Make Your Own Natural Christmas Decorations By Walee Courtney

Go green this Christmas. Reducing the impact of your own "carbon footprint".

If you visited Colonial Williamsburg Village for the Christmas season or past seasons, you'll be amazed by what people can do with natural plant materials, without artificial plastic imported.

You can put the story to your door by duplicating a colonial crown. There are many ways to do so. It is your imagination and art.

You can easily build your own with a wreath vine cage filled with floral foam and attach sprigs of greenery collected from your own garden.

During the colonial period, life was difficult. People do not so much material. But they were resourceful. Using plant material preserved and any kind of fruit they have on hand, they have shaped beautiful, catchy Christmas decorations for their houses.

Wreaths and swags were made to what is increasingly in their back yard.

They used dried okra pods, cotton pods, oyster shells, dried flowers from their own garden, branches of magnolia, boxwood, holly, pine, pine cones, and any other type of greenery, they have more and more. They also embellished their wreaths fresh pineapples, apples, oranges and pomegranates, all made without artificial sprays, odor or color of paint.

Fresh fruit was chosen for its color brilliance and its maintenance of quality when exposed to the harsh winter. All these aspects are artistically wired on a robust chassis for use with the greenery and dried flowers. Why pineapple, tropical fruit, is used in the traditional wreath of flowers is another matter. You can find that in the publications of Wiliamsburg Colonial.

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