With the holidays right around the corner, many of us are already feeling the stress of
buying, baking, and decorating for Christmas.
The chaos and messiness of the holiday season can be fun, but can often also leave us
frustrated and overwhelmed.
So why not bring some natural peace and tranquility into your home?
“Eco-friendly Christmas decorations
can help minimize your stress, lower your bills,
and reduce your impact on the environment.”
LED Lighting
One of the best ways to minimize your environmental impact is by moving towards LED lights,
instead of traditional lights or candles.
They are more energy efficient than traditional lights, and can be used in a variety of ways.
There are of course, fairy lights, that can be used like any other kind, to adorn your tree or the
outside of your house.
They are safer, and as an added bonus, they don’t burn out like incandescent bulbs.
LED candles are also great to switch to, as they are able to create the same warm glow of regular
candles, without the fire hazard, soot, and messy wax.
These are especially useful if you have kids or pets.
Nix the Live Tree
And by that we mean don’t kill one.
There are a variety of alternatives to cutting down live trees.
There are many pitfalls to having a live tree.
They drop needles, are a fire hazard, and they can leave traces of sap on carpets and floors
if you aren’t careful.
So rather than cut down a tree every year, consider a potted tree that can be planted in your
yard in the spring.
Just be sure it’s a variety of evergreen that does well in your climate.
There is also a growing trend to use potted Rosemary, a fragrant herb that is also often used
in holiday cooking.
It has evergreen leaves that resemble pine needles.
If you take good care of it, this can also be transferred to your herb garden come spring, and can
be used to season your food all year round!
Repurpose and Reuse
Instead of throwing out your old or broken decorations, see if there are any ways they can be re-used.
If the star from top of your tree doesn’t light up anymore, why not cut the cord and attach it to a
homemade wreath to hang on your front door?
Ornaments that are missing their hangers can be used to create a centerpiece for the table, simply by
putting them in a basket, or in some garland.
Reusing old decorations is easier on the environment, and easier on your budget too!
Bring the Outdoors In
Collect pine cones, large pieces of fallen tree bark, and other bits of nature to help give your home
an earthy and natural feel.
Just make sure that what you collect isn’t harming anything.
Take dried branches that have fallen from trees to make a wreath of twigs, add some pinecones
and a few odd bits of old Christmas decorations, and you’ve got a brand new piece for your front door!
Dried fruits, nuts, and cinnamon sticks are a fantastic and fragrant addition to almost any of your
decorations.
Get Creative!
Rediscover your inner child and whip our your craft kit.
Armed with scissors, glitter and glue you can make your own decorations out of recycled materials.
You can even involve your kids and make an afternoon craft session out of it.
Head to Pinterest and see what exciting new holiday projects are floating around out there.
Whatever you decide, you can make sure that your decorating choices are not just ornamental,
but environmentally friendly too!
About the Author:
Kelly Smith is Content Manager at Career FAQs, Australia’s leading portal on online learning and career resources. She is interested in healthy life hacks and self-improvement ideas.
What are your favorite ways to decorate your home for Christmas in an ecofriendly way?
Share your thoughts and comments with us.
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