This 'Workshop Village' lets visitors make recycled Christmas presents for free

Would you give a Christmas present made out of trash? A Danish recycling artist has created a place where people can make Christmas presents for loved ones without spending a dime.

This is the second year of the "Remake Christmas" project in Copenhagen. Visitors are free to use whatever they find to make unique presents and decorations.

"Basically you can do whatever your imagination allows you to do," said creator Thomas Dambo.

Dambo, who has done similar shops outside of the Christmas season, said he was disheartened by the mass consumerism of the holiday. At the workshop, Dambo said, Christmas "can be about spending time with your family or friends and making a good Christmas present for yourself."

In addition to spending less money and saving the environment, Dambo explained the village is about visitors getting creative with their gifts.

And there's plenty to spark their imagination. The 10-structure "village" is made entirely from trash, Dambo said. In addition to the workshops and places to find and donate materials, it includes a vegan food shop and a stage to keep visitors entertained.

The project is mostly volunteer-run and is a true community effort with a variety of funding sources, the artist said. Dambo invites local school groups to visit the shop, asking them to donate their own items to the cause in exchange. The night security guard is a homeless man who Dambo enlisted in exchange for shelter.

"I believe that Christmas doesn't have to be about buying all this stuff that we don't really need," he said.