School holidays! AHHHH! And Christmas ones at that! Needing the house to look a little more festive and the kids to do something that doesn’t involve a screen? Try these activities to kill two birds with one stone. It might even give you time to prep the turkey for roasting! (Or lay on the couch – no judgement here). Best of all you should have everything you need already laying about the house; unless you’ve recently joined the minimalist movement – and, if so – send your non procrastinating self to my front door stat!
- Eucalyptus Wreath
You’ll need – a paper plate, leaves (eucalyptus work great but you can use what you have), assorted nature items (foraged gum nuts, seed pods, flowers etc), twine or ribbon, a holepunch, glue and scissors.
What to do – cut the centre out of the paper plate and punch a hole at the top of circular ring.
Glue the leaves onto the ring to create a foliage wreath. Continue until you have covered all the paper plate.
Arrange and glue on the foraged nature items in whatever design you’d like. Gumnuts, red leaves or small seed pods look great!
Tie the ribbon or twine through the hole and ta da!!! If you’d like to preserve this wreath for more than a few days simply spray with hairspray or use dried foliage and flowers to get a look that lasts!
- Tree Ornaments
You’ll need – some sticks, scrap fabric or ribbons, scissors and some twine.
Cut your scrap fabric into thin strips but not all the same length – make some longer than others.
Tie your fabric strips onto the stick with the shorter pieces towards the top and longer pieces towards the bottom.
Keep tying the strips of fabric until you’ve nearly covered the whole stick.
Trim the edges of the ribbon to slope them upwards like the side of a christmas tree.
Tie some ribbon or twine on the top to make a loop and you’re finished! Your own mini Christmas tree decorations made from garden sticks and leftover fabric pieces. A very green Christmas!
- Garden Cards
You’ll need: Scissors, card or paper (even the back of an old cereal box will do), glue, foraged flowers and leaves from the garden.
This one is super simple and only limited by your imagination! Arrange the leaves and flowers into Christmas images to glue onto your card. Leaves can be cut into reindeers, white flowers into snow etc etc – go wild with your creativity! Play around a bit and make sure you are happy with the placement before you glue them down.
Petals make gorgeous Christmas angel dresses and leaves easily make the shapes of Christmas trees. If you want these to last an extended time, use dried flowers and leaves to get a look that lasts.
Christmas doesn’t need to be filled with plastic tinsel and bright gaudy baubles – why not see what you have growing in your garden and get creative?
Want more inspiration for getting the most out of your garden at home? Follow Plot Australia on Facebook and Instagram for daily growing tips and hacks on gardening with kids in the suburbs.