As Christmas Day approaches, may of us are eager to transform our homes into festive wonderlands. While the love of shiny and glittery decorations is undeniable, it’s worth considering more sustainable alternatives to decorating your home. One alternative that not only adds a touch of creativity to your décor but also helps the environment is using paper for Christmas decorations. In this article, we explore the environmental benefits of opting for paper over traditional materials and a few examples can paper can truly up your environmental décor game.
Unlike plastic, paper can be sourced from responsibly managed forests. So, if you decide to use paper- based decorations, you are supporting sustainable forestry practices and helps ensure that our Christmas traditions don’t come at the expense of our planet’s health.
Embracing paper for Christmas decorations opens the door to various DIY opportunities. Crafting your own decorations not only adds a personal touch to your Christmas festivities, it can encourage family involvement and can become a family tradition for many years ahead. Below is how you can make your own 3D Paper Snowflake.
DIY 3D Paper Snowflake
1. Cut out six squares of the same size out of paper.
2. Fold one square in half diagonally to make a triangle then fold again resulting in a smaller triangle.
3. As evenly as possible, cut three slits into the triangle, starting on the small folded side up towards the opposite small side and stop the cut just before reaching the opposite side.
4. Open the triangle carefully.
5. Glue the small inner flaps together.
6. Flip the square over and glue the second flaps together on the opposite side to the first flaps.
7. Flip the square over again and glue the third flaps on the other side.
8. Flip again and glue the fourth flaps on the other side (Final Flaps).
9. One arm of the snowflake is made.
Repeat previous steps with the five other squares.
10. Secure all arms with a staple where they touch, shown in the photos.
11. Repeat previous step until all arms are glued together, making a full snowflake.