low waste holiday decor making our spirits bright

I’m one of those people that wants my home filled with Christmas spirit right after Thanksgiving through the beginning parts of January. Figuring out how to change it up each year and what I may want to add to my “inventory” (aka storage) can quickly become overwhelming. Added to that is a really strong desire to make the holidays as low waste as possible. Between all of the decor, food and gifts there’s potential for a lot of things to end up in the landfill by the time the season is over, so we’ve rounded up some of our favorite low waste holiday items to bring a little extra joy this season.

Decor

I try not to buy many new holiday decorations each year, but it’s also fun to build a collection over time that you can style in different ways. Below are some of the items I’ve made in years past or had my eye on.

1. Ornaments - all made of natural materials:

   • MOMA Modern Women

   • Hand Turned Wooden Tree Ornaments

   • Wool felt Santa Ornaments

2. Garland:

   • Pre-made felt ball garland (ethically made, natural materials)

   • DIY felt ball garland (ethically made, natural materials)

*(I much prefer to make my own so I can choose exactly which colors I want, which is usually a tonal blend mixed with some neutrals in the 2.5 or 3cm size)

• DIY dried citrus garland (local maker)

3. Trees to top your mantle, shelf or sideboard:

• Paper Accordian Trees (USA Made!)

• Book Pages Trees

• Handmade Bottle Brush Trees (Ethically made, Shop Local)

• Farmhouse Pottery Tree Collections (Ethically made in the USA, natural materials)

Candles

Candles are great in that they don’t need to be very holiday specific, you can find them in a huge variety of shapes and sizes and in the darkest days of winter they set a magical mood especially when mixed throughout your other holiday decorations. We prioritize candles made of natural waxes like soy & beeswax. Candles made of petroleum wax (like paraffin) are worse for your indoor air quality and typically have much shorter burn times . I also prefer unscented; most candle fragrances are disruptive to your body’s endocrine system. 

• Tapered Candle Pairs (Shop Local)

• Greentree Home Josee Pillars

• Drop Candles (Shop Local)

• Kobi Co. (Shop Local, Woman/ BIPOC Owned)

Pillow Covers

One of the only decor items I consistently rotate throughout the year are my pillow covers. This is because they are super easy to store and I can mix and match throughout the house to create a seasonal style. When it comes to holiday pillows I like to focus on color and some pattern rather than words and phrases or a holiday specific print.

• Faribault Woolen Mill Stripe Pillow Cover (Shop Local)

• IKEA Sanela

• Ski Slope Pillow Cover

Gift Wrap

Many people don’t know that traditional gift wrap is not recyclable. When you think about the quantity of gifts wrapped and given just amidst people you know that’s a huge amount of waste in the landfill. Below are some of our favorite reusable, recycled & recyclable alternatives. Instead of adorning gifts with ribbons typically made of plastics, look for those made with natural fibers like cotton, hemp or jute. You can also add pieces of fresh greenery or dried citrus for a beautiful finishing touch.

• Gifty Wrap (Shop Local, Woman/BIPOC owned)

• Stone Wrapping Paper

• 100% Recycled & Recyclable Kraft Paper

• Organic, Reusable Cloth Gift Wrap

Plants

This is my main spending category when it comes to holiday decorating each year. I love fresh green wreaths, evergreen trees, window boxes and garland. The best part is that it all goes in the compost when we’re done so it comes very close to zero waste if you’re buying local.

1. Locally Grown Christmas Trees (within an hour drive of Minneapolis):

   • Petersen Tree Farm

   • St. Croix Valley Trees

   • B&J Evergreen

2. Boughs, branches & plants for vases, wreaths, pots & natural garland:

   • Mother Earth Gardens - premade or DIY supplies with instructions

   • Bachman’s