A List of the Best Eco-Friendly Holiday Decorations We Know Of
The holidays are time for togetherness, celebration, and creativity. One of the best parts about this time of year are the cheerful decorations we bring into our homes. Fragrant pine, glittering lights, and heartwarming decorations on every surface make the holidays unforgettable.
Keep your holidays green by using your imagination to create unique and natural decorations. After much deliberation, we’ve put together this list of the best eco-friendly holiday decorations we know of. We’re always looking for more ideas, so be sure to let us know if you can top these!
#1. Repurpose old greeting cards
Scissors, glue, glitter, and markers, plus a healthy imagination are all you need to create a unique set of decorations out of the greeting cards you’ve had for years. Get the whole family involved and make a night out of it. Add some hot cocoa or cider and you’ll be making memories as well as eco-friendly decorations!
#2. Buy an eco-friendly menorah
Shop Etsy to find modern menorahs created from natural wood or repurposed metals. Use soy candles to keep the effect natural and healthy.
#3. Buy an organic tree
If an artificial tree is sacrilege, shop around for an organic tree farm to find the perfect living tree for your holiday. Some areas offer a living tree program that picks up the tree to replant it after the holidays. If that’s not an option, research how and where to recycle your tree after the holidays are over.
Fake trees are preferable? Look for a used tree online or shop for one made in the USA with non toxic materials. Treat your new tree well so you can reuse it for many years to come.
#4. Hold out for eco-friendly ornaments
Found objects can be repurposed in surprising ways to create unique ornaments. Other alternatives include vintage ornaments, handmade ornaments using pinecones, acorns, and berries, or “eco-positive” ornaments bought through Fair Trade suppliers or online.
#5. Use energy saving lights
LED lights save energy and work better. When one bulb goes out, the whole string stays on unlike traditional holiday lights. Just remember to turn them off when you go to sleep and only turn them on at night when they can best be appreciated.
#6. Re-imagine your gift wrap
There’s nothing like tearing the wrapping off a gift, but the waste that accumulates is incredibly damaging to the environment since most traditional gift wrapping isn’t easily recycled. Get creative when it comes to gift wrap and use newspaper, comics, t-shirts, or even the phone book to wrap presents this year.
#7. Re-gift
We’ve all received gifts that we didn’t want. This year let’s take the shame out of re-gifting. Why pass up a chance to reduce our overall consumption by giving away things that we don’t use or don’t like. Our trash is someone else’s treasure.
The holidays are a wonderful chance to celebrate life – our lives and the life of our planet. Let’s remember to make eco-friendly choices in our celebrations so we can celebrate our planet for generations to come. We love to try new eco-friendly decorating ideas so don’t be shy –share!