eucalyptus, and Holly
  6. Thick seasonal ribbon for suspending the wreath
  7. Thinner decorative ribbon for accents
  8. String
  9. Your imagination
  10. You can even add some of your odd ornaments to the wreath
It will be a genuine pleasure if you love your garden and have enjoyed having a wide variety of seasonal plants on your property. It will help if you can access holly, dried-up seed heads and evergreen foliage; this is a no-brainer. Take a look at Pinterest if you’re looking for inspiration on how to make a homemade wreath. We spotted some gorgeous ideas when we searched for DIY Natural homemade wreaths.  

How Get the Kids involved?

Turn the next forest walk into a foraging expedition for materials. Look out for more naturally occurring mistletoe, holly, sprays of evergreen conifer leaves, dried seed heads, tall grasses, and twigs speckled with vibrant moss and lichen. What’s more, if you master this season, think of all the fun you will have when making wreaths for Easter and Halloween.  

Make it Work On Your Mantelpiece or Centrepieces.

Use the sprigs of foliage, pine cones and other dried material on your mantelpiece and hallway console table. This way, you’ll keep this beautiful earthy theme. Depending on the theme, you can use velvet ribbon or other incidental vintage ornaments in between the foliage. Arrange these natural materials around a candelabra or your candle holders on the dining table to add a festive look to your centrepieces. We found more inspirations here on Pinterest under the search: Natural Christmas Table Decorations.    

Papercraft Your Way to Perfection

In keeping with contemporary decorations’ new-look laser cut look, cut-out paper decorations would make for a trendy yet nostalgic addition. Think paper lanterns with cut-out shades, handmade paper stars and snowflakes. Paper cutout decorations are a cheap and easy option. Still, they can also be breathtakingly beautiful as they channel the light through their tiny apertures, the glow from the lamps above or the fairy lights nearby. This trendy decorative idea also ties in with the Vintage German or minimalist Nordic-themed Christmas. These little crafty DIY decorative ideas just need the simplest of materials, and even the kids get to play their part as long as you let them use age-appropriate safety scissors. What You’ll Need For Crafted Paper Decorations
  1. A ready supply of all kinds of paper from stiffer cardboard and art shop coloured sheets to leftover printer paper
  2. This could be an excellent opportunity to reuse offcuts from other projects, leftover wrapping or cardboard from home delivery packaging
  3. Cat gut or thing gauge wire for suspending paper decorations
  4. More robust scissors or a scalpel / craft knife / blade for cutting cardboard. Simple craft scissors for paper. Safety scissors for younger hands
  5. String
  6. Poster paints, glitter and any other decorative elements like sequins
Ready for some paper decoration ideas?  

Paper Cut-Out Snowflakes, Flowers and Mandalas

You can go big or small with paper snowflakes and other similar designs like mandalas and floral patterns. The best thing about it? All you need is simple white paper and perfect scissors. Many templates are easily downloadable from the web, and easy-to-follow videos too. We found a reliable set of instructions here in Martha Stewart’s: How To Make Paper Snowflakes blog. The image is taken from: www.marthastewart.com. We suggest you make them in different sizes. Hang them at various lengths along the wall or over archways. String them together to make pretty see-through bunting across a portal.  

Simple 3D Paper Stars

This is probably the simplest thing you could make with paper this Christmas. Perfect for re-using leftover Christmas cards or excess coloured paper from last year too. This is one for the kids. We found some easy-to-follow instructions in firstpalette.com’s 3D Paper stars instruction sheet.

If you use luxury craft paper in gilded finishes – you could even hang these as Christmas tree decorations. Or you could staple little stars onto the ribbon and create decorative bunting.  

Paperchain and Paper Cutout Bunting

This is yet another fun and easy-to-do Paper Craft idea for Christmas that the kids will love. We spotted loads of inspiration on Pinterest under the search: DIY Christmas Paper Bunting Ideas. All you need is strong twine, ribbon or cord, a decent stapler gun, and a ready supply of coloured paper. There is an excellent opportunity to recycle old Christmas cards as you cut them out into uniform shapes. Take a look at this example below, using leftover wrapping paper to create vertical bunting displays – a complete set of instructions can be found in the blog where we found this picture: How to Use Your Wrapping Paper Scraps to Make a Gorgeous Holiday Garland.  

Paper Table Ornaments

Recreate a Christmas Village with these simple ideas from The Sprucecrafts blog on 11 Great Paper Ornaments and Crafts for Christmas

If you place a string of fairy lights in between or behind your paper cutout Decorations – you will create a magical and dramatic effect of window light in the village scene.  

Cardboard Christmas Trees

A cardboard cutout Christmas Tree is the easiest thing for the kids to make. Use leftover cardboard from the packaging and get them to paint it in any colour. Go big, and you could also make up free-standing floor decorations for the hallway. We found this simple explainer diagram and handy blog. No complicated explanation is needed – just check out the chart. It’s from a handy blog on CARDBOARD CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATION. You’ll also find some easy ideas from the makelifelovely.com blog on 20 DIY Cardboard Christmas Tree Ideas.  

Got Any more Christmas Craft and Decor Tips?

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