How to Make Eco-Friendly Holiday Decorations
Best Ways to Recycle Plastic Bags into Wreaths and Pom-pom Garlands
Nov 12, 2009
Recycling plastic grocery bags into festive holiday decorations is an easy way to keep the kids busy this Christmas and to show them that you care about the environment.
You can create long-lasting holiday wreaths and pom-pom garlands to decorate your porch, balcony, or garage by recycling white or clear plastic grocery bags or, if you want a more traditional look, use plastic green garbage bags.
Both decorations are easy enough for the kids to make with a little adult supervision but require a little patience to cut out the plastic strips. An adult or older sibling should cut up the strips for the wreath while the younger ones can tie these strips to the coat hanger.
How to Make a Plastic Bag Wreath
What You Will Need
- Plastic grocery shop bags (at least 8)
- Wire coat hanger
- Scissors
- Optional: ribbons, , bows, small decorations
How to Make It
- Cut the plastic grocery bags into strips about 2.5 to 4cm wide and 20cm long. They don’t have to be the same length or cut perfectly.
- Shape the coat hanger into a circle. Don’t worry if it’s not a perfect circle, it will be covered by the plastic.
- Tie the strips of plastic onto the hanger, working your way around it. Push them very close together so that your wreath looks full and festive.
- Decorate with ribbons, bows or whatever you have on hand or leave plain.
How to Make a Plastic Bag Pom-pom Garland
The pom-pom garland should be made by older siblings or adults.
What You Will Need:
- Cardboard
- Compass (or two circular items you can trace around)
- Plastic grocery bags (or green plastic garbage bags
- Length of kitchen string or knitting yarn
- Scissors
How to Make It:
- Cut the plastic grocery bags into manageable lengths about 2.5cm (1 inch) in width. Set aside.
- Cut out two donut shaped pieces of cardboard: Using your compass or larger of your two circular items, trace out two circles on your cardboard about 10cm (5 inches) diameter. Next draw a smaller circle, 2.5 cm (1 inch) in the middle of your larger circles.
- Now cut out the two larger circles, then cut out the inner circles. You will now have two donut-shaped rings, 10cm outside diameter with a 2.5cm diameter hole.
- Place the rings together. Wind the plastic strips around the rings by holding one end on the outside of the ring and feeding the other end through the hole, round the back and through the front again.
- Repeat this, working your way around the ring until all the cardboard is covered. As you use additional lengths, you don't need to tie them together, just make sure the ends are on the outside, not in the middle.
- Once your rings are fairly full of the plastic strips, cut the plastic around the edges; the scissor blade should pass between the two pieces of cardboard as you are cutting..
- Pass a length of the knitting yarn or kitchen string between the two pieces of cardboard, around all the strands of plastic, and tie it firmly together.
- Remove the cardboard rings (cut them if necessary). Trim any lengths of plastic which are uneven to give your pom-poms a tidy look.
Your kids might also love to make a Christmas tree angel or a sweet heart decoration.
HOL 101
The copyright of the article How to Make Eco-Friendly Holiday Decorations in Crafts is owned by Stefanie Gabrych Fraser. Permission to republish How to Make Eco-Friendly Holiday Decorations in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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