Non Toxic Christmas Decorations – How To Avoid Decorating Your Home With Toxic Chemicals

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Non Toxic Christmas Decorations

Non Toxic Christmas Decorations – Many Christmas decorations are full of toxic chemicals. What Christmas decoration materials are non toxic?

 

[Updated Nov.2021: Some products are updated on Nov.22, 2021]

Now that I have found a non toxic Christmas tree for my home, I need to decorate it with Christmas lights and ornaments. How wonderful would it be to just go to the store and buy shiny and bright lights and decorations! However, buying Christmas decorations is not that simple either just like buying a Christmas tree. While researching for a non toxic Christmas tree for our home, I have also found out that many Christmas decorations and lights are toxic. Many Christmas lights contain lead which is dangerous especially for young children. Many Christmas ornaments and garlands contain toxic chemicals such as lead, bromine, chlorine. Decorating a Christmas tree is like a bringing home full of toxic chemicals which are dangerous to our family. In this post, I share with you how Christmas decorations can be toxic and what non toxic Christmas decorations are available.

 

 

How Christmas Decorations Can Be Toxic

 

Christmas Lights

Christmas lights are one of main Christmas decorations. It shines bright and makes us feel the Christmas festivity in cold weather. According to a report by Bloomberg, 54 percent holiday lights tested in a US study had more lead than regulators permit in children’s products, with some containing more than 30 times those levels. Cornell environmental analyst also discovered that many Christmas lights contain high levels of lead that exceed limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for windowsills or floors. HealthyStuff.org also tested lights and found Christmas lights including lights attached to decorations commonly had high levels of lead and bromine in their 2014 studyLead is used as a stabilizer in the Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) jacketing of the Christmas light cords. It is dangerous chemical and it is especially harmful for children. Lead can be inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin. Once lead gets into person’s system, it is distributed throughout the body. It travels in the blood to the liver, kidneys, lungs, brain, spleen, muscles, and heart and also gets stored in the bone. Lead damages the central and peripheral nervous system and the kidneys and also interrupts formation of red blood cells. It could also cause seizures, coma and death at very high levels of lead. Children are more vulnerable and more susceptible to the toxic effects of lead. Many of the effects are irreversible.  There is no safe level of lead exposure.  Low levels of lead can cause lower IQ, hyperactivity, learning disabilities, developmental delay, behavioral problems, impaired hearing and stunted growth for young children. Therefore, do not let young children touch the lights and have them wash their hands after touching them.

 

 

Christmas Ornaments

Hanging Christmas ornaments are the best part of decorating a Christmas tree. How fun it is to decorate all the ornaments together with kids!  Unfortunately, Christmas ornaments can contain lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, antimony, bromine, chlorine, tin or toxic paints.  Many antique ornaments or ornaments that are passed down through generations have lead paint. Even nowadays, you can purchase ornaments made of leaded crystal or mercury glass which contain lead and mercury. The thing about Christmas ornaments is that I would not know if the Christmas ornaments contain lead or other harmful heavy metals unless I send it into a professional lab. This makes buying Christmas ornaments difficult.

 

 

Christmas Beaded Garlands

Christmas garlands, or beaded garlands are another popular Christmas decorations. However, they do also contain toxic chemicals. Healthystuff.org tested 69 holiday products (including beaded garlands, tinsel garlands, artificial wreaths and greenery, stockings, figurines and other tabletop decorations, and gift bags) in 2014 study and they found following.

 

As you can see, many of them have extremely high levels of toxic chemicals. Garlands listed above have very high levels of bromine and chlorine and they also all contain lead and antimony.

 

 

Candles

Scented candles are also used a lot during holidays. However, candles can also be dangerous. Scented candles often use fragrance. Fragrance, also known as perfume contains phthalates which are endocrine disruptors, human immune system toxicants or allergens. EWG’s Skin Deep (Environmental Working Group) rates fragrance’s hazard score as 8 (10 being the most hazardous). Fragrance is typically made up of synthetic chemicals derived from petroleum. However, manufacturers do not have to disclose fragrance ingredients on the label because fragrance ingredients are treated as a trade secret. Therefore, consumers do not know exactly what type of toxic chemicals are used in the fragrance. Examples of these chemicals include diethyl phthalate which is linked to sperm damage in human epidemiological studies, and musk ketone, which may increase the susceptibility to health hazards caused by carcinogens in humans.

Another reason how candles can be toxic is that conventional candles are made of paraffin wax which is a petroleum-based. When these candles are burned they emit toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzene or toluene which are known carcinogens. Some candles also use wicks that contain lead. Conventional candles made of paraffin wax and lead core wicks should be avoided.

