Looking for ways to add beautiful Christmas decor from nature to your space? Look no further! These decorating ideas are both simple and beautiful and will add festive cheer to any space. 

To create beautiful and striking holiday decorations, you don’t have to be a decorating wizard. When I decorate for Christmas, I’m not getting any dollar store finds, fake trees, or bows. And you certainly don’t need glitter! Nature gives us all we need to decorate with, from gorgeous evergreens to bright berries.

Nature is instinctively beautiful. I always use it for inspiration for all kinds of decor year-round. So when it comes to making Christmas decorations, it just makes sense to turn to the outdoors. Why wouldn’t you!?

So go grab your boots and some pruners, and craft up some simple decorations from nature. You’ll get some much-needed garden therapy while dressing up your home for the holidays. I promise this is a chore that will give you rosy cheeks and a festive home.

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Christmas Decor From Nature Ideas

When I’m decorating for the holidays, my main goal is always to incorporate the beauty of nature as much as possible. It makes my home feel so festive and cozy with touches of greenery, wood, and brightly coloured berries.

Nature has provided us with many unique and simple Christmas decorating ideas. Next time you are on a walk, just look around and start gathering inspiration! Meanwhile, to help you get started, here are my favourite rustic Christmas decor from nature.

1. Floating Cranberries

Floating cranberries and evergreens in a large footed vase make for a simple and festive holiday table decoration. You can add clippings from attractive outdoor plants like holly and succulents (as I have done in this festive holiday flower arrangement), or you can simply add a few floating candles and light them up.

This piece will last for a few weeks as long as you change out the water when it starts to turn pink (which is every 4 days or so). The cranberries themselves will last many water changes. These berries are used to being in the water as they are bog plants. Therefore, they don’t decompose quickly.

floating candle with berries in front of christmas tree

2. Rustic and Natural Christmas Candle Centerpiece

With just a few candles, a wooden box, and some fresh evergreen clippings, you can put together an incredibly elegant centrepiece for your holiday table in a few minutes. I always get compliments on this centrepiece, making my table extra festive.

White pillar candles in fresh greenery

3. Re-Style Your Poinsettias

Taking a little bit of time to re-pot your poinsettia once you get it home makes a huge difference. These blooms can be quite chic if given a chance!

Plant it in a decorative ceramic pot, something plain, or even a salad bowl—anything other than leaving it in that shiny foil wrapping it comes in will make it look SO much more sophisticated.

poinsettia in a vase on a table

4. Decorating with Fresh Wreaths

Making a fresh evergreen wreath is not that difficult, but it does take a little bit more time than these other projects. That being said, it’s a task that’s well worth it—your guests (and yourself) will be greeted with lovely fresh-scented evergreen at the door.

If you’ve never made one before, don’t be intimidated. I’ll walk you through exactly how to make a fresh wreath here.

evergreen wreath on front door

Once you have a wreath, here’s an add-on that will really make it shine: wrap a string of decorative pinecone lights with a battery pack, and flick the switch.

You can change also the look of your wreath in moments by swapping out the lights. Here are some string lights with stars or snowflakes that would also work well!

decorateive pine cone light on a wreath

5. Festive Outdoor Planter Box

It’s easy to put together this eye-catching holiday window box planter with whatever decorative branches and greenery you have in the yard. You can even bring it indoors and display it on the mantle if you like. Either way, this natural Christmas decor is beautiful to look at.

I’ve also made several of these for hostess gifts in years past for holiday parties. It’s truly the gift that keeps giving.

festive holiday window box with a wood planter and some fresh greenery

6. Miniature Garden

If you have a miniature garden, deck it out for the holidays!

To trim a tiny tree, you can make small wreaths out of evergreen clippings. I also like to use string ribbons and beads and even fasten little festive bows! See this post for instructions and more ideas.

Christmas Miniature Garden

7. Pinecone Trees

Make a table centrepiece by topping a few glass candle holders with pinecones. Set them on a dish and add a few clippings of evergreens, and you’ll have a centrepiece for a buffet table or atop the fireplace.

Bonus points for flocking the pinecones with a bit of white craft paint on the edges to add little extra something.

Pinecone table decoration centerpiece

8. Scented Pinecones

This idea for Christmas decor from nature is multi-purpose. Not only does it look nice, but these pinecones can deliver all kinds of aromatherapy benefits to your home with oils.

Yes, you can use pinecones as a decorative essential oil diffuser. Follow these instructions and lay your scented pinecones out on a decorative dish with some whole spices (cinnamon sticks, star anise, nutmeg) for festive decor that smells like Christmas!

