For those of you who read our last blog entry from our 3 month update you know that one of our anticipated challenges was what to do about a Christmas tree. We had some great suggestions, including chopping one down, creating a light-shaped tree on the wall, asking for a potted tree we could re-use in years to come (as a gift from a friend or family), or building our own from branches, wire, coat racks, etc. I talked about it with the kiddos, and two weeks ago, Charlie (8) and I wandered around our garden and collected a number of promising fallen tree branches that we thought we might be able to assemble into a make-shift Christmas tree. We decided building our own would be a fun project this year. As a side note, a friend of ours, Gina, had collected branches from our very yard when a previous family she knew lived here, and she built her own Christmas tree. So, we felt encouraged that it not only was possible but had been done from our yard by someone we knew. After finding some promising branches and setting them aside, we left it for a few weeks.
This past weekend, in the early hours (before children when I would have been sleeping in), I took Joey (1) and Charlie (8) to the beach. We brought a couple of bags to collect a few cups of sand to fill in an empty planter bucket to hold the branches in place. Also, a nice outing to get the younger kids out of the house to let the teenagers (and dad) sleep in.
Gathering sand for the base of the “Christmas tree” with Joey and Charlie
Next step was to arrange and anchor the branches in the planter bucket with bricks and rocks. We selected the shape we wanted, set them in the bucket, and found twine in the garage to help tie the branches together.
Anchoring the tree in rocks, bricks and twine. Go dad!
Next step was to awkwardly move the tree inside…yes, in hindsight, we should have assembled the tree inside. No photos of this awkward team effort…Anyway, we found using a tea towel (dish cloth) under the bucket, helped us pull and slide it through the house, as we guided (and lost a few) branches going through doorways. And here the tree arrived in its spot for tree trimming! The kids were pretty impressed.
The tree before “trimming”…
We filled up the spaces around the stones and bricks with a few cups of sand from our morning’s adventure, and started decorating. It felt almost more natural on a warm sunny day to have a tree made of branches, xeriscaped in stones and sand. Who were we kidding trying to replicate a winter tradition with pine trees in Australia? It still felt like Christmas, decorating the tree, even if it was homemade from naked fallen branches. We kicked off our holiday season in a new tradition.
Transforming naked branches into a Christmas tree!
Finally, here it is, in all its glory…a buy nothing new, Australian build-it-yourself foraged Christmas tree! We even got a box today from the grandparents with our first gifts to put under the tree…which I know will add to the festive mood. All-up this project took us maybe two or three hours and cost us $0. Great start to the holiday season, where we’ve captured the essence and magic of the season, without needing to buy something to make it happen. Thank you for all the great tips and ideas…we’ve really loved how everyone is helping us find creative solutions to our little challenges. We’ll keep sharing them here.
Our build-your-own Christmas tree
All the same magic!
So that’s it…tree, check! Will let you know how other steps of the holiday unfold…as always, ideas, comments, and suggestions very welcome!
Buy Nothing New Year 