It's mid-December, and for everyone who celebrates Christmas, the holiday season is in full swing. To help you keep a cool head amidst all the hustle and bustle, I've put together a few tips for the safe handling of candles and some ideas for sustainable decorations.
Because in the stress just before and during the holidays, accidents can happen quickly. It's no surprise that cooking and baking with children can lead to quite a mess. But there are also some hidden dangers in the living room.
But how can Christmas be made safe for the whole family, especially for children? Safe doesn't mean boring, don't worry! In fact, you can get really creative, save money, and even make some more environmentally friendly choices.
Fire and flame
The lights are on the Christmas tree… But please, only the lights, not the whole tree. These days, real candles are rarely used on Christmas trees, but candles can be dangerous in other places as well.
5 tips for using candles in your living spaces:
Advent, Advent, a little light is burning
Advent wreaths can be made of flammable material, so caution is advised. Before each use, you should check that the candles and wreath are securely in place. Thick, stable pillar candles and a non-slip, fireproof base are best.
Candles on the dining table
Using placemats or a runner instead of a tablecloth at mealtimes reduces the risk of candles tipping over. Alternatively, the tablecloth can be secured with clips. A suitable glass also protects candles from tipping over and prevents curious children's hands from getting burned.
I was only gone for a minute!
Leaving children unattended with lit candles is a bad idea; that much is common knowledge. But however annoying it may be, even if you're just quickly checking the Christmas goose in the oven, all candles should always be extinguished before leaving the room.
Learning by doing
The Advent season offers parents a good opportunity to practice handling candlelight with their children. Of course, caution is advised, but children often learn more through their own experiences than through words.
They don't always have to be real candles
Nowadays, there are battery-operated or rechargeable battery-powered alternatives for almost every type of candle, be it tea lights, taper candles for the dining table, or pillar candles for the Advent wreath. This is, of course, a matter of personal taste, but there are fewer risks, especially for small children. They are also more versatile and only need to be purchased once. A well-placed string of lights creates just as much Christmas atmosphere, and all without open flames. For this, it's best to choose a string of lights with a timer that runs on electricity.
The decoration trap
In recent years I have consciously tried to fill my life with more and more sustainable decisions, and since I replaced my plastic toothbrush with a bamboo toothbrush at the beginning of 2019, a lot has changed in my everyday life.
I've also tried out quite a few things regarding Christmas, and the combination of sustainability and do-it-yourself projects in particular invites a creative and colorful Christmas season.
Decorating the Christmas tree with many shiny baubles is the highlight of the Christmas season for many and brings a festive atmosphere to every living room. Most Christmas tree baubles are made of glass, but there are also alternatives to the classic baubles, such as figures made of wood, felt, or straw. This allows the fragile glass baubles to be placed higher up on the tree, while the rest of the decorations can be placed at the bottom. The lowest branches can also be left bare if desired.
A little tip for crawling children: If you cut off the lower branches of the tree, you prevent the children from getting pricked by the pine needles.
You can also save money on other decorative items, especially since small, loose decorations could be swallowed by children. Instead, why not make something together with your children to beautify your living space? This also has the advantage of allowing you to choose the materials you use.
5 simple ideas for beautifying your living spaces and wrapping your gifts:
Multitalented salt dough
Salt dough is perfect for Christmas decorations. From little Christmas trees and tealight holders to ornaments for gifts or the Christmas tree, these handcrafted items are sure to be eye-catching wherever they're made. Whether pre-colored or painted, they're sure to be a hit. You'll find the recipe below!
Materials from nature
Sticks, tree bark, acorns, and a few pine cones – it's amazing what you can make with them. Besides small figures and mobiles, you can even conjure up Christmas ornaments for the tree from pine cones. And the best part is: you know exactly where the materials for your decorations come from. That makes a winter walk in the woods twice as rewarding!
Upcycling instead of paper chaos
Colorful wrapping paper is nice, but it's only used once and then thrown away. Alternatively, you can wrap gifts beautifully in newspaper, fabric scraps and old clothes, brown paper, and even baking paper or old calendar images. Be creative!
Less is more
By foregoing gift ribbon, you not only save money, resources, and time when wrapping presents, but you also make it easier for children to unwrap them. This way, no one has to resort to scissors to cut the ribbon, and children can happily and independently open their gifts. With clever folding, you can even do without tape altogether.
Homemade gift tags
Christmas gifts can always be beautifully decorated, in a sustainable sense, for example with pine cones and branches, dried orange slices, painted walnut shells or salt dough pendants with names on them.
Feeling inspired to do some DIY? I've been making lots of things with salt dough this year. It's also great to do with younger children, and the recipe is really easy:
Salt dough recipe
Ingredients:
- a part salt
- two parts flour
- a part of water
Directions:
Knead all the ingredients together well, and then you can start shaping and cutting out the shapes. After that, the dough just needs to dry. If you have time and want to save energy, you can let the dough dry on a wooden board near a radiator for several days. Alternatively, you can bake it in the oven, but this requires several complicated steps that vary depending on the thickness of the dough, consumes additional energy, and the result isn't quite as nice.
A contribution by Sabrina Muscharski. She is in her fifth semester studying Public Health at the University of Bremen and is completing her internship at Familiennetz Bremen until the end of March.