I take advantage of having a little more time after the season to tinker with little presents for my grandchildren and to feed the Advent calendar. And I wanted to share my creations with you, who will also be able to make a nice handmade Christmas decoration. Here are some handmade Christmas decoration ideas.
>>> By the way, here is our selection of eco-friendly, committed and local Christmas gifts. <<<
You can take advantage of the winter holidays to organise a family workshop. You will need simple things, and this will be an opportunity for a family outing to collect them. Or you can enjoy preparing them in secret, and surprise your beloved at Christmas, or other occasions!
1. Cork fir tree
During the holidays, we often open a lot of bottles. So I collect the corks to make pretty Christmas trees? At home, it’s local sparkling wie: Belle-Cécile from the Clos de l’Abbé Dubois, or the sparkling from the Domaine de Bréchon. Drink in moderation, of course, but I recommend them!
Then I crochet wool from Ardelaine, a committed cooperation, in the heart of our department which is worth a visit, if you don’t know it.
You will easily find ideas and tutorials on Pinterest to make this tree, an entire forest… or any other handmade Christmas decoration!
2. Name pebble magnets
To start with, I collect small pebbles on the banks of the Ardèche, sometimes by the sea, and I store them! This time, they will be used to compose my grand children’s first names. I cut out the letters from newspapers or magazines. Here, I used a paper published by Voyageons autrement, which promotes sustainable tourism, whose values we share 100%!
Then I stick a magnet on the back, and all I have to do is find a fridge! Here, I have installed my creation in a 2-person suite of the shared hamlet À bicyclette.
Moreover, the winter sun is super pleasant behind the large bay windows, or on the terrace.
3. Homemade lavender candles
In the summer, among other workshops, we offer to make super local candles from the oil of our deep fryer. It’s a great way to recycle it and that way it’s used twice!
Here is the recipe:
- 80% frying oil from our restaurant carefully filtered,
- 20% beeswax from the Miellerie des garrigues,
- a little lavender essential oil from the Domaine de Mermès,
- all in small jars, reused of course.
To decorate it, I covered it with a corn leaf from my daughter’s garden. But it could just as well have come from my son’s vegetable garden, an organic market garden: Les Jardins d’Armel.
A string to fix it, and a small ceramic of my own making to finish it all off!
4. Merry Christmas!
An easy tutorial to finish off your handmade Christmas decorations. For this one, I used a cork oak bark. I agree with you, I didn’t find this bark on the banks of the Ardèche.
Then I cut out the letters from the latest Kaizen (directly linked to our article “20 eco-friendly, ethical and zero waste gift ideas”). In fact, as I didn’t have the heart to cut out the cover, I photocopied just the part that was useful to me. But you can recycle old newspapers and magazines and still keep the last issue intact. You can always cut it out next year, or offer it to other readers.
Happy Holidays!
– Agnès
