Preparing your home for Thanksgiving has never been more challenging. There’s no need to stand in long lines or bump into huge crowds at department stores to buy Thanksgiving decorations. Even without going shopping for decorations, you can still spruce up your home with homemade Thanksgiving items. Yes, homemade means you don’t have to spend a lot of money. All you need to do is check your trash (which can be recycled) for your main ingredient.
Image courtesy of flickr.com Creative Commons
These items are very easy to make. You can even ask your children to help you. With creativity and a little effort, you can efficiently add a Thanksgiving theme to your home. And the best part about this project is that you are minimizing waste which means you are helping to save the planet.
Are you ready? Here are some Thanksgiving home decorating ideas from recycled materials.
Pumpkin Book
Do you have unused books in your storage space? Before pursuing these home decorating ideas, you should make sure that the book you are going to use is no longer usable in any way. Old but useful (readable) can be donated to your local library where they can be used. But if your book is damaged by water, it may not be suitable for donation. Thus, you can use it for your whimsical book pumpkin decorations.
How to do: First you need to draw and cut a pumpkin shape on the blank paper. This will serve as your pattern. The next thing you have to do is open the book about halfway then place the pattern and trace it on the page of the book. When finished, cut the pumpkin using a cutter (be careful when using a cutter). If you’re done with your pumpkin, it’s time to color it. Check your storage if you have extra paint, otherwise you can buy a little orange acrylic paint (just cheap so it won’t cost much).
Pour the paint into the bowl and then dip the edge of the book down to about an inch. Let the paint dry. Get small leaves and twigs. Glue a twig between the first and last pages of the book along with a leaf, all the way to the spine. Let it spread.
Turkey Thanksgiving Pinecone
Ask your kids to look for pinecones (or conifer cones) in your yard. If you don’t have this plant, you can try asking your neighbors. Once you’ve found the plant, choose a medium to large pinecone.
How to do: Clean the pinecones by brushing them to remove small debris. Look for colorful boxes (milk, cereal, etc.) preferably with red sections. Draw a heart shape on the red square for the turkey legs. Meanwhile, you should draw the turkey’s body details such as the turkey’s eyes and comb. His body only looks like a snowman so it’s not that hard. Cut out the shape. Using hot glue, attach the pinecone to the heart shape and body in front of the pinecone. In minutes, you can have a stand for small items like messages or even crayons.
Image courtesy of flickr.com Creative Commons
Thank You Jars
Collect jars you no longer use and clean them. This project is pretty simple; so it won’t take much of your time. In addition to the jar, you will also need maple leaves, ribbons and glue.
How to do: Grease the leaves with glue and stick them on the jar. You can combine small and large leaves in one jar. Tie a ribbon around the neck of the jar to add life. You can place flowers on them and place them on the table as centerpieces. Or you can use it as a candle holder. If you want more color, you can cover the body of the jar with colored paper or paint before attaching the leaves.
Now you’re ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with these simple, cost-effective decorations. Do you live in a big house or in a residential community like Lincoln Military Housingcreating a Thanksgiving atmosphere is always painless.
