Ah, the week after Christmas finds many of us wallowing in a touch of the post-holiday doldrums; sleep deprivation, familial over-stimulation, food and drink gratification, and the dreaded soon-to-be un-decking, boxing up, and putting away of all the festive decorations. Well, today’s blog brings extended good tidings to those of us who bought a Christmas tree this year. You can re-gift your tannenbaum by recycling it into some fabulous furniture and home decor stuff!
Christmas Tree Bird Feeder: place outside after the holidays and decorate with strings of popcorn, dried fruit, seed cones (see next photo), and nuts for “aviary” wonderful winter feeder. For more info. read this article on how to make a “Christmas Tree Bird Feeder“. Photo courtesy of maggiesmeanderings.wordpress.com.
Seed Cone. Photo courtesy of makeandtakes.com.
Hanging Lamps: for the advanced wood-worker, these hollowed out Christmas tree stumps make for elegant and seemingly expensive pendent lighting. Photo courtesy of homedosh.com.
Desk Lamp: this project is more for the average DIYer like myself. What a fantastic way to light up the New Year and a gift for that forgotten someone, or yourself to remind you of the “most wonderful time of year” all year long. Photo courtesy of kaboodle.com.
Small Plant Containers: Beautiful, simple, and perfect winter-time decor. Succulents and evergreens would love to make these tree trunks their new home. Photo courtesy of thisnext.com.
Candle Holders: If you’re on the ball, before it drops, you can recycle your tree this week and make these wonderful New Year’s party hostess gifts with a chop here, and a whittle there. Photo courtesy of kaboodle.com.
Decorative Stools or Side Tables: for the ambitious tree feller, the more tremendous tannenbaums can be repurposed into these earthy and functional stools and/or side tables. Photo courtesy of kaboodl.com.
Note: For those of you too exhausted from all the holiday happenings to start a how-to project, recycling your tree with the city is also a fantastic way to be green (check with your city to see if they have a “Christmas Tree Recycling Program” or read this article on National Christmas Tree Recycling News). According to different state environmental quality websites, Christmas trees are recycled for five main types of use:
- chipping (chippings are used for mulch and making paths)
- lake and river shoreline stabilization
- river sedimentation management
- beachfront erosion prevention
- fish habitats
