Upcycling: 9 sustainable decorations for Christmas

A white Christmas… We look forward to it eagerly every year. But who says a ‘green Christmas’ can’t have just as much charm? Here’s how to celebrate Christmas in a green way, with an extra touch of ecology and sustainability. To get started, you just need some discarded packaging. Transforming old cardboard and Co into new Christmas decorations? Here’s how to get started!

Nine ways to reuse packaging for Christmas

► 1. The pot(t)ing advent calendar

What you need. ⇒ Pet jar with screw lid, spray paint, baubles, labels, string and pine branches

Many may forget… but a real Christmas involves an advent calendar. If you want to be original, you can get started with PET jars. Make sure you have 24 empty jars: for 1 to 24 December. You then give each jar a lick of paint. To apply the paint evenly, it is best to use a spray can.

Spray the paint from 20-30 cm onto the jar. It is best to do this outside and use hand and mouth protection. Then it is time to decorate. Use baubles, pine branches or pieces of string, for example. Finally, hang a label from 1 to 24 on each jar. Don’t forget to fill all the jars with a surprise such as candy, a gift or a chamois-sweet text. That way you can enjoy the contents every day until Christmas

► 2. The cup reindeer

What do you need? ⇒ Cardboard drinking cups, brown spray paint, glue stick, scissors, googly eyes, pipe cleaners and red pompoms

Are you an avid coffee drinker? Then you probably often use cardboard drinking cups. Perfect! Because that’s just what we need. Take your drinking cups, paint them brown and let them dry for a few hours. If you use spray paint, it’s best to do this in a well-ventilated area (preferably outside) with a mouth mask on.

Next, start on the reindeer face. Use a glue stick to stick the googly eyes and the red pompom on the cup. Then use scissors to cut the pipe cleaners to length for the antlers. Finally, poke a hole on each side of the cup to attach the pipe cleaners. Your reindeer is ready!

► 3. Christmas around a bottle

What do you need? ⇒ Glass bottles, red and white yarn, branches and decorations

Take some empty glass bottles and wrap them with yarn. This will immediately give them a different look. To get totally into the Christmas spirit, you can combine red and white, for example. Remember: the thicker the yarn, the faster the work progresses. Add a few decorated branches at the end and no one will recognise your empty wine bottles.

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► 4. More than a plastic bag

What do you need? ⇒ Coloured plastic bags

Do you still have colourful plastic bags that could use a second life? Then transform them into original packaging for your gift! If you like, you can turn the bags inside out so that only the plain inside is visible. Add a bow and you’re done!

► 5. Rudolf, the carton-nosed reindeer

What do you need? ⇒ Cardboard and cutter

What would Santa be without his reindeer… Would you like to add Rudolf to your Christmas decorations? Then take a piece of cardboard to go with it. With a cutter, cut out the legs, torso and antlers from the cardboard. Then cut grooves in the cut-out figures so you can slide the pieces together. Of course, you can always finish them off with paint or glitter. That is entirely up to you. You can also work with cardboard for other Christmas figures. Christmas trees, baubles, snowmen… with a little imagination, anything is possible.

► 6. The most hygienic snowman

What do you need? ⇒ Toilet rolls, white paint, pipe cleaners, felt, glue, pompoms and markers

Definitely don’t throw away the cardboard roll of your toilet paper because it can still serve as… snowman!? To start with, paint the toilet roll completely white. You sometimes need several layers to do this. Then you can start decorating. As you can see in the picture below, you can use a strip of felt as a scarf.

As an ear warmer, you can use pipe cleaners and pompoms. Stick everything on with a little glue. Finally, finish this Christmas decoration by drawing the snowman’s face on the white roll – or simply print a face and glue it onto the roll afterwards.

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► 7. The roller wreath

What do you need? ⇒ Toilet rolls, paint (red, green, etc.), glue and scissors

Any toilet rolls left over? Great! We can use those to make a Christmas wreath. First we are going to give the toilet rolls a suitable colour. Besides green or red, you can also choose silver, gold and so on. As long as it just suits your interior. Once the paint is dry, cut the rolls into ‘slices’ with long scissors.

Now slightly flatten the discs until they have a more oval shape. Then you just have to start gluing. First make stars from about 5 to 6 discs. Once you have enough, you can glue them together until you have a wreath. What a visit to the toilet is good for…

► 8. The clipped window decoration

What do you need? ⇒ Plain cardboard, scissors, chalk marker

Start by cutting out a pattern in a plain piece of cardboard. You can choose the shape of a star, Christmas ball, Christmas tree, etc. You then use that template to draw a picture on a window. It’s best to use (white) chalk marker for this. Have you finished? Then attach a piece of string to the cardboard template and hang it in front of your window. A simple and successful window decoration for Christmas!

► 9. The shredded bauble

What do you need? ⇒ Coloured padding chips and transparent baubles

If you had any coloured stuffing snippets left over from a luxury package, don’t throw them away straight away. Otherwise, use them to fill up those boring transparent baubles and transform them into something truly unique.

Source images:
www.diycarinchen.de/2019/11/diy-upcycling-adventskalender-aus-alten-glaesern-einfach-selber-machen/
www.youbrewmytea.com/reindeer-k-cup-christmas-decor-idea/
www.allfreeholidaycrafts.com/Christmas-Ideas/Festive-Upcycled-Christmas-Bottles/
www.thatbaldchick.com/toilet-roll-snowman/
www.salvagesisterandmister.com/upcycle-christmas-ideas/
www.wonderfuldiy.com/wonderful-diy-unique-christmas-wreath-from-paper-rolls/