If you’re looking for a way to stay green this holiday season – and save some green as well – you can get creative with your family and make your own Christmas tree decorations. Plus, you’ll spend less time standing in line at the retail stores and your tree will look unbelievable.

If you enjoy making handmade art or have smaller children who do, you’ll get a kick out of crafting your own sparkle and cheer to add to your tree with these eco-friendly ideas.

1.Snowflake Garland
Rather than breaking out the ratty old garland again this year, try making your own! Simply gather any scrap paper or mail you have laying about and take to it with a pair of scissors. Cut out strips or snowflake-shaped pieces and pile them onto a long string. You can use yarn or fishing wire – as long as you can thread the paper easily. Once you’re ready to take down the tree you can just recycle your garland.

Bring the Outdoors Indoors
The best inspiration for the holidays comes from nature! If you live in an area that has plenty of trees and shrubs, you can use these to decorate the tree in your living room. Clip some holly sprigs and wrap them with string to hang in clusters, or prune some natural evergreen boughs and use those to decorate your tree skirt. The natural smells will make your tree that much more lively.

Sew It Up
Put your needle and thread to use in a fun way, this season! You can use up-cycled scraps of fabric to make unique tree decorations. Trace a design – Santa, a snowman, an angel, or a wreath – onto two layers of fabric, sew them together and cut off the excess fabric. Sew on beads or sequins to make your design sparkle against the Christmas lights.

Foodies Decorate Too
If you’ve got left over popcorn from the Christmas tin you got last year, or extra bags in the back of your cabinet, Christmas time is the best time to use leftover popcorn. Pop the kernels and string them on a long piece of thread or fishing wire. Add cranberries or any other dried fruit (that you can get a needle through) and you’ve got a festive – and fragrant – strand of garland to wrap around the tree. And when Christmas is over, you can toss the garland out for the hungry woodland creatures.

Re-purposed Decorations
It seems every year we collect more and more decorations, especially ornaments. Why not use the material you already have from some of your old decorations and re-purpose them into new ornaments? Grab some garland from here, some ribbon from there and make your own Christmas designs. You’ll feel like an interior designer with the creations you can make without going to the fabric store.

These ideas are a great start to getting you acquainted with eco-friendly decorating. Christmas is a great time of year to try something a little new and maybe shake up tradition a bit. Who knows, maybe you’ll start your own traditions. Just remember to have fun with your decorating and spread some Christmas cheer this year.

Author Bio: Syd Martin writes articles about the trees and nature, the environment and eco-friendly design, entertainment and lifestyle. She is an advocate for the protection and health of trees throughout the United States, including her hometown of Atlanta, GA.

Category: Arts and Crafts
Keywords: trees, Christmas decorations, eco-friendly, up-cycling, re-purposing, nature, environment, How To