Easy Christmas Decorations to Make: Festive Fun

The light shows, decorations, Bublé playing on repeat - it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas ✨  

If you’re a little behind this year and haven’t tackled your decorations for the festive season, we've got you covered. Feeling a little Grinchy? That’s okay too. Kick back, relax and eaaaase into the festive season with some fun and easy holiday DIY decoration ideas to thaw out even the Grinchiest of hearts. 

You snow the drill, let’s get crafty. 

Low-waste garland  

The most versatile holiday decoration, low-waste garland can be made using a wide range of things such as dried fruit, pinecones, crochet stars, wrapping paper or even Ethique packaging! The options are endless. 

Dried orange garland 

What you’ll need: 

• Strong string or twine 
• Dried orange slices 

To make: 

1. Create a small hole in the dried orange slices, either in the middle or one side of the orange slice. 
2. Thread the string or twine through the orange slices. 
3. Tie a knot around the orange slices on either end of the garland to stop them from slipping off. 

Easy! Now you can use the garland to decorate. 

New to making dried oranges? The process is very simple but does take some time (up to three hours) in the oven so crank the holiday tunes and get baking to make the most of the oven being on. 

To make dried orange slices: 

1. Preheat oven to 120°C. 
2. Slice oranges into 1-2cm slices. 
3. Pat each slice dry with a cloth or tea towel. 
4. Put a metal cooling rack over a backing tray. 
5. Place the orange slices on the metal cooling rack. 
6. Place in oven for up to three hours, making sure to flip oranges over every 30 minutes. 

Christmas card tree 

Feeling like a tree might be too much commitment this year? Here’s a Christmas tree option that’s budget-friendly, low-waste and won’t leave pine needles all over your floor! 

You’ll need: 

• Basket or bucket 
• Christmas cards (the more you have, the bigger your tree will be) 
• Something to stick the cards on to the wall such as blu tack or freedom-tack  

To make:  

1. Simply collect holiday cards you have saved from previous years. 
2. Place one card at the highest point you would like your tree to be at.  
3. Continue to stick your cards in a tree-like shape until you’re happy with how it looks.  
4. Pop a basket or bucket down the bottom to serve as both the trunk of the tree and a spot where gifts and be placed. 

And there you have it, your low-impact Christmas tree for this year is sorted! 

Tips: if you don’t have any holiday cards from last year, get creative and re-use wrapping paper or even try making your own festive cards. Alternatively, you could always create your tree this year as you start to receive holiday cards! 😊  

DIY chocolate advent calendar  

Who doesn’t love 24 bites of chocolate in the lead up to Christmas?! Our pickle is less with the chocolates and more with the unrecyclable, non-compostable plastic or paper coated in plastic packaging that modern day advent calendars often come in. So why not DIY an advent calendar this year instead? 

Try making an advent calendar using one big container such as a jar and placing 24 or 12 pieces of chocolate inside (even better if you can source a palm oil-free chocolate option!).  

Love the idea of checking off the numbers to countdown to Christmas? Simply draw a countdown on your jar using permanent marker (or something similar) & check them off as you work your way towards Christmas! 

Prefer other goodies in your advent calendar? Simply replace the contents with whatever you prefer instead! 

Foliage wreaths  

A classic, wreaths are the perfect way to top off your festive decorations around your home. If you already have a reusable wreath stored in your cupboard, keep re-using it for many years to come or donate it to someone you know who will use it. As plastic takes 400 years to break up into millions of microplastics, it’s important to try and keep it away from landfill. 

To make a simple foliage wreath, you’ll need: 

• Metal/wooden/branch hoop (this can be made with an old metal coat hanger if you don’t have one) 
• String, twine or wire 
• Greenery that can be easily bent e.g. eucalyptus. If you don’t have access to a garden, a local florist is a great option or venture to your thrift store to see what pre-loved plastic foliage options they have - you’ll be able to reuse your wreath for years to come. 

To make: 

1. Trim the greenery by removing extra leaves or wilted flowers. I always opt to go nice and easy on the trimming for starters – you can always remove more leaves later! 
2. Begin arranging the foliage around the hoop depending on how you want it to look. 
3. Time to attach the greenery on – use string, twine or wire to begin attaching the greenery on to the meta hoop, taking extra care to attach the greenery well. 
4. Hang up your wreath on a door and keep an eye on it every week in case flowers or leaves begin to wilt. 

Tips for keeping your fresh wreath from wilting or drying out: 

• Store it outdoors away from direct sunlight. 
• Spritz or mist your wreath regularly to keep it from wilting or drying out. 
• For the expert level care, sprits or mist your wreath and then cover it with a waterproof bag overnight (any plastic bags you’ve been storing up to be reused will work!) or a damp cloth. 

Happy Holidays from Team Ethique 😊