Christmas Trees Aren’t Just for Christmas
Usually by the time we finish the holidays, I’m not ready for my jewelry to be sent back to the basement. I love making my home festive and I love being without garlands again at the start of the new year. But this year I did not dare to cut down our tree. The winter ahead seemed colder and darker than most, and the glow of the Christmas lights created the coziness that I craved more than usual. However, although my tree is not exactly large, it is large enough to interfere with normal life, and it is not what I want all year round. I decided that there was a need to compromise.
So I bought this little 3 foot guy for under $ 30 plus a short red light strip. (I have 35 mini-light bulb filament, but it’s a bit meager; I would recommend 50 for a tree this size.) Then I ordered a couple of packs of heart jewelry ( like these ) and decorated myself with a valentine. tree:
The biggest expense was obviously wood. But now that I have it, I can repurpose it very cheaply for any occasion with a bundle of lights, plus a trip to the dollar store for a decorative seasonal garland or little crafts that the kids can paint and hang.
To extend the holiday (that is, give the kids something to do for half a day), you can also make seasonal decorations at home with salt dough to add to the tree – all you really need is flour, salt, water, and cookie cutters in the garden. … shaped like hearts, shamrocks or rabbits, depending on the holiday you celebrate. (If you want to do your best, kids can also decorate the decorations with paint, glitter or food coloring – and remember to punch a hole in them with straws or a toothpick before baking so you can hang them.with ribbon or ornamented hooks when done ).
I think the key to having fun with your Christmas tree is not to place it in the center of your living space. I want to enjoy the glow of the lights without having Valentine’s Day on my face every day for a month. We put our Christmas tree on a small table on the covered veranda that we can see through the window in our living room.
It’s a bit of a holiday mood in the background, not in the foreground and center. In your home, this could mean placing it on the buffet table in the dining room, in the finished basement, or in the corner of the playroom – wherever it isn’t usually beaten.
The best thing about a tree this size is that the second I get tired of it (and I will), I can pick it up, take it to my basement storage, and be done with it until the holiday spirit reappears.