An Eco-Friendly Christmas Tree that Looks Like a Real Tree and Smells Like a Real Tree

I’ve been brainstorming how to have a pretty, smelly, and green Christmas tree in my home without the ecological guilt of cutting down a living tree. And you know what, I found it! I made my own tree with real tree branch scraps so it has the same look and same delicious smell as a real tree. Oh I’m smitten!

First off, why even do this? Well, cutting down a perfectly good living tree and dragging it into the house to slowly kill only to then have it mulched at greenery recycling a few weeks later seems just odd. (psst: here’s how to recycle your trees) I’m not opposed to this fresh-cut trees entirely. But, I feel like there just has to be a more environmentally friendly option. This is an interesting article on the faux tree vs. real tree debate.

Here are the options I’ve pondered:

1. Decorate a tree still in its root ball and replant - This is a lovely idea but my climate isn’t ideal for these types of trees to be replanted in my yard. And frankly, the notion of un-planting, dragging inside, then dragging back outside, then re-planting a 7’ tree evergreen just seems crazy. I also don’t have the yard space even if I wanted to do that. I found a local organization that sells living trees like this then donates them to wildlife centers when we’re done admiring them in our homes. This is a great option for us next year, but they aren’t in business in 2019.

2. Use a fake tree - Buying a brand new plastic tree hurts. I avoid buying plastic throughout the rest of the year, so why start now? The better option would be to buy a used fake tree at a thrift store, which many of my environmentalist buds do! However, it still doesn’t get the job done the same way. I want that smell!

3. Skip a tree - We did this last year and considered doing so again this year. But I found a solution - keep reading!

4. Create a faux tree of found objects - Pinterest and the world wide web is full of creative ideas for making cone-shaped stacks of things and calling them Christmas trees. I’ve seen someone stack green books then put lights on them, someone built a giant cone-shaped wine rack, others wrap garland around some sticks of wood, and some hang ornaments off ladders. The ideas are endless but not my cup of tea. I did consider making an oversized bottle brush tree or a big paper tree with stacked ruffled cones. But they just don’t replace a real tree.

5. Make a tree with real branches - This is what I did, read on to see how I did it!

How To Make Your Own Real Fake Tree

Supplies:

• Real tree branches (any pine/fir/etc. Christmas tree should work)

• Garden sheers

• Floral wire

• Tomato cage or a DIY cone structure

I collected greenery from my local tree farms, big box stores with tree lots, and my neighbors that had trimmings. Whenever a tree lot preps a tree to go home, they trim off the bottom few inches so it fits in the stand. These scraps are exactly what I used - and bonus I save them from the landfill. When the tree lots didn’t have much to spare, I asked my local Buy Nothing Group and found some pieces at neighborhood houses.

I had a tomato cage in my garage which I repurposed. You’ll want one that has a cone shape to it, not the rectangular ones. I have a galvanized metal cage but you can also find them in green if you’re worried about it blending in. Now is a great time to ask your neighbors to borrow theirs since nobody else is growing tomatoes during this season! I tried linking to one on Amazon for you, but they are so overpriced! If you can’t borrow one for the season, head to your local garden store and get one for $8.

Steps:

1. Turn the tomato cage upside down so the large ring is on the bottom

2. Use the floral wire to tie the top legs together to make the point of the tree

3. Use the floral wire to make more structural supports between each of the support rings. I did one wire support between each ring, but if you have lots of greenery and want it more dense, you could do two extra rungs. You can faintly see above where I put the wire on the cage by twisting the end to one vertical piece, went to the next one, wrapped around, then the next, and so on.

4. Start on the first wire support at the bottom by adding the larger boughs with the ends heading into the body of the cone shape. Insert at least one on each of the four sides. As you go, you can hook the cut end of the branch under the wire or under another branch to support it. (I skipped the very bottom one to make it easier to transport to another room but you could add more at the bottom at the end)

5. Work your way up the tree circling around and layering as you go. To make sure that you keep the cone shape, pick smaller branches and have them hang over the support pieces by the same amount as the bottom one. I recommend orienting each branch with it wilting downward the way it naturally would grow to keep the natural look and fill in the gaps

6. Fill in the gaps with leftover boughs until it’s full and the shape you want. Aim to lock them into each other by weaving the ends so they have rigidity

7. Adjust, fill, and trim as needed. I planned on trimming any pieces that stuck out, but I preferred to leave them as is. It’s a more natural look without blunt cuts at the ends and I like that it’s not a perfect cone

And there you have it! Easy peasy!

If you’re in an RSS reader, click through to see the time lapse of the tree coming together.

The tree comes in at 4.5’ tall which is definitely petite for my 9’ ceilings. So, I propped it up on a side table to give it some height. The table is hidden behind the couch, but could easily be more of a focal point and a great spot to tuck presents underneath.

I did this project a few days ago, so I can’t say for sure how long this will last (I’ll update this post after the holidays!). To prolong the moisture in the boughs, you can soak them in water overnight before building your tree, and then mist the “tree” every few days.

A lot of people are going to say “nooo! this will shed!!!!” But would you tell that to someone that hung garland or a wreath?? It’s the same. thing. people! And if it sheds, I’ll sweep it up and compost it. If it becomes a disaster, I’ll go get more cuttings and make it again. It took an hour and I’m a-okay with it not lasting three months. Who wants a dead tree for that long anyway?

Oh yeah, and Christmas came early. The hardwoods for my kitchen remodel arrived!