The kids don’t think my white tree counts and they have been begging me and Michael to get a fresh Christmas tree this year. But somehow it’s the middle of December already? And the big, pretty trees are SO expensive. We saw a gorgeous tree while driving by a lot a few weeks ago and it was $250! Yikes.
If you’re like me, and you missed the official window of time where it makes more financial sense to invest in a giant real Christmas tree, consider buying a smallish 2-4-footer that hasn’t been cut. Throw it in a short basket on top of a pretty table and you’re all set! This tree from Lonny has my heart. It’s the perfect amount of sparse/organic – so it actually looks real! But it still has enough foliage to hold on to some pretty ornaments. Bonus points for it being up off the ground and Margot-proof!
When the New Year comes (which will feel like approx five seconds from now, promise), it will be a breeze to take down and either recycle it on tree pick-up day (which is sort of a bummer, right? – pretty wasteful), or plant it in your yard if you bought a potted one.
Here’s to Christmas decorating ideas that are EASY and save money, and best of all, that help us look less Grinch-y to our kids! *high fives!*
PS An even simpler idea – hang ornaments in an oversized arrangement of evergreen boughs! I am going to swing by the lot by my house to see if they have any loose branches to buy…
The trees they sell at Costco or Lowe's or much more reasonable than the lots – Just a tip for you.
costco and home depot have huge trees for $49-99
Good point! I know there are less expensive trees out there but since we already have a normal size tree (the fake white one), we wanted to go really big on the real tree – like a 9 or 10 footer. Those ones are pretty pricey everywhere. At least $10 a foot. I mostly just wanted an easy alternative to getting and installing a second big tree. :) #lazy
Buying a live tree benefits small farmers here in Oregon (if the tree comes from here). It may feel wasteful, but it is the harvest of a tree planted years ago, to provide income and jobs for the family that grew it. It also maintains the green space here in the Portland area, and keeps it from being developed into urban sprawl. Perhaps these may be reasons to tempt you to spend your green on that greenery. ;)
I love the evergreen boughs in the vases! My kids beg for trees in their rooms and perhaps we could just trim the lower boughs off of our family one for them. Now why didn't I think of that?
This is exactly what I did in my boys room, put lights around it and it smells amazing.
This is exactly what I did in my boys room, put lights around it and it smells amazing.
I love the evergreen boughs in the vases! My kids beg for trees in their rooms and perhaps we could just trim the lower boughs off of our family one for them. Now why didn't I think of that?
We buy a 10 ft tree at Ace every year, it only comes bundled so you don't know how it's going to look but we'very never been disappointed!
We buy a 10 ft tree at Ace every year, it only comes bundled so you don't know how it's going to look but we'very never been disappointed!
I just love your style! I am a recent discoverer of your blog and am having so much fun looking through your archives! You have such fabulous taste, and I especially love all of your creative and inexpensive ways of making things look like a million bucks! I hope you keep dong this for many years to come. You are a true talent!
Where oh where did you get the stars hanging from your music room? Love your tree
I have often gone to the tree lot at Home Depot and picked up boughs for free- just the stuff they trim off when they sell a tree. They just throw it out otherwise. Just an FYI.
We do this every year and make door swags for ourselves. Free free free!
$250???? Wow coming from western Canada, I am shocked. We are spoiled as an average tree costs $30. I like the live tree idea!
My tree cost $40. this year. Every year, we go to a Christmas tree farm to choose and cut it ourselves. That experience as a family is a huge part of Christmas for me. I can't imagine the tree ever being an afterthought or anything other than one of the two primary Christmas decorations in my home (along with the nativity). Like someone else said, the tree has been grown especially to be a Christmas tree and provides income for a family of farmers. Each year they plant more in place of the ones that were cut. Once the tree comes down, it is recycled into mulch and/or compost.
Maybe get a 6 foot tree and put it up on a side table or make a quick plywood box for it to sit on. That way 1. it's cheaper than $250, 2. Your girls are thrilled. (I gotta agree with them in that a fake white tree doesn't quite do it.) 3. You can get the 9-to-10-foot drama you want and 4. It's up and out of reach of your baby.
I live in a small house without much storage, so we get a cut tree every year and don't have to worry about storing a fake tree. We like the smell, are willing to put up with needles for a few weeks, and then at the end, we cut off the branches and put them in our compost pile. Going out to a tree farm to choose exactly the right one is part of our Christmas traditions–although it might be more difficult in some areas of the country than others.
When I went to buy a potted tree for our tree last year to save and replant, my local gardening store recommended against it. Bringing a living tree into the house, which is heated to human living temperatures, is a shock to the plant, which is meant to live outside in the winter. I bought the tree anyway and left it at our front door and decorated it there. It was a nice reminder of the season every time we came and went and the tree was happy through the winter. Plus, no needles to clean off the floor and no broken ornaments due to curious kitties!
Nice your ideas, thank you for sharing with us. I really appreciate these kind of stuff.
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Yeah we used to have a white tree at my dads and a pink one at my moms (my parents separated when I was two so I've had two Christmases every year until I was old enough to have my own). But that was in the 80s and 90s so…..not a big fan anymore (I find it kind of old fashion to be honest). We have a fake tree but it's well done and looks real. It's not too massive and more tall than wide and it's a breeze to take it out every year and put it away after the holidays (it separates in three parts). Real trees do smell great but I don't like the idea of cutting down a tree to expose it in your living room for one month and just ditch it :( It makes me cringe!
We only have one tree, so a regular height one works for us. We go to our local Pike Nursery, they boys pick their favorite, we pay $35 and we are done! We keep it simple!