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🎄 Natural Christmas decorations to make on a winter walk

Some of the most beautiful Christmas decorations do not come from a shop at all. A crisp walk in the woods or the park, a basket of pine cones and twigs, and an afternoon at the kitchen table can fill the house with decorations that look lovely and smell wonderful.

Natural decorations are also cheap, kind to the planet, and go straight onto the compost heap in January.

Foraging, the friendly way

  • Pick up, don't pull. Collect fallen pine cones, twigs and leaves from the ground rather than cutting living plants.
  • Ask first on private land, and follow the rules in parks and nature reserves.
  • Leave plenty behind. Birds and small animals rely on berries and seeds in winter.
  • Watch out for berries. Holly, mistletoe and ivy berries are poisonous if eaten. Admire them outside, or keep them high out of reach of small children and pets.
  • Wash hands when you get home.

Ideas to try

  • Orange slice garland for the tree or a window. The light shines through them beautifully.
  • Pine cone family: little faces drawn on paper circles, glued to the cones.
  • Twig tree: a bunch of bare branches in a jar, hung with paper stars and salt dough decorations.
  • Winter table runner: ivy, pine cones and a few clementines along the middle of the Christmas table.

For little helpers

Small children love the collecting part most of all. Give them their own bag and a "treasure list" to tick off: a big pine cone, a small pine cone, a twig shaped like a Y, a really crunchy leaf.

Steps

  1. Go for a winter walk with a bag or basket and collect fallen pine cones, twigs, small branches and seed heads from the ground.
  2. At home, shake the pine cones and leave them on a tray in a warm room for a day or two so they open up and any small creatures can find their way out.
  3. Dried orange slices: slice 2 oranges about 5 mm thick, pat them dry with kitchen paper, lay them on a rack over a baking tray and dry them in the oven at 100°C (80°C fan, gas mark 1/4) for 2-3 hours, turning every hour, until dry and slightly translucent.
  4. Twig stars: lay five straight twigs of the same length into a star shape and tie each point with string or garden twine.
  5. Pine cone decorations: tie a ribbon around the top of each cone, dab the tips with white paint for snow, and hang them on the tree.
  6. Ivy and evergreen garland: a grown-up cuts a few lengths of ivy, fir or other evergreens and lays them along a mantelpiece or windowsill, tucked with pine cones and orange slices.
  7. Thread dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves onto string with a darning needle (a grown-up job) to make a garland.
  8. Display everything away from candles and heaters, as dried decorations catch fire easily.

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