As Christmas approaches let’s think about some fun things that we can do with our Christmas trees to keep them useful. Of course, we all know we can put them to the curb and have them recycled for mulch, but what else can we do? Here are some ideas to get creative.
Make a coat/mitten tree – After the decorations are taken down, cut the branches so as to leave stumps about a foot long, smaller stumps on top and longer stumps on the bottom. Screw a sturdy flat wooden base to the bottom. Your done!! I love the rustic look and it works great for drying socks, gloves, and etc.
Make a wildlife habitat – Use the old tree to start a brush pile. When the wind blows down more branches and twigs throw them on top of the tree. This creates a place for small animals to have shelter and protection from other predators.
Fasten your tree to a post or another tree so that its upright and use the tree as a feeding station for wildlife. Decorate the tree with strings of raw peanuts, popcorn or grapes. Fill pine cones with a mix of peanut butter and oatmeal. Make suet by mixing items such as bird seed, fruit, granola or peanut butter with bacon grease or beef fat, put inside a suet cage and hang. Fill netted bags with a mix of bird seed and finely crushed eggs shells. Hang slices of apples and oranges.
Do you have a pond or know someone who does? When you put your old Christmas tree in a body of water it provides a place for fish to escape predators.
The Wild Animal Park in Chittenango, NY accepts old Christmas trees. Some of the animals have fun playing with them. If you’re not near Chittenango, call around to animal parks or zoos near you to see if their animals would like them.