As the countdown to Christmas begins, the festive trees go up in stores and they call to you.
They’re saying “Buy me, make your household complete! Give your living room the proper holiday centrepiece.” Christmas trees are a great tradition in theory but the industry has turned it, like so many other well-intentioned traditions into one that produces huge amounts of waste each year and is more harmful to the planet. 1 Million Women is all about sustaining those lovely traditions but tweaking them to be more Planet Strong.
Today we give you some suggestions for a truly green Christmas tree that you can create yourself using found objects around your home or the great outdoors.
Use a living tree
Having a living tree can be a great Christmas tree option as it is visually pleasing, produces fresh air for your home, and takes in carbon. But you have to be careful about a few things!
It will die if you keep it indoors for more than a week. Tree waste is exactly what we want to avoid. So, if you’re going to commit to a living tree this holiday season, treat it as carefully as you would any other plant that you’ve adopted into your home. Make a commitment to keeping it alive and healthy.
- Make it a small one
- Potted
- One of my favorite ideas for a living Christmas tree is a rosemary tree ! They are easier to grow indoors than a typical tree. Not only do they smell great but you can pluck a few sprigs right off it and throw it into you’re the oven as you prepare your yummy holiday dinner. Win-win
Objects around the home as trees
Decorate your ladder. It may sound strange but we absolutely love this idea and it’s totally easy. A good wooden ladder can still give you that earthy, homey feel that you want around this time of year and are nearly the perfect shape. Thanks to its rungs, you’ll have no problems reaching the top while you’re decorating! Even the smallest member of your family can put the star on top this year
- Glue your wine corks together!
- Stack your books triangularly
- Or get crafty with some old cardboard boxes!
Use your wall!
Maybe its not the most exciting alternative but we’ve explored some pretty crafty options that open up a wide range of gorgeous looking “trees” like:
- Pinning your ornaments (all up cycled yeah?) straight to the wall or stringing your lightings (all LEDs right?) back and forth along the wall in the shape of a tree.
- Get creative with the family by drawing your Christmas tree with colored chalk on a blackboard!
Use found objects from the great outdoors
Driftwood makes for an amazing alternative. Using found objects that otherwise would’ve been ignored is doing a great service to the environment. It also has that great natural look to it.
We challenge you to be ultra crafty with your Christmas tree this year and we can’t wait to hear about and see all your creations. Tag us in your photos with #1MW or #NoWasteChirstmas - We'll share our favourites with the 1MW community! You can read more about No Waste Christmas Ideas for kids here And find more sources for more inspiration on our No Waste Christmas board on Pinterest