 

 

Non Toxic Christmas Decorations

So then, what non toxic Christmas decorations are available? Here are some non toxic Christmas decorations I have found on the web.

 

Non Toxic Christmas Lights 

The most non toxic Christmas lights are LED lights sold by the Swedish furniture company, IKEA. IKEA has to comply with stricter European Restriction of Hazardous Substances regulations for levels of chemical requirements. RoHS restricts the use of specific hazardous materials found in electrical and electronic products. The substances banned under RoHS are lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), hexavalent chromium (CrVI), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), cadmium (Cd), and four different phthalates (DEHP, BBP, BBP, DIBP)

 

IKEA Ledljus LED String Light – Non Toxic Christmas Lights

 

 

IKEA LED Lights are RoHS/ CE Certified. Lead and other toxic chemicals are banned under RoHs.

I got IKEA Ledljus LED string lights for our Christmas tree. These lights can be used for indoors and outdoors.  I think they are wonderful and great for our Christmas tree!

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Quntis LED String Decorative Lights  – Non Toxic Christmas Lights

 

Quntis LED lights are also  RoHS/ CE Certified. Lead and other toxic chemicals are banned under RoHs.

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Non Toxic Christmas Ornaments

Buying Christmas ornaments is tricky because sometimes you don’t know what materials they are made of or what chemicals were used. Christmas ornaments made out of natural materials such as wood, paper, pine cones, or organic fabrics are all great options.

 

FEZZIA Natural Wood Slices For Christmas Ornaments DIY Crafts – Non Toxic Christmas Ornaments

Fezzia Natural Wood Slices are made of natural pine wood with barks. They can be used as tags or ornaments.  You can also make a garland with them. It is also easy to write or paint on them.

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FunPa Pine Cone Ornaments- Non Toxic Christmas Ornaments

 

FunPa Pine Cone Ornaments are natural pine cones. They are picked directly from pine trees and are also untreated and organic.

 

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Smiling Trees Personalized Ornament – Non Toxic Christmas Ornaments

 

Smiling Trees Personalized Ornaments are made of maple, cherry, walnut, organic camelina oil and beeswax, wood, good vibes. Smiling Trees carries many different style ornaments to choose from for personalization.

 

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Handmade Snow White Marino Wool Felted Acorns – Non Toxic Christmas Ornaments

 

Handmade Snow White Marino Wool Felted Acorns are made of merino wool and natural acorn caps. You can use them as ornaments or decorations.

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Three Angel Christmas Ornaments – Non Toxic Christmas Ornaments

 

Three Angel Christmas Ornaments are made of black cherry wood and nontoxic mineral oil. You can also paint them if you want.

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Non Toxic Christmas Stockings

 

Magic Linen Linen Christmas stockings – Non Toxic Christmas Stockings

Magic Linen Christmas stockings are made of 100% Linen, made from European Flax. They are also OEKO-TEX certified product (absent of harmful chemicals).

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100% Organic Hemp Handmade Christmas Stocking – Non Toxic Christmas Stockings

 

100% Organic Hemp Handmade Christmas Stocking is made of 100% organic hemp. This is not a Christmas ornament, it is a Christmas stocking you can hang on top of a fireplace.

I really love this and I thought I would include it here since many Christmas stockings are made of materials with toxic chemicals.

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Chunki Chilli Personalized Hand Knitted Christmas Stockings  – Non Toxic Christmas Stockings

Chunki Chilli Personalized Hand Knitted Christmas Stockings are made of organic cotton, wool and cotton. There are fifteen designs to choose from and these stockings can be personalized with a name.

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Fandango UK Personalized Organic Cotton Santa Sack – Non Toxic Christmas Stockings

These Christmas Santa Sacks are made of 100% organic cotton.  They can be used as a Santa sack or instead of a Christmas stocking. They can be personalized with a name. Santa sacks are printed directly to the material and not personalised using vinyl, so will last for many generations with no peeling, cracking or fading.

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Non Toxic Christmas Decorations

 

Hauskaa Solid Walnut Wood Modern Christmas Village – Non Toxic Christmas Decorations

This beautiful Hauskaa solid walnut wood modern Christmas village is made of  upcycled scrap from local furniture makers who use sustainably harvested walnut wood, 100% American copper, and traditional milk paint or mineral oil made from natural ingredients. It is environmentally friendly, no VOC, and non toxic. Made from 100% organic material, its safe for kids and pets.

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Hauskaa Solid Walnut Wood 8 Modern Christmas Village Houses – Non Toxic Christmas Decorations

Check out Hauskaa solid walnut wood 8 modern Christmas villages (a complete set of all eight Hauskaa houses).

