There are lots of reasons why, even if you celebrate and decorate for Christmas, you might be considering forgoing a tree this year. A small apartment or big travel plans are two common ones, but perhaps you are simply ready to try something a bit more out of the ordinary. We scoured our archives and the web for alternatives to the traditional tree for all of the holiday decor rebels out there and found plenty to choose from...
An internet classic: Jane's Wall Collection Christmas Tree
Rustic and charming: Ingrid's Wood & Wood Stool Tree
A reader solution: Anh & Philip's DIY Christmas Tree Chandelier
A bookshelf tree for those with very sparse bookshelves (not sure that exists!).
Martha & Tom have a fantastic how-to post on their wooden tree DIY.
Another reader project: Michael's Musical Christmas Tree
A Post-it-Notes tree from Living Etc.
How about a projected image like the one at the Danish Embassy?
A printout to use to deck the halls walls from HP.
A horizontal version that fits on a windowsill from Bo Bedre via Emma's Design Blogg
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that printout idea is AWESOME! So going to do that right NOW!
WOW! Now why didn't I think of that? People never cease to amaze me with their creativity.
Great ideas! We drew a Christmas tree outline on the wall a few years back. It was fun decorating the wall inside with bulbs, bows and more. I'm going to print the tree and put it up at my office. Thanks for the fun ideas.
Love the ideas! I think that print-out tree is going to find its way into our decorating this year.
One year, my mother had a 5 year old, an 18 month old and a 5 month old (and a dog!) during Christmas time. To lessen the stress of having a tree with us around, she had us decorate our own ornaments (glitter, constructions paper, etc.) and she created a green contstruction paper Christmas tree on our wall in our apartment. We've made fun of her for years for this DIY experiment. Now, it seems I must apologize and bow to her creativity :)
Great ideas but disappointed in HP for calling it a "Holiday Tree" instead of a Christmas Tree! Although I did download it.
I love these ideas! My boyfriend and I have DIYed our own "christmas trees" for the last two years and our friends and family think we're crazy for not just getting a tree! Glad to see other people doing this!
Wow, that's great! I wouldn't know where to squeeze a real tree so I'm going for a diy tree too! Probably one made of post its where everyone who visits can leave a mesage.
@ S.J.P. I like that HP calls it a Holiday Tree. The symbolism of the tree is much much older than te Christian notion of a Christmas Tree. That's the exact reason I like to tell everyone I am putting up my Pagan Tree ;)
My aunt used to make a "Christmas cloud," which was basically a large twiggy branch suspended from the ceiling with ornaments hanging on it. I always thought it was an awesome alternative to a tree, and it looks especially great in a room with tall ceilings.
We had this same issue but used green painters tape and created a tree outline. We used little 3m hooks to string lights, garland and hang ornaments...such an easy task and will be easy cleanup :)
mexitalican - I love this idea...all these ideas actually.
Before we had kids we just went without a tree. Since having them we've been carrying our kitchen table out to the garage. I wonder what my partner will think of this idea...
Love this post. I'm planning to hunt for a tree branch ,attach origami cranes and stars in green
And red. And hang it from the ceiling. :)
What great ideas. In years past, I have bought a roll of wrapping paper that was appropriately printed, sketched out a large treem cut it out, and hung it on the wall or door. Then I taped our Christmas cards on it. It was sweet and simple, and satisfied my longing for a tree.
Love the idea from the JCrew latest catalog - a X-mas tree with colored tape on the wall - but where to get those tapes, please?
10 years ago when I was living alone with my two small boys we were told that we would not be able to have a 'real' Christmas tree in our apartment building. They were so disappointed but I told them that I would think of something. Shopped around but artificial trees were too expensive. I then remembered my dad had a roll of leftover chicken wire he had used to keep the birds from landing on his house. I took that leftover chicken wire and fabricated a 6 foot tree which I covered in lights, tinsel and decorations. The effect was stunningly beautiful and the boys thought it even better than the real thing. We still have that tree and use it every year. It has grown to 8 feet and is so beautiful we wouldn't trade it for anything. It stands as a symbol to me and to my boys that imagination and the will to find a way can result in something pretty wonderful. Necessity being the mother of invention proved once again.
That pallet tree is just sad.
I love this post and, even more, all the additional ideas in the comments! You guys are all creative and awesome.
With two small children, a real Christmas tree would have been destroyed in less time than it took us to put it up! Our solution: a felt Christmas tree that the kids can play with to their hearts content.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spare-Room-Designs/145013245566521#!/photo.php?fbid=236096793124832&set=a.192466590821186.48113.145013245566521&type=1&theater
Jane's Wall Collection tree freakin' *rocks*!!! We're getting a real tree, but I love this so much I'm thinking of where I can also have a wall tree.
In years past when we didn't have room for a live tree, I bought a wreath and decorated it with tiny ornaments. We liked it so much I sometimes still do that.
I just DIY'd a mini modern tree last night! I had 1" wide bamboo slats, I cut them to various lengths and drilled a hole in the middle. Threaded them on a dowel with large hex nuts as spacers in between the sizes, spread them out, and stood it in a vase! I think it looks great! (a pic: http://twitpic.com/7lx0p8)
I just love that first one! I want to do something like that on the wall of my studio to keep up all year long.
That first photo is SPECTACULAR :)
Awesome! You guys are sooooo creative!
And I think the Martha and Tom wooden tree might possibly be my favorite.
How about some more ideas that are not on the ground or lower part of the walls? We adopted two kittens this summer and I tried to set up our usual silver tree and they climbed it right away. I'm devastated :(
Applause for GeorgiaMete!! Loved your inspiring post. I hope your boys appreciate such a creative mom.
