To help you plan for the festive season, we’ve gathered some great eco-friendly tips on how you can decorate a beautiful Christmas tree that you won’t need to worry about environmental impact of.
Maybe you’re the type of person who has already started decorating for Christmas, or perhaps you are someone who buys your final presents on Christmas Eve, who loves the bustle and excitement of the last minute. Either way, it’s not too late to introduce some new, sustainable habits for the upcoming holiday season.
Rent your Christmas tree
Let’s start with the most important element: the Christmas tree! Millions of Christmas trees get thrown away every single year and plastic Christmas trees aren’t any better. Scrapping the Christmas tree altogether is not an option, so what else can we do? We can rent them!
Search online to find a local farmer who rents out Christmas trees. Most of these suppliers offer an amazing service where they deliver the tree, collect it after Christmas and replant it in January.
If this service is not available in your area, make sure to recycle your tree, so that it can be shredded into clippings, which are used in local parks and woodland areas.
Buy eco-friendly
Most people don’t know what their decorations are made of. If you want to buy premade Christmas tree decorations, go to your local Christmas markets, and talk to the business owners who make them. Ask questions about materials, recycling, and procedures so that you can make good decisions when buying your beautiful Christmas decorations. There are so many stunning environmentally friendly decorations made these days, it’s totally possible have a resplendent tree with zero planet impact!
When buying online, keep an eye out for eco-friendly solutions. You’d be surprised by how many options there are. Look for more sustainable materials such as glass, wood and brass and keep an eye out for quality objects that can be passed down for generations.
Foraging
Christmas is all about spending time with your family and friends, so why not have a craft session together? Start the day going foraging for dropped branches, foliage, ornamental berries, and pinecones. You and your family can then add bows, glitter and paint to make them even more festive
Don’t limit your findings to just Christmas tree decorations, but also wreaths, table centrepieces and leafy garlands.
Dried fruits and nuts
An easy way to bring some vibrant colours and beautiful fragrances to your Christmas tree is by using dried fruits. Sliced oranges, grapefruits, limes and lemons for a variety of colours and sizes and lay the slices in a single layer on baking sheets topped with wire racks. Dehydrate them in the oven at 60 degrees for 3-6 hours. Remember to check on them regularly after 2 hours as the drying time will depend on the size of the fruit.
Use these dried fruit slices to make a stunning Christmas tree citrus garland or hang them individually on your Christmas tree for a pop of colour. Add nuts and cinnamon sticks as well – we promise your house will smell amazing!
After Christmas, you can store these in a dry container and reuse them again next year.
Presents
Let’s quickly talk about what goes underneath the Christmas tree – the presents. It’s time to get creative and be thoughtful with your presents and your wrapping paper. Stick to recycled wrapping paper or find alternatives such as sustainable cloths that can be repurposed.
A great idea is to reuse newspapers and roadmaps to wrap your presents and decorate them with dried fruits and natural materials that you have foraged.
Start looking in your house and kitchen cupboards for things that could be used such as rosemary twigs and cinnamon sticks. It won’t just look great, it’ll smell amazing too! Maybe you have a damaged shirt that could be cut into strings for ribbons or a tote bag that’s been laying around that you could wrap your present in. The options are endless.
