Sustainable Christmas Decorations

Christmas time means Christmas decorations, and nowadays, we want them to be sustainable. Read more for tips on finding the best sustainable Christmas decorations!

How to decorate sustainably for Christmas

Buying lots of plastic decorations is wasteful, especially since they’re only used for a few weeks each year. If you remember just one thing, focus on natural decor elements instead. This doesn’t mean fewer options—once you start exploring more natural alternatives, plastic decorations start to look cheap and tacky, even though they’re often expensive.

How to decorate with natural elements for Christmas

Using branches, twigs, pinecones, and berries from your garden is a great place to start. They make beautiful garlands for the fireplace or can be arranged in vases for winter decor. If foraging isn’t your style, florists often sell pre-made arrangements. Adding oranges, pomegranates, nuts or even biscuits to displays looks inviting and smells amazing. For more inspiration, check out this post from Milli Proust.

Christmas markets usually feature stalls with wreaths, which can be used to decorate a door or table. Bloom & Wild offers a lovely selection of Christmas wreaths and floral arrangements. A poinsettia is another sustainable way to bring cheer—check where it’s grown, as it’s often locally sourced. Other bits found in the garden or the local park are pinecones, acorns and small twiggy bits. Arrange them in a bowl or scatter them over a table for an easy festive look. Oranges, arranged in a bowl or cut into slices and dried in the oven, are a great sustainable alternative to plastic baubles.

An orange garland

To make an orange slice garland, slice oranges and stud with cloves, drying in the oven. Once dried, thread a thin piece of twine or string through the center of each slice. To add extra texture and fragrance, attach small cinnamon sticks between the orange slices by tying them with the same string. You can also add dried star anise or pine cones for more variety. The garland can be draped over the fireplace, hung around the tree, or placed on the wall. The garland will last for years if placed in a cool, dry box for the rest of the year.

These baubles are cinnamon, orange slices, pinecones, and acorns, which would look lovely on the tree. They would be pretty easy to make at home, too. Snowflakes are another idea to make at home. This Martha Stewart guide helps with the perfect snowflake. You can also buy them already perfectly shaped from Etsy.

The tree in the image is an olive tree from the garden I took inside and decorated as a Christmas tree. It looked as festive as a traditional tree. Another sustainable option is buying or renting a potted tree with the roots attached. It can be replanted if it’s not left inside too long—they prefer the outdoors after a while! If you choose an artificial tree, using the same one each year is far less wasteful than buying a new one.

Gingerbread

Making a gingerbread house is a fun way to add festive cheer to the home. Gingerbread house-making kits are available in most supermarkets now, but it is easy to do it without the kit. This post explains it step by step: make a gingerbread mix, roll it out flat, cut it into squares and bake. After the gingerbread pieces are cooled down, stick them together with icing before decorating.

Traditional gingerbread cookies are also a sustainable way to decorate for Christmas and make the house smell lovely. Store them in an old Christmas tin from last year or these festive ones from Søstrene Grene. Other food bits such as Christmas cake, nuts, dried berries, pomegranates, tangerines, and rosehips look great as decor.

Candles

Lighting a candle in the evenings is one of the best things about Christmas. Advent candles are lovely; light them every day in December in the run up to Christmas. Ethical candles with fragrances of clove, cinnamon and pine are especially festive. For more sustainable candles, check out Organic Candles – Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Beeswax, Soy and Rapeseed.

Where to buy sustainable Christmas decorations

Another sustainable way to decorate for Christmas is to buy just one new decoration each year. Over time, you’ll build a core collection, and adding only one item annually can keep things fresh while avoiding impulse purchases.

The felted wreath is from Green Tulip. It is produced in Nepal using wool, water, and organic dyes. Toast has many sustainable Christmas decorations, including the handblown green, brown, and clear glass baubles in the images. Hanging paper stars and snowflakes look lovely at Christmas, especially made with FSC-certified paper. They can be reused for years and eventually biodegrade after they are no longer needed. This hanging star would look lovely as part of a display.

Although they are not decorations, these cute cutout little angel faces can be added to cards or decor. Christmas photo props are my new favourite thing. They are fun when the guests come over and look great on the coffee table.

More sustainable decorations

I honestly can’t decide if I like this. It’s a popup Christmas tree made from cork and recycled plastic found on the beach, which is a brilliant plan in theory! Ferm Living have beautiful decorations; I especially like these rattan braided bell baubles. They also have advent candles and lovely Christmas homeware. The Danes have a super sustainable selection of beautiful Christmas decorations. The bright red honeycomb tissue decoration is a showpiece. It’s made to order by a family company that sources its materials from independent companies. This honeycomb garland reminds me of Christmas decorations from the ’80s. The garland is handmade, fairtrade, and made in Nepal. For more honeycomb decorations, try the V&A. The suffragette hanging decoration is handcrafted in Thailand and India.

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What’s the most sustainable Christmas tree option?

The most sustainable tree is one you already have in the garden. Keep it in a pot all year and take it inside to decorate in December before putting it back into the garden in January. Another option is to buy a potted Christmas tree with the roots still attached and replant it again in January. It’s also possible to rent a tree, so someone else can replant it. If you choose an artificial tree, reusing it yearly is the best way to reduce waste.

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