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Wood Reindeer Christmas Decoration – Non Toxic Christmas Decorations

This wood reindeer Christmas decoration is made with carefully selected and harvested birch wood.

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Non Toxic Christmas Garlands Or Beaded Garlands

Here are some Christmas garlands that are made of natural materials such as wood, marino wool or shells.

 

Natural Wooden Casa House Christmas Garland  – Non Toxic Christmas Garlands

 

Natural Wooden Casa House Christmas Garland is made of natural, unfinished wooden beads and twine / jute. It is handmade and takes 4-5 days to create.

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Marino Wool Felt Christmas Garland – Non Toxic Christmas Garlands

These Marino Wool Felt Christmas Garlands are made of marino wool. They are made by hand using all natural materials and traditional felting methods in studios founded and run by women artisans in Kyrgyzstan.

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Beach Finds 30 Shells and Shards with Natural Holes – Non Toxic Christmas Garlands

 

Beach Finds Shells comes with 30 shells with natural holes. They are naturally smooth and unpolished. You can make garlands of your own with these natural pieces.

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Non Toxic Christmas Candles

Christmas candles I listed below are all made of 100% beeswax. They don’t contain fragrance, dyes, lead, paraffin. 100% Beeswax candles are the most non toxic option for candles. They also have 100% cotton or hemp wick. Natural beeswax without color dyes has yellowish color and natural scent of honey. If you are getting a beeswax candle, be sure to get 100% beeswax because candles require only 51% of beeswax to be called beeswax candle. (49% paraffin) There are also some soy wax candles you can buy as an alternative to paraffin wax candles. Although soy wax candles are better than paraffin wax candles, even a 100% soy wax candle must be processed with a small amount of paraffin. On top of that, majority of soy is genetically modified. Therefore, I would avoid soy wax candles.

 

100% Pure Beeswax Snowflake Holiday Pillar Candle – Non Toxic Christmas Candles

 

This candle is made of 100% beeswax and natural cotton wick. It has no added scents or colors.

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Beeswax Snowmen and Santa Candles Set of 3 – Non Toxic Christmas Candles

 

These candles are made of 100% beeswax and natural cotton wick. It has no added scents or colors.

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Handmade 100% Beeswax Christmas Tree Candles – Non Toxic Christmas Candles

 

These candles are made of 100% beeswax and natural cotton wick. It has no added scents or colors.

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Beeswax Christmas Tree Candle – Hand Poured Beeswax Candle – Non Toxic Christmas Candles

 

This candle is made of 100% beeswax and natural cotton wick. It has no added scents or colors.

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Final Thoughts

Many Christmas decorations contain toxic chemicals such as lead, bromine, chlorine, antimony or tin. Toxic chemicals are dangerous especially for young children. Instead of bringing full of toxic chemicals to your home, you can choose natural, non toxic or organic materials for your Christmas decorations. Organic, non toxic materials include natural wood, organic fabrics, pine cones, sea shells, acorns and beeswax. With some of these non toxic Christmas decorations, I hope to bring non toxic Christmas festivities to my family at our home. I also hope this post help you choose non toxic Christmas decorations for your family. Happy Holidays!

 

Find out how Christmas tree can be toxic and what non toxic Christmas tree options are available at my post, ‘Non Toxic Christmas Tree – Most Live and Artificial Christmas Trees are Toxic!’.

If you are interested in non toxic gifts for dogs, please check out, ‘Non Toxic Dog Gifts – Non Toxic Christmas Gift Ideas For Dogs‘.

If you are interested in more non toxic dog gifts, please check out, ‘Organic Dog Gifts, Non Toxic Dog Gifts – Best Christmas Gifts For Dogs‘.

If you are looking for non toxic gifts for preschoolers, please check out, ‘Non Toxic Gifts For Preschoolers – Christmas Gifts For Preschool Girls‘.

If you are interested non toxic Christmas gifts for preschoolers, please check out, ‘Organic, Non Toxic Gifts For Preschoolers – Christmas Gifts For Preschool Girls‘.

If you are looking for a holiday gift for a baby, check out my previous posting, ‘Non-Toxic Holiday Gift Guide – 30 Non-Toxic Gift Ideas For Babies‘.

 

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Author

  • go_new_mommy

    Isabelle has been an entrepreneur for last 16 years in retail and educational industry. She is also a mom. She is a mom entrepreneur who is always trying to find a better, easier way to run her business. She also tries to provide organic and non-toxic living environment for her child. She likes to research for the most non-toxic products or safe alternatives and share them with parents. In addition, she is against animal testing and supports cruelty-free products.

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