Sustainable Holiday Decorations: A Guide + 8 Ideas

With the holiday season nearly here, everyone’s starting to put on that beloved Michael Bublé Christmas album, dust off their advent calendar, and compile their holiday decoration board on Pinterest. 

There’s no denying that the holiday season brings a wave of new home decor items and inspiration every year. Sometimes it can feel like there’s a mountain of shiny plastic decorations waiting for you at the entrance to every store.

While there’s no denying the fun in bringing the holiday spirit into your home, all of this decorating and gift wrapping can lead to a lot of waste. In fact, Americans tend to throw away somewhere between 25% and 43% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. 

This, of course, raises the question: Can you strike a balance between considering the earth while still making your home feel merry and bright?

At Snif, we think the answer is a resounding yes. All it takes is a little bit of creativity and DIY magic to pull off an eco-friendly holiday season. 

In this guide, we’re going to take a close look at what exactly makes a decoration sustainable, why sustainability is important, and eight easy decor ideas to get you started on your sustainable holiday decoration journey. 

What Makes a Decoration Sustainable?

Before we talk about all of our sustainable decor ideas, it’s important to consider what makes a decoration sustainable in the first place. 

Simply put, sustainable decorations use materials that minimize the negative impact on the environment and are made in eco-friendly ways. 

This means that sustainable decorations are usually made from natural materials and don’t contain harmful chemicals. Another important defining characteristic of sustainable decorations is that they are not single-use. In other words, the most sustainable decorations are the ones you already have that you can recycle and use year after year. 

Now, it’s totally understandable to want to mix up your decor a little bit every year… which is where our sustainable DIY decor ideas come into play. 

When you’re thinking about making sustainable holiday decorations, a good rule of thumb to keep in mind is to consider what you already have around. 

Look in your kitchen and go foraging in your yard for the elements that can be used to make different pieces. This will ensure that the environmental impact of your decoration revamp stays low and that the holiday vibes in your home stay high!

Why Is Sustainable Holiday Decor Important?

Sustainable holiday decor is important because the holidays are a time of delicious turkey dinners, stockings hung with care, and, unfortunately, lots of harmful environmental practices. 

Between the transit emissions used to get people and gifts where they need to be for the holidays, the gift wrap and wrapping paper used to prepare presents, and all the single-use decor items in the landfill, the holidays can be an environmental nightmare. 

When holiday waste ends up in a landfill, it undergoes bacterial decomposition. Essentially, all those burnt-out lights and tinsel strands start to produce a mixture of harmful greenhouse gases. 

All that said, carpooling with friends and family when you need to travel, cooking zero-waste dinners, and using eco-friendly holiday decor are all simple ways you can break this cycle. 

What Are Some Sustainable Holiday Decoration Ideas?

Hopefully, by now, you’re thinking that an eco-friendly Christmas and Thanksgiving are the way to go. If you are, then check out this section for eight ideas for sustainable holiday decorations. 

1. Glass Jar Candles

There are a few reasons that glass jar candles are a fantastic addition to any sustainable holiday decor plan. 

First, the glass jar used to make the candles can be recycled, unlike other types of lighting decor such as plastic string lights. You can either bring the jars to a recycling facility or recycle them in your home by using them as storage containers or decorative pieces. 

You can also use glass jar candles as part of your dining room table centerpiece. When surrounded by other natural elements, the warm glow from the candles and their irresistible scent will take your holiday tablescape to the next level. 

If you’re looking for a glass jar candle that oozes holiday charm, we’ve got a few ideas for you:

• Apple Cider Smash: This apple cider candle melts together sparkling apple cider, honeycrisp apple, warm donut accord, and cinnamon sugar for a sweet, nostalgic burn. 

• Pumpkin Smash: With pumpkin spice, cinnamon stick, whiskey, and salted maple, this pumpkin candle is perfectly sweet and spicy.

• Lost Claus: Cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and peppered gingerbread blend together to create this sweet, spicy candle that’s ready to spark some drama.

• Old Saint Wick: This holiday candle features Siberian pine, apple blossom, rosemary, jasmine, and fir balsam for a fresh-cut scent that’s merry and bright.

2. Natural Elements

Along with glass jar candles, another important part of sustainable holiday decorating is all of the natural elements that you can incorporate into your decor plan. 

Using real leaves, sticks, wood, greenery, pinecones, and acorns to decorate is a great way to reduce the environmental impact of your decor and make your home feel like a winter wonderland. 

