Eco-Christmas Decor

Happy Holidays wanderers!

It’s crunch time for holiday prep. Here are two fun and eco-friendly ways you can spruce up your holiday decorating

Homemade Wreaths

In order to get our Christmas tree to fit in it’s stand, we had to trim some branches off of the bottom. It felt a shame to put these branches to waste! I thought, why not make a wreath? You can find a metal wreath ring at your local craft store and you can reuse it for years to come. I carefully tucked my evergreen branches into the ring and added some pizzazz with other greenery found in my yard including some holly and pampas grass. I finished it off with a piece of ribbon which was also discarded from our tree decorating.

Orange & Rosemary Garland

This garland is perfect for your kitchen windows! Preparing this decoration will fill your home with a warm citrus smell. You will need oranges, rosemary, and garden wire. Slice your oranges very thinly using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Align them on a baking sheet and dehydrate them in the oven at 200 °F for about four hours. Check on them periodically to make sure they don’t burn. The baking time may vary depending on the thickness of your slices. You may also consider sprinkling sugar on your oranges to make more of a candied effect. If you own a dehydrator, of course this works as well.

When your oranges are finished and cooled you can assemble. I found it is best to weave your wire through two holes in each orange, that way your oranges will face forward and be less likely to slide around. Try to weave it so that the majority of the wire hides behind the orange. After each orange slice, wrap your wire around a piece of rosemary. Continue the pattern until your garland is the length you desire and hang! I love this idea because it is super customizable. You can use any type of citrus, any type of greenery, and you can substitute twine or any other variation of rope for the garden wire. I found the garden wire helpful because it could poke right through the oranges. If you use another kind of rope you may need a hole puncher or a needle.

That’s all for now. Happy decorating!

Wander often & wonder always,