Before you throw out you real Christmas tree in the New Year, have a read through this list of uses for your old tree:
- Mulch - Use needles for mulch
- Bird Feeder - Place your tree in its stand outdoors. Fill bird feeders and hang them from the boughs, or drape the tree with a swag of pinecones coated with peanut butter
- Plant protection - Cut off boughs and lay them over perennial beds to protect them from snow and frost.
- Edging - Cut the trunk into 2-inch discs and set them into the soil to edge flower beds or walkways.
- Star hangers - Cut the trunk into circular slices, drill five holes in it to mark the points of a star and thread coloured ribbon or yarn through joining the holes to make a star. Drill one more hole at the top to make a haning loop. Make several and use them to decorate the bare trees and shrubs in the garden during the winter months.
- Another Christmas tree - Store until the needles fall off then spray paint it white and use it in the garden for next year's decoration.
- Display stands - Saw the trunk into different lengths and use the pieces as flowerpot risers for a dramatic group display.
- Coasters - Cut thin slabs off the trunk, sand them smooth, and apply a thin coat of polyurethane to keep the sap off tables and glassware.
- Plant stakes - Strip small branches and use the remaining twigs to support indoor potted plants or stake leggy seedlings.
- Syrup - Make Spruce syrup from the needles
- Winter habitat - if you live on a small property, you can place your old Christmas tree at the edge of your graden. This makes a small wintertime wildlife habitat for rabbits, birds, and squirrels. Some may even build their nests in the pine boughs!
- Cat Play - Cats love to climb and scratch, so get them off the furniture and create a special cat tree. Trim away most of the branches, but leave a few of the sturdy ones to be used as places for your cat to clamber onto. Screw the wood down onto a base, and wrap think, coarse rope around the trunk to give your cats something to scratch at.
- Habitat Stack - Simply cut up all the main trunk of the tree into short sections and stack them at the back of one of your garden borders to help attract creepy crawlies which will help keep other bugs like Aphids and Greenfly away from your plants next year.
- Birds Nest - After making the above stack use the branches you took off to help birds make their nests. Break up the branches into smaller pieces and leave them by the bird feeder so the birds can find them and take them away.
- Ladybird Hotel - Strip all the branches from the tree again but this time drill holes into the trunk but not all the way through. This will create a great habitat for natural predators such as the ladybird. These holed logs can be laid down or nailed to other trees and sheds, even hung from trees.
- Rope Swing - This will work if you have had a thick Christmas tree and have another big tree in your garden to hang it from. Simply tie a rope at both ends of the cut piece of Christmas tree then tie them in a tree to make a fun rope swing for all the family
- Walking Stick - An easy one. Cut the tree to the desired height and it's ready to try out on a local countryside walk. Or you could just use it to pretend to be Gandalf The Grey!
- Feeding Branches - Spread smaller dead branches with margarine or peanut butter then dip into bird seed. These can then be hung up in trees and on fences to attract more varieties of wild bird into the garden.
- Squirrel Park - Remove the top couple of feet of tree and hang it upside down in another tree with squirrel food and other hanging feeders, the squirrels will love trying to get the food. And this way it keeps them entertained and away from your wild bird feeders! This works well if your garden backs onto or is near a patch of woodland.
- Mulch - Use needles for mulch
- Bird Feeder - Place your tree in its stand outdoors. Fill bird feeders and hang them from the boughs, or drape the tree with a swag of pinecones coated with peanut butter
- Plant protection - Cut off boughs and lay them over perennial beds to protect them from snow and frost.
- Edging - Cut the trunk into 2-inch discs and set them into the soil to edge flower beds or walkways.
- Star hangers - Cut the trunk into circular slices, drill five holes in it to mark the points of a star and thread coloured ribbon or yarn through joining the holes to make a star. Drill one more hole at the top to make a haning loop. Make several and use them to decorate the bare trees and shrubs in the garden during the winter months.
- Another Christmas tree - Store until the needles fall off then spray paint it white and use it in the garden for next year's decoration.
- Display stands - Saw the trunk into different lengths and use the pieces as flowerpot risers for a dramatic group display.
- Coasters - Cut thin slabs off the trunk, sand them smooth, and apply a thin coat of polyurethane to keep the sap off tables and glassware.
- Plant stakes - Strip small branches and use the remaining twigs to support indoor potted plants or stake leggy seedlings.
- Syrup - Make Spruce syrup from the needles
- Winter habitat - if you live on a small property, you can place your old Christmas tree at the edge of your graden. This makes a small wintertime wildlife habitat for rabbits, birds, and squirrels. Some may even build their nests in the pine boughs!
- Cat Play - Cats love to climb and scratch, so get them off the furniture and create a special cat tree. Trim away most of the branches, but leave a few of the sturdy ones to be used as places for your cat to clamber onto. Screw the wood down onto a base, and wrap think, coarse rope around the trunk to give your cats something to scratch at.
- Habitat Stack - Simply cut up all the main trunk of the tree into short sections and stack them at the back of one of your garden borders to help attract creepy crawlies which will help keep other bugs like Aphids and Greenfly away from your plants next year.
- Birds Nest - After making the above stack use the branches you took off to help birds make their nests. Break up the branches into smaller pieces and leave them by the bird feeder so the birds can find them and take them away.
- Ladybird Hotel - Strip all the branches from the tree again but this time drill holes into the trunk but not all the way through. This will create a great habitat for natural predators such as the ladybird. These holed logs can be laid down or nailed to other trees and sheds, even hung from trees.
- Rope Swing - This will work if you have had a thick Christmas tree and have another big tree in your garden to hang it from. Simply tie a rope at both ends of the cut piece of Christmas tree then tie them in a tree to make a fun rope swing for all the family
- Walking Stick - An easy one. Cut the tree to the desired height and it's ready to try out on a local countryside walk. Or you could just use it to pretend to be Gandalf The Grey!
- Feeding Branches - Spread smaller dead branches with margarine or peanut butter then dip into bird seed. These can then be hung up in trees and on fences to attract more varieties of wild bird into the garden.
- Squirrel Park - Remove the top couple of feet of tree and hang it upside down in another tree with squirrel food and other hanging feeders, the squirrels will love trying to get the food. And this way it keeps them entertained and away from your wild bird feeders! This works well if your garden backs onto or is near a patch of woodland.
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