If you don't want a huge tree this coming year or just want a little tree to brighten up an extra corner, this post is for you! Instead of trying to find a tiny tree that isn't really scrawny, arrange some pine branches in a bucket, and with a little trimming you'll have the perfect "tree"!
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| Of course I didn't get a picture until half of the needles fell off. Oops. |
That's what I did this year, and I'll give you a play-by-play of how I did it.
But first, a story!
It has been a tradition in our family for many years that each child gets to have their own little Christmas tree in their room over the holidays. Just a little thing that'll fit on the bedside table, strung with a single 36-light strand and various miniature ornaments that we've collected over the years.
After a few years I started to want a real, live tree in my bedroom instead of a boring fake one. So, every year I'll go out with a pair of pruning shears and lop the top off of a largish pine tree out in the woods. Then I'd drag it into the house and we'd try to get it into a tin can with some pebbles and hope that it won't tip over in the night.
Eventually, however, we ran out of trees small enough for me to reach the top part and large enough not to kill the thing, so I almost reverted to a fake tree. (The horror!)
However, I looked back to an idea I'd seen somewhere on the Internet once for a minimalistic Christmas tree that was a few pine branches stuffed in a jar and then decorated. Honestly I thought to myself, 'That looks like a bunch of pine branches with cranberry garland on it.' But then I thought that maybe I could get it to work.
And so, after a bit of trial and error I managed to craft one of the prettiest Christmas "trees" I've ever had.
And now I'll show you how to do it!
First off, I went out to a nearby pine tree with my trusty pruning shears and took off about 6, 7 larger branches, no longer than two feet each. Then I also got a number of smaller sprigs for filler.
You can probably get pine branches at a tree farm or someplace where Christmas trees are supplied. Then again, we've never actually bought a tree before, just got it off of the property, so I wouldn't know.
Next, I grabbed an old ice cream pail and kinda stuffed the branches into it.
Then I used my incredible flower-arranging skills (braggart much?) to move the larger branches around and add some of the smaller sprigs on the sides; and in the middle to fill the bald spots.
After that I shaped into a more tree-shape with some heavy-duty scissors. I also tied the rogue sticking-out bits to some more sturdy things with some fine wire I had lying around.
Then I brought it inside, filled the bucket with water, and put a towel around the bucket (although you could use a tree skirt or something more festive... I didn't have time for fancy stuff). Then I decorated it, and voila!
Maybe this will serve as some inspiration for next year! Or, I guess, this year... 2015 is what I mean.
Some tips to remember are:
- You might want to wear thick gloves as you work. Pine needles can hurt.
- It's best to get a little more foliage than you think you'll need, you can always throw the extra away.
- Be sure to keep the water topped up, and note that individual branches will lose needles faster than branches coming off of a tree trunk.
Merry late Christmas!
~Mary
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