A lovely Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. (kryzhov / Shutterstock.com)
Thanksgiving is right around the corner on November 27, making now the ideal time to start planning on adding a bit of pizzazz to your meal.
While food reigns supreme on turkey day, the festive meal is also a great time to exercise your DIY muscles, with a bit of home decorations. Beautify your surroundings with these seven environmentally-friendly and green Thanksgiving craft ideas that can be done with the whole family.
1. FALL LEAF CANDLE
Nature provides some beautiful foliage for those in the Northern Hemisphere, with an abundance of colorful leaves. Create a cozy atmosphere with a softly-lit fall leaf candle.
GREEN EFFECT: A great activity for yourself or the whole family: pop outside for a leaf expedition, gathering the most vibrant and impressive dried leaves off the ground. When making the candle, try using an old mason jar or used spaghetti jar.
(malven / Shutterstock.com)
2. TREE OF THANKS
Thanksgiving is all about - yes, you guessed it - giving thanks. And what better way to do that then by subtly initiating a thank-a-thon with this tasteful tree of thanks.
GREEN EFFECT: Use an old recycled jar and fill it with discarded tree branches from outside. Cut out little paper leaves from recycled paper and asks friends and family to write down what they are grateful for. Once everyone has written out their sentence of thankfulness, take turns reading the leaves out loud, and bask in the moment of glowing gratitude.
3. CARDBOARD TUBE TURKEY
Gobble gobble! No Thanksgiving meal would be complete without at least one shout-out to the lovely turkey. Even if you don't eat meat, pay homage to the charming bird with a turkey made from toilet paper rolls.
GREEN EFFECT: Instead of tossing away old toilet paper rolls, repurpose them into a decorative Thanksgiving piece that can be displayed on the front door or on the wall. Create a turkey family by asking friends and neighbors to save their old toilet paper rolls!
(13Smile / shutterstock.com)
4. GLASS BOTTLE CENTERPIECE
This fun DIY project adds a little sparkle and shine to your Thanksgiving table or mantle. Let your creative flag fly by choosing different phrases or words to inscribe on the bottles.
GREEN EFFECT: Give old bottles a new life by recycling them or collecting them from friends and neighbors.
5. SQUASH AND GOURD BOWLS
Place your appetizers in an edible squash or winter gourds to give a festive feel to your table.
GREEN EFFECT: Save water from washing dishes with your new set of edible plateware. Maximize the gourds or squash by using the innards to make a delicious vegan dessert of squash cakes with coconut cream. When the edible bowls have served their purpose, chuck them in the compost!
(Robert N Brown / Shutterstock.com)
6. TURKEY NAPKINS
Spruce up your table with these adorable turkey napkins! Complete the look by using a gourd stem to give the turkey some shape.
GREEN EFFECT: Ditch the paper and invest in good quality cloth napkins that can be used time and time again to celebrate happy occasions.
7. PINECONE PLACE CARD HOLDERS
Create a rustic feel at your dinner table, and make sure every guest feels welcome and knows where to sit with these adorable pinecone place card holders.
GREEN EFFECT: Scour your neighborhood for some of these fresh smelling pinecones. If you don’t have any pine trees in your area, substitute with this funky idea of using old wine corks and paper to create an adorable turkey place card.
(FOTMA / Shutterstock.com)
