JustGreen Holiday Tips: Decorating

Decorating your home for the holidays can be a green affair. From using  newspapers to things you can find in your backyard, here are some green tips to make your beautiful for this holiday season. 

1)     Instead of wrapping gifts for the kids, hide the presents; turn it into a treasure hunt for the kids.

2)     Make your own tree ornaments out of things you already have around the house, or from materials they might find in the outside: twigs, flowers, old magazines, and herbs, pine cones, etc.

3)     Instead of buying placemats or table decorations cut old cards into shapes and press between two pieces of clear contact paper.

4)     Wrap gifts in old maps, newspapers, comic strips or fancy holiday gift bags.

5)     Use brown paper grocery bags to wrap smaller boxed gifts that need to be mailed.

6)     Real Christmas trees are actually better for the environment than plastic trees. If you purchase one that can be replanted in your yard during the spring.  

7)     Make a list of the things you need and look for them at secondhand stores. During the holidays, the aisles of thrift shops are filled with gently-used holiday decorations.

8)     Try simmering cinnamon sticks or pine cones on the stove with some water. Place a few drops of pure essential oils in there for some added fragrance. Find more scents combinations here.

9)     Turn old holiday cards into ornaments for your tree, you can also turn them into gift tags.

10)  Use scarfs to wrap gifts. It will make for a beautiful wrapping and it can be used to keep warm.