source: Wikimedia ; CC license
The holiday season is a time to reflect on our riches. They come in the form of friends, family, and happiness, but the gifts aren’t bad either. Though, along with these treasures, there is a cost to Christmas. Between presents, meals, and cards, Christmas comes with a hefty price tag. If you’re looking to limit the impact on your actual wealth and still indulge in holiday abundance, try some homemade, recycled Christmas decorations.
Aluminum Snowflakes – Whether it’s a can of soda or a can of Dad’s favorite lager, you can take old cans and transform them into snowflakes. All you need are scissors, patterns, and a few minutes. There are many patterns online, and before you know it, your old cans will be recast as snowflake shaped ornaments, candle holders, or picture frames.
Lightbulb Reindeer – Ever pulled out a strand of Christmas lights only to find they don’t work? In this case, a great way to repurpose burnt bulbs is to glue on some googly eyes, fix a fuzzy red ball on the tip, add some pipe cleaner antlers, and finish with a tree hook. Precious reindeer ornament, or most precious reindeer ornament ever?
CD Photo Ornament – Depending on your age, you’ve probably looked at a stack of old CDs and thought, “what am I going to do with you?” Fear not, these shiny discs can be upcycled into charming, reflective picture ornaments. Pick your favorite photo of a loved one, create a felt border, attach it to the shiny side, and add a ribbon to hang it from the tree. Personal, easy, perfect.
Wine Cork Wreath – We all like a nice glass of wine, and the corks do stack up, but this Christmas you can use your corks toward a very festive end. With the left over corks you can glue them in the shape of a candy cane, a wreath, or even a Christmas tree. Run short on corks? A new bottle won’t hurt.
Christmas Card Banner – Have some old cards from years past? Have more cards than will fit on the mantle? Pull twine from one end of the room to the other, grab a few clothespins, and hang your cards on the line. It creates a magical Christmas atmosphere and doubles as a tribute to the loved ones you think of during the holidays.
Gather the family around, get out the glue, make sure their enough scissors for everyone, and transform your home into a Christmas wonderland with items that would have gone in the bin. And for any leftover rubbish, call Rubbish Please. The folks at Rubbish Please will load their sleigh with your unwanted refuse and make sure it finds its way home.