I think you guys do a similar post every year with some repeated trees, and every year I LOVE it. And I'm not even christian! Repeat next year, please.
My husband thinks I'm crazy because I always want to have an alternative to a Christmas tree. I'm definitely showing this article. This year I am painting a collection of "found" branches, painting them gloss white and placing them in a large clear glass vase. I'm then going to drape them with white lights and white ornaments. I can't wait to see how it turns out.
Some of these are just mind blowingly creative!
Our tradition: floor to ceiling kraft paper taped to the wall and lots of markers!
Loved all of these ideas. I'm thinking traditional tree upstairs, and one of these lovely alternatives for the downstairs area! I love what people can come up with when they are challenged to be creative! Great work peeps!!
Most of the ideas are very nice but I think I would put something in storage (if I had to) in order to make space for a real Christmas tree. Christmas is my favourite holiday and I look forward to putting my tree up this weekend (I haven't bought it yet, I will hit Home Depot on Friday).
I love three of these, but the others are pathetic and sad. Seriously, terrible.
Incredibly creative! I love them all. I thought the bookcase was really fun. I guess you could make a tree out of different sized hardback stacked on top of each other and decorated with lights ...
Will print the HP tree for my office! Nice ideas for anyone in the world to implement. I love the
Drums.
Ah! That chair in the first photo is wonderful! Anyone know where to find one like it?
Upside down tree, suspended from the ceiling.
I like it. I love it! We have been known to do the same sort of thing here. Change it up a little. This was especially helpful to "decorate" a free standing sculpture in the house when we lived in Singapore--a lot less room for stuff than what we have now in Austin. Nice blog. Thanks. tT
Love Ingrid's Primitive Wood Tree! I'll be making one inspired by hers tonight!
Cheers, ANNiE Hall
(Author, Artist, Blogger, Cook)
When a grad student, my husband and I made a "white trash christmas tree" - a decorated upright vaccuum. We loved it.
@mexitalican, a few years ago, my son (then 6) and I did something similar. We were going to be moving right after Christmas, and my husband was already in our new city, so I didn't want to have to deal with packing up the ornaments. I put a big wrapping paper "tree" on the wall, and my son and I made ornaments and taped them up.
Cool ideas - how fun to make it an art project.
Thanks Cali Girl!
Some of these are cute, some are just sad- I am looking at you sticky note tree.
Really Really Cool!!
Here was my tree last year: http://oi40.tinypic.com/69i1hj.jpg
And here is my office tree :D
http://oi43.tinypic.com/2wn31b8.jpg
http://oi41.tinypic.com/2qnz894.jpg
My college room-mate was an origami whiz, so I put up a cut-out green construction paper tree and she went to town on it with origami ornaments. It was super cute.
@nato- you can use japanese washi tape. You can find it in a whole assorment of paper or craft stores, or abundantly on etsy.
GeorgiaMete... photos please!!!
I love Jane's tree!
I enjoy the challenge of having a non-traditional tree each year. I think one of my kid's favourites (many years ago now) was a large branch (stood up in a flower pot filled with dirt) that the kids decorated with handmade decos... including bread dough stars and angels (after baking the angels just looked like blobs but WE knew they were angels!), and dry leaves painted bright colours and sparkled with glitter. It was the best fun!
Clever, great for small rooms, and some could be adapted to homes with madcap pups that will eat anything. A dog my husband had as a kid thought he had a treat in his hand when he was changing a Christmas tree light bulb. The dog snatched the bulb and quickly swallowed it whole. The lucky dog passed the still-unbroken bulb without complications. Some dogs and cats get into worse trouble with Christmas trees than some kids do.
We have a huge mirror in the living room. Two years ago we crisscrossed the lights all over the mirror and hung ornaments from that. The fact that it was against the mirror made it INCREDIBLY GLITZY. Fantastic! I highly recommend it--and I think we'll do it again this year.
I've been creating an alternative Christmas tree/art piece since 1988. I broke my neck and back in a car accident and had no money but a lot of time on my hands. All of my trees can be seen at: http://misguideddesigns.com/mdxmastrees.html Enjoy!
I love this - I have bemoaning the live piles of x-mas trees that end up on the sidewalk and have even done a book 921 trees - found on the streets of NY which explores the history and options to bringing cut down trees into the house (http://www.blurb.com/user/store/bonphoto
) This is even more fun!!!
@ misguided designs... what fun you have had!! I love skeletree the best I think, though hard to choose
*LOVE* how unique and thoughtful each of these are. Super impressed with Jane's patience to create the wall collection tree.
All are creative, but the ones that are really striking:
1. The bookcase tree is cute.
2. Even though I have no idea what images the Danish embassy is projecting, I like the idea.
3. The first tree.
That first photo needs to be made into a Christmas Card!! I can't take my eyes off of it!
@Sandra L. You are right, there is no such thing as a Christmas Tree; in fact, it was a pagan tradition before it was adopted by Christians wanting to blend in.
When I was a senior in high school, my family was lucky enough to attend the Bracebridge dinner at the Ahwahnee Lodge in Yosemite; this meant we were away for Christmas. We solved the tree problem by decorating my dad's skis and putting the presents around the tails.
This year my husband and I are travelling to my in-laws' house, so instead of a tree, I strung my lights in my front windows and hung some ornaments from the strings. I think it looks pretty cute!
I put the HP tree on the wall at work - love it! Sort of subtle but not at all boring.
Congratulations, fantastic ideas.... Have nice xmas holidays..
Cool