How to Liven Your Holiday Decor With Natural Elements

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Want to do something different for the holidays? Why not try some natural Christmas decorations this year?

Natural Elements

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Find these materials in your own backyard for pretty holiday decor:

• Evergreens
• Nuts
• Sweetgum balls
• Pinecones
• Acorns
• Berries on branches
• Curly willow
• Red twig dogwood
• Birch branches
• Feathers

Ever since the tradition began of placing evergreen trees in our homes at Christmas, people have been stringing cranberries and popcorn to make a resourceful and pretty tree garland. Use waxed dental floss, a sharp needle, fresh cranberries and popcorn for this project. Now add dried flowers, grasses and fruit to the tree, along with strings of clear lights for a holiday masterpiece.

You can also decorate your tree or mantle with dried apples. Slice them paper-thin in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 150-degree oven for 30 minutes. For dried citrus, place thinly sliced pieces on a wire rack in a baking sheet in a 200-degree oven until dry to touch.

Need some other ideas? A Norfolk Island pine or evergreen branches in a weighted container may be used if your space is limited.

Adorn a green wreath with pinecones, flowers and a holiday bow. Or bedeck a pine wreath with candy canes and wrapped candy attached with colorful yarn or hot glue. Don’t forget the bow. Make a wreath with thinly cut wood slices or out of dried apples using a purchased base.

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For the banister, red twig dogwood branches, fresh evergreens, red berries and pinecones held together with thin florist wire and topped with a bow is very pretty.

Don’t forget to decorate the table! I use a beveled-edge mirror on the table to reflect fresh spruce sprigs, candles of different sizes and dried flowers for a centerpiece.
Try using a three-tiered cupcake plate filled with assorted decorations on an end table. Add fragrance to any of your Christmas displays with cinnamon sticks or a spice bundle.

Use tree tops or branches in planters and window boxes, trimmed with pinecones, ornaments and ribbons for a festive entry.

These ideas will help you create unusual and unique natural holiday
decorations from nature’s bounty.