Holiday Decor
RITUAL: Decorating | SEASON: Winter | HOLIDAY: Christmas
Shopping for cheap, factory made decor has become a seasonal tradition. Women with FOMO and disposable incomes, who feel compelled to chase the trends and keep up with their favorite influencers, make an outing of it every holiday season. They go to the drive thru for their super sweet seasonal drink and sip on it while browsing all the stores and buying all the stuff they think they need, to have a picture perfect Instagrammable Christmas.
I wonder if they ever stop to think about their obsessive compulsion to buying things that are displayed for only a few short weeks and then stored for the rest of the year.
Instead of buying faux, plastic, mass produced dust catchers, made in China, and wishing the corporations a Merry Christmas with excessive purchases, you might consider minimizing your decor, making it yourself and foraging for treasures in nature. Decorate with things that can be enjoyed and either consumed or recycled, not packed away in plastic totes and stacked to the ceiling in your garage, attic or basement for 11 months a year.
Not everyone lives in areas with access to nature and its seasonal offerings. And sometimes buying the craft supplies to make your own decor can be expensive. But there are ways to decorate your home for the holidays that are more natural, eco-friendly and affordable.
Best Practices
1) Reuse the winter and holiday decor you already have.
2) Shop at local thrift stores to find items you can spruce up or use in your own DIY projects.
3) Decorate with things you find on a walk in the woods, like pinecones and evergreen boughs, mistletoe and holly.
4) Make homemade decorations, like gingerbread ornaments or beeswax candles.
5) Display a selection of seasonal fruit and bowls of nuts that you can buy at the grocery store and eat during the month of December.
6) Buy potted plants from a local florist or nursery, like evergreens and rosemary topiaries, poinsettias and amaryllis, orchids and paper whites, ivy and frosty ferns that you can enjoy into the new year or plant outside next year.
Homemade decorations can be beautiful. And making them can become a fun and festive, family tradition. You’ll be making memories as you create something special and unique for your home.
Christmas Decorations
Construct your own wreaths with the lowest branches from your live Christmas tree.
Make your own garlands by stringing cranberries or popcorn to hang on your tree.
Knit your own stockings to hang by the fire.
Collect pinecones and give them a sweet and spicy fragrance with your favorite essential oil blend.
Dehydrate sliced citrus to string together and hang on your tree or fireplace mantle.
Pour your own candles scented with non-toxic essential oils.
Decorate with brightly colored fruit like oranges and pomegranates.
Share in the comments below your favorite nature-based, homemade or DIY holiday decorations.
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Dara Eden is the author of HER Rituals for the Divine Feminine, a periodical guide created in December of 2021. The 8 Elements, her life’s work, provides guidance about how to honor the essential needs and highest values of your personal feng shui element. Inspired by an Internet challenge designed for men, she created 365WISE, a daily self-care practice that supports women in honoring their needs and listening to their inner wisdom.
In HER Rituals, she offers insights, ideas and intuitive guidance about ways to honor your needs, values and unique expression of the divine feminine.
HER Rituals is a Womb Wisdom KeepHER’s guide to cyclical rituals for sovereign women. It provides insightful information, inspirational ideas and intuitive guidance on daily and seasonal rituals you can practice as a form of self-care. Read about ancient wisdom and philosophical principles, holistic approaches and traditional skills, slow work and intentional living, embodiment practices and immersive experiences.
