Natural Decorating For The Holidays

Natural Decorating For The Holidays

How We Decorate Naturally for Holidays

In our rather sprawling 1750 colonial with its wide plank floors and beamed ceilings, simple natural holiday decorations from nature are appropriate for the period of the house, smell good, are inexpensive, and provide a great opportunity to exercise some creativity. 

To brighten up the dining room, we set up a branch tree in an old metal milk container.  We used two branches, each about 5-1/2 feet tall wired together, and simply stuffed them into the milk jug with enough rocks to hold the branches steady. Then came the fun part.  My granddaughter and I studded oranges with cloves (use an awl to pre-punch the holes for the cloves) and ran a thin wire through them for hanging. We strung cranberries for garlands, and we baked ornaments made from applesauce and cinnamon. We rolled out the "dough" and cut out hearts, gingerbread men, and stars (using a straw to polk a hole for hanging) and baked them. To hang them on our branch tree we tied a 

loop using a pretty red satin cord. We also tied on some red and white gingham bows and poked in cotton balls for a bit of snow.  We added a 

few handmade gingerbread men trimmed with rick rack, cinnamon sticks, and tiny red balls. Despite it's height, this tree adds color and charm without overwhelming the space. You could also add small paper snowflakes, some dried flowers, and birds.  The possibilities are endless and best of all it's a great project for kids.

The natural look also carried over tothe dining room table, where a long simple burlap runner provided the base forthis year's design. In the center of the table I placed a large ceramic rooster, and at his feet I added a burlap bow, some holly sprigs, and a few dried heads of sedum autumn joy. I then added candles (naturally), silver and glass dishes  filled with red rose hips, more oranges studded with cloves, potpourri, dried citrus peel, and a few red glass ornaments.  To complete the look I plan to add some small boxes wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with jute.  What fun!  I hope I have given you some ideas for using what is available in nature for your Christmas decorating.