Updated on December 10th, 2024 Posted In: Decorations/Parties
Author: Alexandra Campbell

Jam jar Christmas – how to decorate with garden clippings

Jam jar Christmas decorations are easy, thrifty and charming. You can create them using things you already have in your house or garden.

So I’ve asked florist-tutor Julie Davies how to do jam jar Christmas decorations, using festive lights, garden greenery and Christmas ornaments.

Jam jar Christmas decorations created with empty jars, tree ornaments, twigs from the garden and foraged pine cones.

Julie and I did a ‘how to make a twig wreath‘ post and YouTube video, which proved very popular, so we’re back for Twigs at Christmas 2. It’s the right time of year to be pruning trees, so it’s a great way of combining gardening and Christmas decorating.

These are all easy homemade decorations. You don’t need to be an expert at Christmas crafts to create them.

Which jars to use for jam jar Christmas decorations?

Julie says that the standard straight-sided, round jam jars are easier to decorate than the almost square sided Kilner Jars/ Mason Jars or the hexagonal ‘Bonne Maman’ jars. These straight-sided jars are just called ‘jam jars.’

So what’s the difference between a Mason Jar, a Kilner jar and an ordinary jam jar? Both Mason and Kilner are famous brands of canning jars, used to store preserved food. They have squarish sides and lids that seal. The Mason jar comes from the US and the Kilner jar is from the UK.

However, if you look at any post on jam jar decorating, you will often see ordinary jam jars referred to as ‘Mason jars’.  Like some brands, the brand name has come to stand for the whole category. Many posts labelled ‘Mason jar crafts’ are just using ordinary jam jars.

But a Mason jar or a Kilner jar is still a specific type of preserving jar. They are both beautiful jars and look good holding flowers, but they’re not an ordinary jam jar. And the slightly square shape is not as easy to decorate with.

There are lots of places to buy ordinary empty jam jars, such as this pack of 12 1lb jam jars from Wares of Knutsford.

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Use your own recycled jars…how to clean off the labels

I have a shelf crammed with jam jars, many with several layers of label on them. And jam jar labels do not wash off easily!

My jam jar collection – not usable for decorating as they are because of the sticky labels. Most of these jars are ordinary jam jars, not Mason jars or Kilner jars. There are two hexagonal ‘Bonne Maman’ jars (far right and far left), which are pretty but less easy to decorate.

Google came up with two methods for getting sticky label residue off jam jars. I tried them out to see which was best.

For Method One, I soaked them all overnight in soapy water. Then I scraped off most of the label, but there was still some residue.

Then I mixed 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda in the US) with 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil and worked it into a paste. I smeared this on the sticky residue and left it for 30 minutes, then scrubbed it all off with wire wool. You can use any cooking oil.

For Method Two, I used cheap household vinegar. Spray the vinegar over the residue, and leave for 30 minutes, then scrub off with wire wool.

Jam jars – get rid of the sticky residue of labels before decorating

Whichever method you use, you’ll need to wash the jars again in hot, soapy water. Both methods were effective, but perhaps Method One, the soda + oil method was just slightly better.

Dried fennel gives these jam jar lights an interesting twist, but use a battery tea light rather than an open flame as a fire precautions.

Jam jar Christmas decorations – the equipment you need…

You probably already have everything you need for Christmas jam jars somewhere around in the house.

Apart from the jars, you only need rubber bands, scissors, secateurs and garden twine. You could also use ribbon instead of garden twine.

Use gardening tools and string – you probably have what you need in your home or garden.

And you need some twigs or other garden clippings. Julie used birch twigs, which often get blown onto pavements in high winds. Generally, you shouldn’t take anything from parks, forests or verges without asking permission, but it’s very unlikely that anyone will worry about you picking up fallen twigs.

Jam jar Christmas decorations are quick and easy…

Twist the rubber bands around the jar. If it’s a tall jar, you may need two rubber bands – one high up and the other low down.

