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Consider making decorations out of items that you have around the house. Rather than making decorations out of plastic or tin, turn to nature. Food can make great holiday decor. Sure, gingerbread houses and cookies with red and green sprinkles are festive, but do not overlook the power of natural foods, like fruits and vegetables.

The holidays seem to center around eating. Natural food not only tastes great and makes you feel good, but it is full of natural beauty. Cranberries, cherries, beets, and pomegranates are rich in red color. Asparagus, leafy greens, and Brussels sprouts come in many of shades of green. The apple may be red, green, or golden. These items are likely in your kitchen right now, so you can start building edible holiday decorations without any planning.

Natural foods can be used to create grand centerpieces. A bunch of asparagus can make a great rustic centerpiece. When the spears are bunched together with a rubber band, they stand upright quite easily. The bunch can be set in the middle of the table. A small ornament can be secured to the rubber band that holds the spears together. From there, you wrap garland around the base. This looks particularly natural and festive with an evergreen garland, although any type of garland can be used. The garland acts as a disguise to cover the base of the vegetables and the rubber band. Because of its rustic nature, this centerpiece would be a great choice if your home is located in a rural area near the woods or if your are celebrating the holidays at your cottage or cabin. Placing large fruits in a bowl or on a cake pedestal makes a great holiday centerpiece too. This can be enhanced by adding bits of curly ribbon throughout the display. Golden ribbon with red or green apples make a particularly elegant decoration.

Nuts are a great holiday snack. Place these in a crystal long-stemmed glass and tie a red or green bow to the stem. These are great to place throughout the home on coffee tables, end tables, or on the mantel. Roasted pumpkin seeds, also called pepitas, are green seeds that taste great and look fabulous when paired with dried cranberries. White chocolate complements this fruit-and-seed combination when placed in a clear glass bowl together.

Do not underestimate the power of cranberries as a Christmas decoration. These little red fruits are affordable and last a long time. You can float these in a glass bowl partially filled with water, and they may last as long as a week or more. Adding white flowers to the floating cranberries makes a calming and peaceful decoration. Filling a glass vase with some cranberries is a great idea too. If you do this, try adding some medium-sized gold or white ornaments to the vase as well. You will be amazed at how nice it looks.

Of course, you can always string popcorn. Maybe you want to get a little more creative this year and string some cranberries with that popcorn! Although gumdrops certainly are not a natural food, they sure make good stringing, and nothing looks better on a white Christmas tree than a string of multicolored gumdrops!

Get creative this Christmas, help save the planet, and save some money by making your own decorations with food. They are fun, inexpensive, and you can eat them! Go to your kitchen now and get started!