10 Beautiful festive decorations that don’t cost the earth

Whatever you celebrate this summer season – from Hannukah, Dhanu Sankranti, Solstice, Gita Jayanti, Yuletide, Christmas, the Lunar New Year – Year of the Ox, to the birthday of ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, and Laylat al-Mi’raj in March – we know that decorating your house can be fun and bring everyone together over food and tonne of laughter.

The great news is, decorations don’t have to involve buying more stuff. You can keep an eye on the planet and your wallets by getting crafty right at home with items you or your neighbours may already have. Plus it makes for a perfect evening at home enjoying each other’s company.

To inspire your imagination, we’ve chosen 10 of the most simple decorations that everyone can create without having to be a DIY ninja, starting with a popular Kiwi fave…

1. popcorn garlands

This one is an oldie but a goodie and makes for delicious eating while you thread. And yep, it is that simple! Whip up a batch of popcorn and thread away. And of course keep a bowl handy to snack on as you work.

2. Junk mail paper chain

If flyers and junk mail are landing in your letterbox this December we can’t think of a better use for them than making these bright, colourful paper loop garlands. They’re easy to make and perfect way to enjoy a spot of bingewatching. Plus when the season is done, pop them straight in your recycling bin.

3. Get creative with Lego

There is pretty much nothing that can’t be done with Lego, so if you have loads of it at home, get creative by making seasonal decorations to place around your home. You can even make your favourite shapes and hang them up using piece of string.

4. Cardboard roll flowers

All you need is PVA glue and a few handy towel, cling film or foil rolls to make beautiful flowers to adorn any part of your home. Give them a pop of colour with poster paint to really add extra sparkle.

5. Dried citrus decorations

Making cute decorations or garlands from dried citrus for any celebration is cheap, fun, easy, and with lights placed behind them they create a stunning pop of orange and yellow colour. Simply slice lemons, oranges or grapefruit and bake in the oven at a low temperature – around 75 degrees celsius – for 2-4 hours. Once cooled make whatever you want for your home, or as cheerful gifts for friends and neighbours.

6. Christmas card tree

If you don’t want a real life Christmas tree or to buy a fake one, creating a Christmas tree made of cards on a wall can be a heap of fun and be a beautiful reminder of the wonderful people you know. Start with just three cards and build up as you go. It’s great fun for the kids and makes use of the cards you receive without them cluttering a bench top. Keep the cards for next year to make cute decorations like we show below.

7. Salt dough ornaments

Your 2020 baking skills have made you super prepared for this cute decoration: salt dough ornaments. Simply throw 4 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt and 1 1/2 cups of warm water into a bowl. Then mix, knead, roll out and hand cut or use a cookie cutter to create your favourite shapes. Use a straw to make a hole at the top to thread through string so you can hang them when they’re done. Bake in the oven at 150 degrees celsius for around 1 hour (until they are hard and dry). Once they’re cool, and thread string through the holes for a garland or individual decorations. You can get super creative and even paint them if you want!

8. Give last year’s Christmas cards new life

Old cards can be cut to make anything from an adorable and easy wreath, jam jar decorations, Christmas tags or strings of garlands. It makes those single use cards have multiple uses, and they make thoughtful, inexpensive gifts too.

9. Family photo wreath

There is no better way to bring the whole family into your celebration than making decorations using family photos. It’s such an easy idea and is a gorgeous sentimental addition to every special occasion.

10. Rosemary decorations

We have rosemary in abundance in Aotearoa New Zealand so snipping a little bit off a bush to craft into decorations, napkin rings, place names at the table, or to make into pretty objects around the home will not only look great but smell nice too. When they’re done, just pop them in the compost or garden.

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls with Orange Zest

Because we always complete our posts with a delicious recipe, we decided instead of an orange stuffed into the toe of your stocking, use those oranges for these delicious, indulgent Vegan Cinnamon Rolls with Orange Zest. Mmmm!

Grab the recipe here!

 

From our love of Almond Breeze almond milk to yours…

P.S….

Discover more almondlicious recipes by clicking here!