Step 1 – snap the rubber band round the jar

Then, taking small handfuls of twigs, poke them under the rubber band, to go around the jar.

Poke the twigs under the rubber band, and spread evenly around the jar.

Cut the the twigs sticking out at the bottom, so that the jam jar can sit flat on a surface.

Then cover up the rubber bands by wrapping garden twine or ribbon round the jam jars. You could tie either in a bow or just knot them round the back of the jar.

More decorating options from the garden…

As well as birch twigs, you could also use dried flower stalks and seedheads. Julie made another jam jar Christmas decoration with dried fennel stalks and heads. She also recommends something green and woody, like rosemary, which won’t dry out too quickly.

Dried fennel stalks and seedheads (right) with birch on the left.

We set three or four jam jar Christmas decorations along the mantelpiece. We interwove some ivy along it, and also some pine cones, which Julie foraged in the summer.

Is it legal to pick up pine cones and twigs from the ground?

The Magna Carta stated that every common man had the right to pick up deadwood, but this was rescinded as part of an EU Health & Safety directive in 2008. Now you cannot legally take fallen wood, seeds or leaves from, for example, Forestry Commission land.

To take anything from private land, you need to ask the landowner. And you’ll need permission to be on the land in the first place. However this post isn’t legal advice. It’s just warning you that there may be legal issues around foraging, depending on where you live. It’s your responsibility to find out how they apply to you.

The law on theft is not always considered applicable to wild plants, but it’s complex. The Woodland Trust has foraging guidelines. If you’re going out foraging elsewhere, the easiest thing is probably to make sure that you ask whoever owns or manages the land.

Avoid the risk of fire when making jam jar Christmas decorations

Anything that has an open flame is also a fire risk!

I love Pinterest. It has wonderful Christmas decorating inspiration. However, I’m deeply alarmed by the sight of jam jar and Mason jar Christmas decorations with foliage, pine cones, etc inside the jam jar, with a candle that will inevitably burn down to ignite it all.

And as for pillar candles wedged straight into greenery – well, that’s a house fire waiting to happen. Dried twigs and some evergreen foliage burn very quickly.

Tea lights inside jam jars are probably the safest form of open flame you can have. But be sensible – don’t leave them unattended, and use the glass to keep the flame away from the flammable materials.

These jam jar Christmas decorations on our mantelpiece vary in how flammable they are. We haven’t put any decorations inside the jar and the low tea light keeps the flame away from the greenery and twigs on the outside of the jar. However, if you put a taller pillar candle in there instead of a tea light, you may create a fire hazard.

Battery tea lights are generally much safer. I’d suggest battery tea lights such as these LED Flameless Tea Light Candles for the frondy fennel, for example, while the rosemary jar has shorter stems, so should be fine with a live flame, although you should always be watchful.

The rosemary jar (far left) has stems no higher than the rim of the jar. It shouldn’t be a fire hazard with a live tea light. But the dried fennel (centre) should have a battery tea light or fairy lights wound round it. You should never leave a live flame unattended.

I bought the mini baubles and wooden star silhouettes a few years ago from a company called Cox & Cox. They probably still stock similar things, but you could use any mini baubles.  And the fairy lights are a short string of battery-operated lights similar to the Jsdoin Battery Operated String Lights with Copper Wire.

Flowerstart, Julie Davies’ four week online flower arranging class comes via three emails a week.There’s also flower arranging advice on Julie’s YouTube channel

More Christmas decorating inspo using garden clippings

As well as this simple twig wreath for your Christmas door, you can also create an extra large/ giant wreath for a wall or over a mantelpiece.

And see here for a quick festive Christmas table decorations from the garden, using ivy, conifer branches and Christmas ornaments.

If you’d like to decorate your garden, but want to make sure that the decorations are environmentally-friendly, then see

Christmas Garden Decorations – how to be festive and wildlife-friendly.

And to make beautiful winter window boxes and containers, see this video:

Pin to remember jam jar Christmas decorations:

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