Deck the Halls!

One of the principle tenets of craftiness is that almost anything can be turned into a picture frame, clock, candleholder, or lamp. What better way to honor a “green” holiday season than by decorating your indoor environment with recycled and hand-crafted decorations?

One of the best ways to find festive décor is to visit local art and craft fairs. The supplies are often locally-harvested, supporting local artists and purchasing materials that don’t require shipping over long distances.

Another fun way to bring “green” into your home is to do it literally with natural materials collected from the outdoors. Evergreens, seed pods, pine cones, and other plant materials can be added to almost anything to give it a holiday theme. Add a few ribbons from last year’s gifts or other baubles from around the house and you will not only benefit the environment, but your wallet as well. In addition, many of these products are great for kids so you can begin some new family holiday traditions that will instill a conservation ethic that can last a lifetime.

Use live greenery as decor. Rosemary, thyme and sage are all evergreen, wonderfully fragrant and can be used to season recipes all year long. Other fragrant herbs include basil, chamomile, lavender and mint. And small, living evergreen trees can be later planted in your yard for year-round beauty. Using live plants also reduces the fire risks that come with cut greenery, which can become dry by the end of the holiday season.

Decorate with edibles you can enjoy later. Bowls of nuts or fruits, colorful squash, pomegranates, whole pineapples and more can create a festive look that’s later useful – and healthful – as well. While not quite as nutritious, a homemade gingerbread house can be both attractive and tasty too.

Create a fragrant holiday home with natural scents and oils. Rather than using potpourri sprays and traditional scented candles, sprinkle a couple of drops of a natural, essential oil like cedarwood, rose or sandalwood on pinecones or dried flowers (note: don’t apply undiluted essential oils directly to the skin as they can cause severe irritation). If you prefer candles, go with the more eco-friendly soy or beeswax varieties, which don't rely on petroleum-based paraffin. And, of course, there’s always the traditional way to make a home smell welcoming: baking cookies, pies or other invitingly aromatic goodies.

To warm a hearth, should you do a real or fake fire? Duraflame® announced last week that its logs, made of sawdust and castoff nut shells, will use plant-based wax, potentially saving 100 million pounds of petroleum each year. In addition, these logs improve indoor and outdoor air quality by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases that are released by burning traditional cordwood, natural gas, or even other wax logs. Another alternative is the Java Log®, which packs coffee grounds in a renewable, natural vegetable wax and 100% recycled packaging. Not only does this log save trees, but it reduces landfill contributions by diverting 20 million pounds/year of coffee waste that would ordinarily be thrown away.

Many of these decorating ideas provide a great opportunity to spend time with your family, creating holiday items for your home. Kids home for the holidays? Occupy their time making one-of-a-kind ornaments for your home. They will e proud of their contribution to the holiday effort, and you will have a tree that's the talk of the town! In the end, all of these options will create a cozy holiday atmosphere, without destroying the earth's!