Christmas 2023: Two art lovers reveal how to make DIY eco-friendly home decor

Painted cardboard from old toy boxes can make for fun Christmas centrepieces

DIY with your kids
Meryl Remedios, artist at @theturquoisebrushin

1 Handprinted hanger: PAINT a bauble with your child's handprint. Note the year next to the handprint to transform it into a nice keepsake. You can even turn the print into animal faces.

2 Cardboard magic: Cut out triangles from old toy and shoe boxes, and paint them. Stick them upright on a base to create a Christmas centrepiece [top]. Try this with different shapes like a snowman, wrapped presents, gingerbread house and more.

3 Bauble wreath: Create a wreath from old baubles and used Christmas decor. This is a fun way to reuse old ornaments. Stick them onto a circular base and hang them on your door.

4 Homemade wrapping paper: Instead of buying wrapping paper, design one with scrap art paper and brown bags. This is a fun family activity where everyone can paint and decorate their own paper to wrap gifts.

Tree ornaments made of DIY clay

5 DIY clay: Instead of using polymer clay and other products that might be unsafe for kids, mix a little flour, salt and water to form homemade clay dough. Shape and mould them into tree ornaments and other decor items. Bake it at 250 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes to an hour till it hardens. Paint and hang them up.

6 Suncatcher glow: Perfect with scrap paper, these suncatchers can be added to window frames to light up your house during the day. Use leftover cardboard for the frame and transparent colour paper for the stained-glass effect.

7 Hot chocolate parcels: Add instant cocoa drink powder in a sealed bag and marshmallows in another. Stick them to a paper or cardboard cut-out of a mug. These can be perfect mini gifts or decorations around the house till it's time to make hot cocoa.

Take the recycle road
Analisa Noronha, content writer and artist

1 Bauble crib: I found a broken bauble and instead of throwing it out, I decided to make a crib. I used pliers to expand the hole and lined up the sharp edges with a glue gun. Paint the bauble if needed. Fill the inside with hay or jute. Then, simply place figurines from the nativity scene into it and add a bow.

A bauble crib by Noronha

2 Personal touch: In memory of my late father, I used his old flight attendant badge as a tree ornament by adding a wire handle. You can do this with heirlooms, small gifts and keepsakes.

3 Nutcracker dolls 2.0: These dolls can be quite expensive. Instead, buy a wooden model doll from a craft store and paint it using acrylic colours. I also used tassels for hair. A few of these bunched together make for lovely table decor.

A nutcracker made from a reused doll

4 Bauble updo: Beatrice Potter's books have lovely illustrations that she made. I took cut-outs of these pictures from torn second-hand books and stuck them on a bauble [above] to add a fairy tale touch to my tree decorations.

5 Starry idea: Instead of buying a plastic star, make your own origami star using gold paper.

DIY and eco-friendly decor

DIY paper craft Christmas tree
LOG ON TO in.skygoodies.co
COST Rs 499

Upcycled cloth bunting
LOG ON TO usemeworks.com
COST Rs 1,200

Zero-waste star Christmas ornaments
LOG ON TO houseofekam.com
COST Rs 250

Multicolour paper star wall hanging by The Good Route
LOG ON TO amala.earth
COST Rs 488

Eco-friendly seed paper ornaments
LOG ON TO brownliving.in
COST Rs 250

Also Read: Mumbai Christmas shopping guide: Curated list of places to bring home stunning decor items