We made an alternative Christmas tree this year!
This is why we went for an alternative, breaking tradition, and how we made it! No need to kill a tree for us to feel the Christmas vibes this year. Besides from the awesome looks of our Christmas piece de resistance, we had a little more thoughts and philosophy behind it.
Growing speed of a Christmas tree.
A Christmas tree is a living thing that has to grow for 7 to 11 years to reach a height of 2 meters (that’s +/- 6,5 feet tall). Only to be cut down and to be used as disposable decoration for a few weeks during the holiday season!
Did you know the oldest tree in the world is a Christmas tree? Its located in Sweden and is 9550 years old! Yes, that’s right… nine-thousand-five-hundred-and-fifty years old.
This tree was already around before humans had formed a civilization and us as a human species where still figuring out how to transition from a nomadic hunting & gathering species to a farming species. And it watched us evolve into the beings we are today.
Every Christmas tree had the potential to be hundreds of years old. But we find it necessary to give it 10 years of life before disposing of it because we find it “a nice tradition” I’m finding it such a waste. there is nothing build with the wood, its just decoration. And traditions evolve.
“the tree survived the horror… Will you yank it out of the ground again the next year!?
And so for the last 3 years, I’ve bought a tree with roots, and after Christmas, I’ve tried to save it for the next year. And I’ve failed 3 times in a row. So depressing, my baby tree just gave in every single time.
I know it’s possible to get a christmas tree to stay alive in the full ground, but I never managed to get it to survive until the next year. There are so many things that can go wrong… The tree lost a big portion of its roots because we pulled it out of the ground and often a big portion breaks or is just cut off when harvesting the trees. Moving the tree from the forest/Christmas tree farm to storage, to the place where you buy it, to your home where it’s way too hot for the tree (If the tree stands too close to a radiator of a fireplace It probably won’t make it through the holidays anyway. Make sure to keep the roots moist at all times.
And finally, you move it to the garden. Where the temperature difference is another shock on top of the damage the tree has suffered. Once planted in the ground you will have to wait and see what happens. Its possible the tree won’t survive a hot summer because of the lack of roots it will easily dry out. No wonder I never succeeded. It is possible to get it right. but the chances you will succeed are not really big.
Once you’ve succeeded… And the tree survived the horror and is standing happely in the ground for a whole 11 months… Will you yank it out of the ground again the next year!? Aside from that, it’s really hard to pull a tree out of the ground with most of the roots intact. Especially without some heavy eqipment. But would you!? I think I wouldn’t… So? Planting a new tree in the garden every year didn’t felt like a good option. So This year I’ve tried something new…
-“We decorated it with lights and a selection of my favourite tree decorations in White, wood and koper. “
This spring we braided big hoops out of the pruned twigs of our willow tree. We let them dry and I use them as wall decoration combined with flowers.
I stick fresh flowers in-between the braided twigs until they form a nice composition and let them dry.
So when Christmas came I decided to take a few branches from our huge pine-tree in our backyard and braided that into my hoop to make an alternative Christmas tree for this year. We decorated it with lights and a selection of my favorite tree decorations in White, wood, and copper.
And we totally love how it turned out!
All the advantages to this masterpiece apposed to a “real tree”:
-It’s taking up less space in our little home (BIG WIN)
-I’ve used real pine-branches, so it actually smells like Christmas.
-It’s less expensive
-The kids or cat can’t reach it with their playful little paws.
-It has a real stylish minimalistic look but has still all the Christmassy vibes.
-You don’t have to waste a tree that has been growing for 8 years.
Once I posted a picture on Instagram I’ve got so many lovely reactions! So I’m glad some of you got inspired to do things a bit different this year!
-“This Christmas tree will be back next year in a new composition.“-
And now The new year has come, and it feels like a fresh start. Same us, but a whole new year like a black slate for us to write our story!
Anyway, I’m feeling the need to start this new year in a clean home… I’m packing up all the Christmas decorations and getting new flowers or maybe some nice grasses to braid into a new “winter” themed hoop.
This Christmas tree will be back next year in a new composition. Maybe I’ll make a DIY tutorial vlog with it!? Who knows…
Hope everyone of you had a great Holliday!
Love, Jolanda
