Friday, October 16, 2020

$100 Christmas Budget: Christmas Tree





“The perfect Christmas tree?  All Christmas trees are perfect!”  

Charles N. Barnard


One of our favorite family Christmas traditions is cutting our own Christmas tree.  There is nothing like the smell of a fresh cut pine tree to get you excited for Christmas.  It only costs five dollars for a tree permit where we live.  Some years we have gone together with friends and have made a sledding day out of our annual tree cutting trip.  

For those who don’t have an opportunity to get a fresh tree for only five dollars, as well as all of the fun associated with that activity, don’t let that deter you from having a great Christmas.  For some reason, we get an idea in our minds that we have to do things a certain way to be able to have a nice holiday.  

It really doesn’t matter if you have a live Christmas tree or not. Some people prefer artificial trees so they don’t have to worry about pine needles on the floor or having to water the tree.  

Look at Freecycle and Craigslist if you want to find an artificial tree for next to nothing or even free.  

Another thing you can do is tree sharing.  This benefits both parties.  Maybe someone you know is going out of town and would be happy to pass on their live tree before they leave.  If you are going out of town, you could pass your tree onto someone else.  



Do you have a tree in your yard that you could cut down or decorate?  

How about a plant or a topiary tree that would work.  It doesn’t matter if it is alive or artificial.  

This year, how about planting a tree for someone instead of cutting one down?

If none of these ideas sound like something you like or that would work out for you, try doing something new this year.  

On the internet, I have seen pictures of Christmas trees made out of books, cans, and even water bottles.  I have also seen Christmas trees made of cardboard that is put onto a wall.  It is decorated with old ornaments glued onto the tree.  I have even seen paper trees put on a wall and decorations colored on them.  Having the family all sit around the table coloring their paper tree could be a fun family activity if you have small kids.  It doesn’t cost much to try some of these different ideas and you may enjoy doing something frugal and different for a change.

Having a Christmas tree is a fun tradition, but it doesn’t matter what kind of tree you have.  Spending time with family is what really matters, whether you have a real tree, artificial tree or one that you creatively made.







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