Tree Decorations

Homemade origami Christmas baubles -there’s nothing more rewarding than homemade baubles hanging proudly from your Christmas tree. Origami is a fun project you can spend the afternoon doing, with no skills necessary. There are tons of tutorials online for different shapes and sizes but we love this one from Paperchase. All you need is colourful origami paper (or any kind of thin paper), scissors, glue and ribbon.

Recycled baubles – you can find many baubles made from 100% recycled glass that look just as good – if not better – than standard baubles. These add a shimmer to any tree and last for years, as long as you secure them safely to your tree’s branches so they don’t fall off and break and look after them when packing up. 

Edible Christmas tree decorations – chocolate Santa's, reindeers, elves, and other treats wrapped in foil are great option instead of plastic decorations. The chocolate gets eaten and the foil is recyclable when cleaned – only the string might need binning. Unlike plastic, foil can be recycled multiple times and does not lose any of it's quality.

Wooden Christmas tree decorations – wood is a sustainable material and often recyclable, so consider buying or making wooden rather than plastic decorations for your tree. These can be simple unfinished shapes for a natural effect or paint your own.

Creating natural decorations is a brilliant way to make your Christmas a little greener. It’s also a lot of fun that the whole family can enjoy. Find out how to make orange slice decorations with cloves that smell incredibly festive and will add a traditional feel to your tree.

DIY clay star garland

What you’ll need:
-    Bowl, spoon, saucepan and rolling pin or glass bottle 
-    Cornstarch 
-    Baking soda
-    Star cookie cutter
-    Thin wire twine or little wire lights

Method

•    Combine 125g of baking soda, 32g of cornstarch and 170ml of water in a small saucepan and stir well
  -    Bring to the boil stirring constantly, then turn down to medium, keep stirring  for about 5 or 6 minutes until it turns thick and too hard to mix
  -    Remove and let it cool in a  bowl but cover with a towel or plate as it dries quickly
  -    Roll out onto floured surface and cut out your stars, if your clay is too sticky add more baking powder.
  -    Bake your stars on the tray at 170 for 2 hours
  -    After they’re cooled, wrap your twine or wire around the starts leaving gaps in between
  -    Go decorate your Christmas tree!