How to make eco-friendly xmas baubles for just pennies

We love Christmas. The decorations go up at the beginning of December in our home so it's nearly time to put them up and I can't wait. 

Over the 30 days of November, lots of Xmas decorations are being made by children to decorate their homes this festive season. And this year thanks to this Kid Made Christmas Decorations initiative by Mum in the Mad House, we have some new additions to add to our traditional decorations - Eco-friendly and frugal Xmas Pine Cone Baubles. 




A Green Christmas

Christmas can be difficult for anyone who considers themselves an environmentally conscious person. So much paper is thrown away from Christmas cards, gift wrappings and bags. Trees are cut down to use as living room decor for only a few weeks - if you have a real tree you can check if it's from a sustainable source - and so many cheap plastic ornaments fill shopping baskets. To counter some of this consumerism you can make your own baubles to help make your Christmas celebration greener. And they are so easy to make that your children can actually do it for you.



Pine cones are frequently used in decorations at Christmas, but many people buy pine cones, spending their hard-earned cash on processed and preserved pine cones. But you can pick your own, as they say. Not only is it friendlier on your wallet but these natural decorative pieces are friendlier for the environment too.

Eco-friendly and Frugal Xmas Pine Cone Baubles


We have been collecting pine cones for a while, always meaning to make something out of them. 



So eco-friendly frugal baubles are what we have made.

What you will need:


It's really easy and all you need is a willing child and:
  • Pine cones
  • Ribbon (ours had been used to wrap gifts and saved in our things to re-use box)
  • Ready to use non-toxic paint
  • Paintbrush
  • Paint Pots


How to make pine cone baubles:


It is really simple and lots of fun so here is how we made them.

1. Dust off the pine cones so that the paint will stick to the pine cone and not flake off.

2. Choose your paint. We had silver and gold glitter paint already. A standard red paint and made green from the tubes of blue and yellow paint.

3. Carefully paint the pine cones with a paintbrush and leave to dry.




4. Cut ribbon into 10 cm strips. My youngest is now 8 so could cut the ribbon himself, but younger children may need assistance.

5. When dry, attach one ribbon to each pine cone by creating a loop in the middle and pulling tight to form a knot. Then tie the loose ends together. This can be a bit fiddly, but actually, little fingers find it easier.



And they are done.



Now we just have to wait a couple more days to put the decorations up!

Do let me know if you try making these?

Deb x

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