One fun DIY project you can try with natural elements is to make your own handmade wreath. You’ll need to gather several flexible branches, a few springs from your Christmas tree, and some of your favorite natural elements. 

Once you have everything you need, you can start to bend and shape the branches to create a circular shape. From there, layer on the branches of your Christmas tree and attach them to the branches with twine. Blend in different natural elements like pinecones, holly, and different berries for a pop of color. 

3. Bamboo Pieces

If you feel like your holiday season decor isn’t complete without a few wood accents to add some warmth to your home, look for bamboo pieces. 

Bamboo is one of the most sustainable types of wood because it grows so fast. It also doesn’t need fertilizer or to be replanted thanks to the fact that it self-regenerates. 

Taking all of that into consideration, if you’re looking for wooden ornaments or lanterns, try to find some made out of bamboo. It will give your holiday decorations that old-timey charm without the negative environmental impacts associated with using other types of wood. 

4. Cranberries

Another great item to have on hand when you’re trying to DIY your holiday decor is cranberries. Dried cranberries can be added to wreaths, turned into garlands or napkin rings, and placed around candles to add a splash of color. 

You can also make any faux flower feel a little bit more Christmasy by pouring some dried cranberries into the vase before sticking the flowers in. To use fresh cranberries as part of your decor, you can fill a glass container with water, add a few sprigs of greenery and a handful of fresh cranberries, then put in a floating tea candle. Regardless of if you use dried or fresh cranberries, make sure to preserve your cranberries at the end of the holiday season for next year or compost them. 

5. Dried Orange Slice Garlands

Dried orange slice garlands are also fabulous Christmas decorations because they bring a little bit of color to your mantel, door, or wherever you choose to place them. To make one of these garlands, all you have to do is slice a few large oranges and press the slices with a towel to squeeze out as much juice as possible. 

Then, place your slices in the oven for a couple of hours at 250°F until they are baked. 

Next, you’ll want to leave them to dry for a few days on a cooling rack so they can fully harden. Using a thread or twine and a needle, string the slices onto the thread until your garland is as long as you need it to be. Pro tip, these also make great tree decorations in place of tinsel. 

6. Salt Dough Stars

If you want to spruce up your Christmas tree without buying more plastic tree ornaments, look no further than salt dough stars. To make these sweet DIY ornaments, combine flour, salt, and water until you have a dough that is smooth, not sticky. 

Roll your dough out and use a knife or cookie cutter to make different ornament shapes. Don’t forget to use a chopstick to make a hole at the top to hang them. 

Once you’ve baked them in the oven for a couple of hours (making sure to flip them two or three times), leave them out to dry for a few days. You can then paint them, use a string to turn them into ornaments, and hang them on your tree!

7. Cinnamon Sticks

Cinnamon sticks can also be used as sustainable Christmas decorations that look amazing and (bonus points!) smell great, too. Now, there’s a lot of debate as to whether a real Christmas tree or a fake tree is more eco-friendly. 

In truth, there are arguments for both. The decision ultimately comes down to whether there are tree farms in your area, whether you can properly dispose of and compost a real tree, and whether you have space to store and reuse a sustainably made fake tree. 

Regardless of what type of tree you choose, you can use cinnamon sticks to make DIY ornaments and garlands that will add a festive, delicious-smelling touch to your tree. 

8. Scrap Ribbon

Anyone who likes to craft or sew knows that scrap ribbon tends to pile up throughout the year. What if we told you there was an easy way to reuse all those scraps and turn them into upcycled holiday decorations? 

All you have to do is put them in a bin throughout the year, and then when the holidays come around, you’ll have plenty of ornament string and garland thread at your disposal. 

If you aren’t into crafting but love the idea of ribbon accents, look through the decoration section at your local secondhand or thrift store. Often, these stores will sell spools of scrap ribbon that you can use during the holidays. 

Merry, Bright, and Eco-Friendly

The holidays are well-loved for all the gift-giving, visits from Santa, tasty food, and time spent with family. You can make the holidays even better by using some of the easy, eco-friendly decorating tips we’ve outlined in this article. 

Don’t be afraid to put your own spin on each of the decor ideas to make your home feel like your own personal holiday oasis this year.

Sources:

Tips to reduce waste during the holidays | CALPIRG

Climate Change and Travel: Harmonizing to Abate Impact | NIH

Basic Information about Landfill Gas | US EPA

(PDF) Bamboo Material for Sustainable Development: A Systematic Review | ResearchGate