Edible Christmas Tree Decorations

With the busy Christmas holiday season almost upon us we are madly rushing around to buy last minute gifts, planning and shopping for the Christmas meals and visitors and if we haven’t already, putting up the Christmas tree and decorations.  We can also take the opportunity to make our outdoor trees and gardens look festive while also providing food for local wildlife.  A fun way to provide food for our native wildlife if to make outdoor food decorations for our trees which will not only give your garden a festive appearance but will help the local birds and other animals find food easily.

 It is very important to spare a thought for our local wildlife who here in Queensland and all over Australia are suffering in the extreme heat and dry conditions without the help of air conditioning.   Here is a useful article with 5 simple ideas to help our wildlife survive the summer heat.  https://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/summer-wildlife.php

According to the Department of Environment and Science, in the Brisbane area, one in three households regularly provide food for native animals.  You can read about feeding Wildlife in the No- Nuisance Way’ here.   

The most important priority for our wildlife is water Leaving water baths out in your garden will help a huge range of animals from birds, bees, frogs, lizards, snakes and even koalas.  You can make baths from any suitable container from pots, buckets and bowls, if the container is deep, place some twigs on the inside and outside of the container so the small insects or animals can easily climb out again.  The water can be placed around the garden in a variety of areas from on the grass to rocks or even on fence posts.  

Back to Outdoor Christmas Tree Decorations

There are a number of edible decorations that can be easily made with food that is suitable for wildlife and readily available.  As a bonus it is a relatively simple task and young children can help a supervising adult and it is a fantastic holiday project for older kids to undertake by themselves.  You can find a number of ideas on Pinterest but here are a few edible tree ornaments that can be completed in a few minutes with some general crafting accessories such as twine, scissors and cutlery. Note- do NOT use fishing lie to hang ornaments as this is harmful to wildlife.

• Birdseed orange feeder  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWFmhCkawnI
• Popcorn and/or Cranberry Garland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRgBIIeYC04
• Pinecones with Peanut Butter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uVugH7eaUU
• Dried/dehydrated apples and oranges https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Voofs_c7vNA

Finally enjoy spending the time with family these holidays making the edible tree ornaments and reap the rewards by watching the local wildlife taking advantage of their festive treats.