Decorate for Christmas with what you already have in your kitchen (and didn't think to use).

Kraft bags, the typical brown paper bags from the supermarket, hide, folded and glued together, large stars or snowflakes with a Scandinavian flair. Just cut out some geometric motifs so that, when fanned out, a light piece emerges that can be hung from the ceiling, on the table or against a bare wall. No one would guess that it comes from the weekly shopping: the brown paper, in XXL format, becomes the perfect decoration for a sober, warm and very photogenic Christmas.

A bunch of cinnamon sticks tied with kitchen twine, some cloves peeking out, an anise star here and there... and suddenly the tree is no longer decorated with plastic balls but looks more rustic, more homey, more spicy. These little groupings can hang from branches, hug the base of a candelabra, surround a thick candle or hold a linen napkin on the table. They are not perfect ornaments, but small aromatic bouquets that tell what's cooking in that house.

Here it takes a little more hand work, but the payoff is almost spectacular. A couple of beer cans, well washed, glued and painted, can become small metallic figures that evoke Central European tin soldiers, the same ones that populate nutcrackers and winter shop windows. Painted in red, white and gold, lined up on the mantelpiece or hung on the tree, they have that ironic and nostalgic touch of old toys, with the particularity that they were born from something that was destined to be discarded.

Dehydrated orange slices have something of a domestic stained-glass look: light, translucent, almost like tiny citrus crystals. Threaded on a simple string or held together with wooden clothespins, they become garlands that work just as well on the tree as they do surrounding the Christmas wreath of spruce or pine boughs that adorns the door. Under the warm light of LED lights, the amber of the pulp and the toasted edge of the skin give the feeling that the house smells like Christmas.

The wine glasses, placed upside down or at different levels, become impeccable supports to create heights in the center of the table. Inside can hide a sprig of pine, a small ball, a dried flower; on top, a fine candle or a light ornament. The gesture is minimal, turning the everyday glassware upside down, but the effect is reminiscent of a contemporary still life: transparent, luminous and without a single piece purchased expressly for the occasion.

Folded, facing each other and joined together, the paper doilies become three-dimensional stars or snowflakes that look like lace suspended in the air. Simply group several in different sizes and heights to fill a corner of the living room, mark the center of the table or draw a small constellation on the window. The matte white of the paper, with its delicate openwork, filters the light and creates soft shadows on the wall, giving the house an air of silent snow and a surprisingly elegant decoration without leaving the domestic.

Egg cartons, cut into small "flowers" and painted or left in their original gray, are strung on a string along with dried leaves, twigs or a small fruit. The result is a light garland that can frame a window, kitchen shelf or stair railing. There is something especially tender about such a humble object, designed to protect dozens of breakfasts, ending up presiding over the house when all but the Christmas lights go out.

Inverted, cut out and painted gold, the plastic bottles are transformed into bells that look like something out of an antique shop window. A ribbon bow, a string as a clapper and, if desired, a small detail, a bead, a green twig, a handwritten label, are enough to complete the illusion. Hung in a group on the table, on a door frame or accompanying a garland, they reflect the light with soft sparkles and put in scene that Christmas mix of glitter, craftsmanship and objects rescued from the back of the closet.

There are corks that you keep almost without thinking about it, as if they retain something of the conversation and the toast that brought them to the table. With a few materials they become little Christmas angels impossible not to love: a cork as a body, a wooden bead for the head, some wings cut out of old book paper and a piece of linen that makes a dress or a ribbon. Hanging from the tree, grouped on a shelf or placed on the plate, marking the place of each diner, they have that homemade charm that does not pretend to be perfect. In the end, they are almost a statement of intent: recycle, reuse and celebrate, all in the same figure.

More ideas with corks: Christmas reindeers

In Petitchef we have also made some Christmas reindeer with wine corks that fit very well with this way of decorating. If you want to continue experimenting with this material, here is the step-by-step tutorial:

In the end, all this decorating with what was in the kitchen is not just about ingenuity and budget. It's about looking at bags, cans, corks and leftover ingredients and admitting that they are part of the story of the year. They are not impeccable props, but the material proof of what has been on the table. Decorating with that is not just saving or recycling: it is accepting that the Christmas scene is built with the evidence that we have been here, living, staining, celebrating what we could with what we had.