Don’t have or want to spend time DIYing? The closest thing to making your Christmas gifts and decor yourself is searching Etsy for a local crafter that’ll homemake it for you! Here’s our fav low waste Xmas decorations, cards, and gifts off the platform.

Etsy – the online marketplace of people who DIY for you – is our go-to for decorations and gifts when we don’t have the time or skills to make something ourselves. 

We love it because you can find and support a local maker who makes a living off of hand crafting. Much better than mass produced and flown in! This already makes it an eco-friendlier choice.

The marketplace is also packed with sustainable ornament and present options that are made from recycled material or items that would have gone to waste or that will help reduce waste in the long run.

It’s For Him gift guide includes things like manly-smelling small batch felt soap, a beautifully crafted mess hall knife rack, and natural beard oil and balm, while its For Her gift guide showcases things like DIY organic lip balm kit, and necklaces and hair pins made from sustainable and upcycled materials.

It’s gift guide For Kids also contains responsibly made plastic-free creations, including wooden toys, paper craft DIYs, and an Australian-made reusable washable colouring drawing mat.

 Here’s our favourite Christmas low waste decorations, cards, and gifts off the platform:

Sustainable Homemade Christmas Decorations

Deck your den and adorn your dining table in decorations and decor made from natural materials that biodegrades and keep your Christmas cheer plastic free and reusable by choosing DIYed ornaments made with love and joy, such as these:

• biodegradable Christmas confetti such as non-toxic water soluble snow confetti, seed paper leaf confetti, dried flowers and leaves, and compostable dot confetti made from hole-punched leaves (ask the seller if it’ll come in a plastic bag and if so, ask for it to come in a paper one instead or find a crafter that sends it in plastic-free packaging),

• Christmas themed candles, from simple apple cider and cinnamon, freshly cut Christmas tree and cookie, orange peel and cloves scented soy wax candles to extravagant gingerbread house hand-carved candles to candles in mason jars you can reuse,

• wooden decorations like intricate laser cut hanging baubles, snowflakes and custom placecards, tree branch Santas, and festive train sets featuring snowmen and elves,

• felt decorations, for instance wool acorn ornaments, hanging wildlife wearing Santa hats, embroidered festive shapes, and felt ball garlands in Christmas colours,

• ceramic decorations, which include exquisite, elaborately etched baubles and ornaments, porcelain animals and themed figurines,

• fabric bunting, from block colour to reindeer and mistletoe patterned bunting, to lettering spelling merry to fabric strip garlands,

• napkins and a fabric tablecloth or runners with nutcracker characters, holly, winter forest scenes, and other Christmas themed patterns printed on them, and

• the cutest, really creative, reusable advent calendars like a reindeer-shaped one made from wool, a tiny box of Christmas activities, a cardboard Christmas village, a numbered muslin bag and twine garland, door-laden hand-painted wooden festive houses and trees, and instant downloadable advent calendar cards.

All these options can be kept and used for years to come, being made from long-lasting substances, and can be responsibly disposed of at end of life when they do eventually become ghosts of Christmas past.

Eco-Friendly Host Gifts & Stocking Fillers

When you need to take along something small to show your appreciation or find a sustainable stocking filler, go with something unpackaged and edible, plantable or drinkable, or one of these affordable and useful, eco-friendly finds:

• a seed pencil - a pencil you can plant when you’re done with it!,

• reusable cotton or crocheted face wipes,

• a gorgeously designed wax wrap,

• bio-glitter, which is compostable so it does not litter the environment like regular glitter, which is made from plastic,

• superbly smelling natural handcrafted soap, or

• homemade lip balm or gloss with ingredients like beeswax, honey and coconut.

Cards That Can Be Creatively Reused

 Cards can be a waste of paper if they’re simply read and chucked in the bin. These cards keep on giving after the receiver has taken delight in your kind words:

• seed Christmas cards, which like seed pencils, can be grown by planting them,

• a pretty hand-painted card that could be framed afterwards, or

• write your words on the back of a print that they can frame.

Another option is writing your message in the front of a book you give with the gift instead of a card.

Low Waste, Beautifully Crafted Xmas Presents

Lastly, here’s a list of some low waste, beautifully handcrafted items on Etsy that would make great Xmas presents:

• a bee hotel/insect house for those with gardens to attract and protect bees and insects,

• a sprouting jar or kit for those who like to cook, garden, or grow their own food, you can gift everything you need to grow your own microgreens,

• produce bags for those who should be getting their fruit and veg single-use plastic free (i.e. everyone),

• anyone can turn any glass jar into a reusable coffee cup with a knitted or crocheted glass jar cup cosy

• gorgeous fabric makes these handkerchiefs and fabric napkins something to treasure, making them a joy to use and hard to forget,

• pretty, beautifully crocheted cloths make waste free cleaning and bathing a breeze,

• unpaper towels for those who reach for paper towels a bit too often - it’ll not only help them reduce their kitchen waste, it’ll also save them money ongoing,

• plastic-free kids toys abound on Etsy, mostly one’s made from wood or fabrics, including reusable crocheted water balloons and handmade play mats, upcycled items like recycled timber dominoes, and custom built playthings like mud kitchens,

• a reusable sandwich bag and/or cutlery pack for those who eat on the go, or

• a knitted laptop sleeve made from material that would have gone to waste.

Before choosing a gift, firstly consider the person you’re giving it to and whether it is something they will actually use and something that will add to their life and work for them and not end up as clutter or at the back of their cupboard. To make sure the resources that have gone into the gift are best used, it needs to be tailored to them and their lifestyle.

For an extensive list of all the plastic free or zero waste gift ideas we could think of for all sorts of occasions and people check out our Ultimate Low To Zero Waste Gift Guide.

Getting it delivered as waste free as possible

To get your purchase delivered as waste free as possible, follow one or all of these instructions:

• check the photos to see how it is packaged or message the makers to ask how it will be packaged,

• message the maker to find out if it can be sent plastic packaging free, and/or

• comment when purchasing that you would like it to be sent plastic free (mostly works but not always!).

Buy from a local store to minimise emissions created during delivery. You can do this on Etsy by clicking your country under Shop Location in the search options bar on the left hand side.

Hopefully this helps make your Christmas more homemade and locally sourced! If you’re after more ideas on how to make your Christmas decorations and gifts more eco-friendly and low waste, head over to our Zero Waste, Plastic Free Christmas Decorations & Gifts blog post.

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