We may not be able to have the mistletoe and holly here in Australia but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate Christmas the traditional way.

There are plenty of red and green natural decorations that we can use to create a festive Christmas with an Australian twist that is also perfect if you’re on a tight budget.

Here are some tips:

Christmas tree decorations

Introduce red to your Christmas tree to give it a traditional look. You don’t have to resort to using just tinsel and baubles though, use your imagination and decorate your tree with items like red flowers, dried cranberry creations, bundles of cinnamon and bunches of chilli.

Front door wreath

An impressive handmade wreath hung on your front door can create a wonderful welcoming Christmas touch to your home whilst impressing your visitors. There are lots of different styles of wreaths featuring anything from wine corks to pine cones.

Items like red or burgundy flowers and green foliage can not only add to the beauty of your wreath but also create an amazing Christmas aroma.

Floral centrepiece

Floral centrepieces can help to brighten your Christmas decor and fill your home with a wonderful fragrance. You can either create a traditional looking centrepiece or you can get creative and even decorate a pretty log with your favourite seasonal flowers. You can create a stunning centrepiece by filling a fish bowl (or bubble vase as they’re sometimes called) with an arrangement of different flowers.

Sweet bowls

This form of decorating can easily involve your children. Fill a selection of glass bowls with red and green foil wrapped sweets. You can either stick to one colour in each bowl or you can mix it up and have red and green sweets mixed together. Or how about using dried beans in a mason jar with some twine to give it that rustic look.

Bunches of twigs

Using twigs may sound like such a simple idea but they can make a really effective natural Christmas decoration. You could either arrange some tall twigs into a large floor vase or spray smaller twigs silver and arrange them around your home.

Twig stars

There are even ways to turn twigs into craft projects that even the smallest members of the family can help with. Start off by going on a nature trail (even if it’s just in your own backyard) and finding a selection of twigs. The adults can then arrange the twigs into a star shape and glue them together with a glue gun or tie them together with twine.

Cranberries

Just because our climate doesn’t support holly and mistletoe berries doesn’t mean we can’t add some beautiful berries to our Christmas decorations. Dried cranberries look stunning in glass vases or tied in bunches. They can also be added to your other natural Christmas decorations.

Dried citrus fruit

You can use any citrus fruit to make natural Christmas decorations although lemons and oranges look the most Christmassy and smell wonderful.

Slice your citrus fruit into thin slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet in your oven. You can make them even more Christmassy by placing cloves in the centre of the slices. Place the baking tray in your oven on a low temperature for around an hour then turn them over and repeat. Times may vary as it depends on the thickness of your slices and your oven.

Once you have dried your citrus slices you can use them around your home as decorations. They can be added to other decorations to add an interesting touch with an amazing smell or they can be placed in a glass bowl as a simple decoration.

Do you have any other homemade Christmas decoration ideas? Please SHARE in the comments below.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com