This $9 Trader Joe’s Buy is Perfect for Procrastinators and Tiny Homes Alike

If you are anything at all like me, then you woke up this morning with this thought: “Ahhh! How can December be more than halfway over??” And friends, it is. This month is crowded with lots of fun and festivity, but also lots of boring-but-necessary stuff (getting in last-minute doctor appointments, for example). Simply put: There’s a lot going on!

For all of us who are spread thin and maybe haven’t bought a Christmas tree yet (hi, me), or those of us who live in tiny apartments that have not a single place to put a Christmas tree (hi, also me), I have a golden discovery.

Trader Joe’s carries a Decorate Your Own Christmas Tree for the season, and it’s a game changer. For $8.99, you can take home a tiny little Italian stone pine potted in a red metal tin that comes with its own adorable decor.

This means that for less than ten bucks, you’ll be able to bring home a potted seasonal plant that’s already stocked with its own trimmings—so in addition to saving money, you’re also saving precious, precious time. When I bought my little tree, I was in and out of Trader Joe’s in less than 10 minutes. A Christmas tree miracle!

And here’s the best part: The painted wood ornaments that come with this tree are ingeniously made to clip on, rather than hang, so occasional bumps of the table it’s perched on won’t send glass globes flying.

As far as size goes, tiny apartment dwellers need not fret: The pot of this cutie is about the size of a pint of ice cream, so if you have room for a Ben & Jerry’s in your life then you also have room for a tiny little bit of seasonal spirit that’ll keep giving long after presents have been unwrapped.

Total time to buy and decorate my little tree (now sitting happily on my desk): Just 15 minutes, which means I have a whole lot more hours I can devote to shopping, chores, and binge watching cheesy holiday movies. ‘Tis the season!