It’s a great thing when arts and crafts get emphasized every year during the holiday season. Whatever your version of decking the halls may be, it is a rewarding endeavor to create. And what is more rewarding is to reuse items on hand. Whether it’s for the college student who won’t make it home for the holidays or you need a hostess gift for the upcoming New Year’s party, everyone needs a little something special to warm up their spaces. What most people don’t realize is the décor and gifts are right under their noses; and I don’t mean in the big box store window display. The Keep Norfolk Beautiful office is entering the yearly holiday decorating contest and after some brain storming, it was decided to make as many different holiday trees as possible from recyclables, items on hand and of course, nature. In this age of Pinterest, craft ideas are free and limitless, one just needs to look around and utilize what is on hand or more precisely, in your recycle bin. Who doesn’t have a pine tree and therefore pine cones, at close proximity here in Hampton Roads? Apparently, a toilet paper roll is a staple in the green craft kit. And K cups? Don’t get me started.
Our small staff has a variety of skills. Some of us claim they can’t cut a piece of paper correctly while others are pretty good artists. This is another consideration when choosing what to create but I hope we all have an artsy friend we can look to for help. Children are always crafty and can help create thoughtful items without much coaxing. It is a great lesson to share with young ones that gifts don’t always have to come from the mall and they are already on board with recycling. We came up with nine different trees out of recyclables plus one large snowman from cups. (Warning: Crafting can get competitive.) They could be gifts, a tablescape, a mantle display or even made smaller to be ornaments. The possibilities are endless.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle are in this order for a reason. The greenest gift is the one you don’t buy therefore reducing your footprint. When we upcycle, we take something headed for the recycling bin (or thrift store) and make it better by giving it a new life. It’s taking the second “R” reuse and the third “R” recycle and kicking it up a notch. By upcycling what you have on hand and making a beautiful little tree for your favorite aunt, you are showing not only love for her, but love for the planet, and that’s a pretty big gift.
Blog contributed by Lisa Renée Jennings, Public Service Coordinator with Keep Norfolk Beautiful.