Step outdoors for decorations, gifts
The Christmas season is usually a time when people pack stores and malls in search of the perfect present or that missing decoration that will make their home shout “Happy Holidays.”
But for some, the season isn't a time to head to the store. It's the time to head outside in search of natural materials most of us walk right by without a second thought.
For those people, a pinecone can be a Christmas canvas.
Brandi Miller-Parrish, an environmental educator at Jennings Environmental Education Center, 2951 Prospect Road in Brady Township, has been working for years with natural and recyclable items to create Christmas wonders out of weeds, sticks and almost anything else you can find outdoors.
“Why spend a tremendous amount of money buying new decorations year after year, when you can simply go outside, collect natural items, and turn those things into decorations?” Miller-Parrish said. “One, it saves you money; two, it's sustainable; and three, it can be an artistic outlet for you.”
Miller-Parrish said what started out as an experiment and way to start some public Christmas craft clinics has actually crept into her yearly Christmas season routine.
“I'm kind of moving from the typical, shiny Christmas decorations to a more natural route,” Miller-Parrish said. “Since I've started doing more natural decoration programs, I find myself leaning more toward natural decorating.”
Miller-Parrish said she finds the activities more rewarding than simply going out each year to buy new Christmas decorations. The process of deciding what you want to make, and then spending time collecting the items you'll need is also a way to spend quality time with friends and family, she said.
“You can choose what you want to make, and you have to go outside to gather it. You spend time outside; you spend time together,” Miller-Parrish said.
She said some of her favorite items to make include apple-cinnamon Christmas tree ornaments, garlands created using dehydrated oranges, and milkweed pod stars, which she creates by gluing the pods together to create designs which are then decorated with different types of seeds.
You can also substitute other materials, like hemlock cones, if you want to give your designs a different look, said Miller-Parrish.
And be sure not to overlook store-bought natural items, like oranges and apples. Dried oranges can create a nice centerpiece for any Christmas table display, or, like Miller-Parrish, you can string them together to make lightweight garlands for your home and Christmas tree.
By combining dried apples and cinnamon sticks you can create apple cinnamon Christmas ornaments, Miller-Parrish said. People can also create ornaments by using the seed of a sweet gum tree and toothpicks. The combination creates a natural starburst pattern that doesn't even require a hanger to be displayed on your Christmas tree.
“They just kind of stick there,” Miller-Parrish said.
Other natural Christmas craft ideas include mapleseed dragonflies, twig vases and tin can snowflake ornaments that people can make substituting cardboard materials if they're concerned about injuries during construction.
And if you want to take things a step further, you can follow Miller-Parrish's lead and use the crafting time to create Christmas presents for people on your list this year.
“I like the idea of presents not just being something you go and purchase,” Miller-Parrish said.
“I really like having a hand in creating them out of things that you already have. To me that means a lot more, because you're taking the time to create it, you're thinking of them as you're doing it, and it's something they can treasure for years.”
Miller-Parrish said people shouldn't overlook or discount the environmentally-friendly aspects of the natural Christmas crafts either.
“It's sustainable; whatever is left over you can compost or throw out. You're not using petroleum products that are maybe used in a lot of common things that you would purchase at a store,” she said.
“It's good for you (and) it's good for the environment.”
