You can use sharing ideas to prepare for the holidays - instead of buying sets of garlands and balloons every year, try sharing Christmas toys with family and friends. Then the tree and the house will look new every year without additional costs. The annoying toys can be sold or donated to a charity fair. And you don't have to spend money on buying a festive dress - you can pick up an outfit in a second-hand shop or exchange it with a friend.
Idea number 1: garlands of diodes
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The traditional Christmas tree garland of colorful lights was created by Edward Johnson, an engineer and business partner of Thomas Edison. The official birthday of the invention is December 22, 1882, when Johnson collected and lit the first garland. Jewelry became popular 30 years later - in the 1920s - and since then has remained one of the symbols of the winter holidays. Try to use modern eco-technologies and replace the garlands with ordinary light bulbs with LEDs. They save up to 80% energy and last 10 times longer. Try turning off lights at night and when no one is at home, or set a timer to help conserve energy.
Idea number 2: candlesticks from jars
Small glass jars of preserves, jams and pickles can be decorated with ribbons, a branch of mountain ash or holly and put a tea candle inside - you get unusual candlesticks. You can make an eco-garland out of them - for this you need to tie each jar on top with a piece of twine to make loops, securely fasten a thick strong branch of a tree and hang candlesticks.
Idea # 3: candy toys
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The tradition of decorating a Christmas tree for Christmas appeared in Germany in the 16th century and remained unchanged for almost four centuries - the holiday tree was decorated with sweets, nuts, ribbons and candles. Candies in beautiful wrappers, chocolate medals, fruits, caramel canes and gingerbread with multi-colored glaze today can become an alternative to typical factory toys. And from such ornaments, sweet gifts will be obtained that can be removed from the tree and handed to guests.
Idea # 4: sock snowmen
You can make funny snowmen from unpaired socks. To do this, you need to cut the thing into two parts. The upper part is the base for the snowman. It must be turned inside out, secured well at one end with an elastic band, stuffed about ⅔ with dry rice and tied with another elastic band to make a ball. Then also form a second smaller ball - this is the head of the snowman. The eyes and nose can be drawn with a marker, sewn or glued to the bottom ball of the buttons, and a scarf can be made from a piece of fabric. And from the rest of the sock, you get a hat-cap.
In addition, toys can be sewn from bright scraps of old clothes and leftover fabric and decorated with beads, colored buttons and sequins. These toys are impossible to break, so they are suitable for those with small children and pets.
Idea number 5: cardboard stars
Old postcards will make an unusual Christmas wreath. You can take a ready-made base - a foam ring - or weave a circle of wire yourself. Then you need to cut out carved leaves from the cards, repeating, for example, the contours of the holly, pin or glue them to the base to hide it completely.
Old gift bags, wrapping paper, illustrated magazines, and wallpaper scraps are great material for Christmas tree decorations, garlands and flags. And from the remains of cardboard with the help of glue and a stapler, you can make Christmas stars, snowflakes and lanterns on the windows.
Idea # 6: cone deer
Toys can be made from twigs and pine cones collected while walking. If you tie flaps of colored ribbon to the branch trim, one above the other, you get a decorative Christmas tree. It is necessary to glue the knots and cut the ends of the bands to shape the toy. And if you take a cinnamon stick as a base instead of a branch, the Christmas tree will be fragrant.
Glass glasses and scented candle molds will make festive candlesticks. To do this, you need to glue the containers on the outside with small rods, cut them to the required length and tie the candlestick with tape. And from cones, acorns, bark and maple seeds, you can make Santa's owls or deer.
Idea number 7: pasta tree
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From pasta of various shapes, painted with gold, silver and scarlet paints, you get stars, snowflakes, figurines of angels or a small Christmas tree.
Tangerines can be decorated with carnation stars and hung on a Christmas tree, or you can make a composition: put the fruit together with pomegranate seeds or cranberries in a transparent vase. In addition, you can make toys from tied cinnamon sticks or collect beads from berries - for example, from mountain ash. Also, if ready-made popcorn is dried for a couple of days and then strung on threads, you will get "snow" garlands. Alternatively, toys can be baked using a mixture of salt (250 g), flour (500 g) and water (250 ml). You need to knead the dough, roll it out between two sheets of parchment and cut out the toys using molds. Each cookie must be pre-drilled with a hole for fastening and baked at 120 degrees for about three hours. Then cool the toys and thread them through the holes with strings or trims.>