Scented pine cone and natural festive spices as a centerpiece

9. Stars, Balls, and Evergreens

Decorate the holiday table by setting a few of the smaller branches you pruned from your Christmas tree on the tablecloth, and add a few ornaments like this birch star and a few red glass balls.

Now you have table decor for a holiday dinner or buffet. I also have used these on top of the fireplace mantle for quick and easy decorations.

tablecloth with holiday decor including evergreen red glass ball and a birch star

10. Decorate with Scrabble Tiles

I love Scrabble tiles for their simple wooden texture topped with letters. They are the definition of simplicity itself!

Set up festive words with scrabble tiles amid your display. Try FaLaLa, Merry Merry, or Xmas Time for good use of the “8-point X”.

Christmas scrabble decor with pine cones and greenery

11. Pinecone Spheres DIY

If you find yourself with 20 minutes, some pinecones, and a hot glue gun, you can make these pinecone spheres as well. They take more than a few minutes, but it still isn’t a difficult project. See how to make them here. These are great tools to keep in your decor arsenal toolbelt.

Make These Easy Pinecone Spheres - an easy nature project for festive holiday decor

12. Christmas Wreath Candle

I make tons of wreaths, but this Christmas wreath candle, in particular, is one I always recommend to those who want an easy project. Since this wreath doesn’t hang, the construction is much quicker.

In terms of supplies, all you need are some small branches and a floral foam ring. You can use up all the leftover small branches from the other projects on this list before making this Christmas wreath candle centrepiece!

Make this super simple Christmas centerpiece with natural elements from the backyard!

13. Frozen Garden Candles

I love this quick and simple project for decorating the outdoors. These frozen garden candles look wonderful on the porch or steps leading to the front door if you’re having a Christmas party.

They instantly sets the mood, and your guest will marvel at the beauty of these unique yet easy-to-make ice candles.

Freeze natural elements into these ice candles for a gorgeous display

14. Bleached Pinecone Wreath

While I love a fresh foraged leaf, there’s something so elegant about this bleached pinecone wreath. Pinecones are abundant where I live, and I make many pinecone crafts with them. By bleaching them, you change the look of them completely. They go from rustic to natural chic really quickly!

bleached pinecone wreath rustic ribbon

15. Copycat Planter Ornaments

I couldn’t believe how expensive some ornaments were at the home store. They already use so many of these natural Christmas décor ideas but charge an arm and a leg for it! So I set out to recreate some planter ornaments I saw, and the results are not only stunning but easy peasy to replicate.

holiday planter ornaments tutorial

Frequently Asked Questions About Natural Christmas Decor

How do you make a room look festive without a tree?

While I wish every room could have a tree, the reality is we don’t all have the budget and rooms for trees! Even without a tree, you can incorporate greenery in other ways. Try to add festive centrepieces to the tables in the room, such as a coffee table, side table, dining table, kitchen island, and more.

I always love to include garland. Wrap it around railings (as long as it’s not an accessibility issue), atop fireplace mantles, and on TV stands to make it green and lively.

Beyond Christmas decor from nature, you can temporarily swap out key pieces in the room for Christmas-themed items. Remove wall hangings and replace them with Christmas ones instead. Swap out textures like pillows and blankets for ones in festive colours like red, green, gold, and white. And even without a tree, you can hang ornaments in creative places like lampshades, houseplants, chairs, and more!

How can I decorate my Christmas tree with no money?

Every year I love to include homemade ornaments on my tree. And just because they’re homemade doesn’t mean they need to look tacky or underwhelming! Some of my favourite ornaments include terrariums, botanical prints, acorns, wood-burned pictures, and more. You can see some of my homemade ornaments here.

How do you decorate a small space for Christmas?

Aim for simple, yet effective natural Christmas decorations. Rather than try to cram extra stuff in, make temporary replacements instead. This could mean tucking away one knick-knack or décor piece for Christmas-inspired one instead.

Alternatively, you can look at what you already have and see how you can enhance it. For instance, frame a candle with a wreath or put your houseplants in themed pots.

The most underused space in decorating is vertical. Opt for a tall and skinny tree like this Grinch tree. Hang handmade garlands along the walls. Put wreaths on doors, inside and out. Don’t forget to look up to see where you can place decorations!

Nine foot tall living Whoville Grinch Tree

There you have it! There are so many cute, simple ways to incorporate Christmas decor from nature into your home this year. Which one is your favourite?

More Christmas Posts

Natural and Rustic Christmas Decorating Ideas

Stephanie Rose

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