Recycled Christmas Decorations

We all want our homes to look nice for Christmas. But, we envision that the only way that we can do this is to buy new stuff each year. New items are not the only ones that shine and make an impression on visitors. Learn how you can create recycled decorations from things lying around the house.

There are a lot of items that can be reused for creative decorations. Think of your Christmas cards. We get them and after the holiday is over we threw them away. Instead of throwing them away, use them to make new decorations for the house.

Christmas cards can be used to create a collage. For a wooden coffee table, have a piece of glass cut to match the dimensions of the table top. Underneath the glass, place a piece of thin cardboard the same size and cover it with the fronts of various Christmas cards. Cover with the glass.

Old ornaments can be given a new look with some non-toxic paint and some string. The color comes off of bulbs all the time. Instead of throwing them away, come up with other ideas to save them like covering with ribbons, colored buttons, or sea shells. Save some from the summer at the beach. Color them with holiday paint and create ornaments, candle holders, and wreath accessories.

Local artisans use soda cans, bottles, and cardboard boxes to make ornaments for Christmas. Around the holidays, several local artisans will showcase their crafts at venues around your area. You’d be amazed at the wonderful things they can come up with from items most people have thrown away.

Even used light bulbs can be turned into ornaments. Cover a light bulb with a brown sock or stretchy material. Fashion ears out of felt and use felt pieces for eyes, nose, and mouth and you’ve got a reindeer ornament. Tie a string around the top to secure the brown fabric and make a second loop to hand the ornament on the tree.

Besides recycling items around the house and creating ornaments, try using decorations that are friendly to the environment. Collecting these items can start at any time during the year. Like we said before, sea shells provide a wealth of ideas for decorations. Scratched CDs can be turned into Christmas tree ornaments.

Collect pine cones, nuts, sand, and broken tree branches. The tree branches can be weaved together to form a natural wreath. Pieces of discarded wood from household projects can be fashioned into nativity scene figures, crosses, wooden angels, and toys by someone who is skilled in wood working. Websites like www.ctstore.com use recycled Christmas trees to create wooden ornaments.

Before you throw out what appears to be useless ornaments and Christmas cards, think about how they can be reused for another year of celebration. Get the kids involved and turn the quest for recycled materials into a treasure hunt through the house.