In Lieu of a Christmas Tree

Many years ago, when I lived in a condo with a more open layout than our home now, I bought an artificial Christmas tree. It was to be my first time hosting Christmas dinner and I got caught up in the excitement of decorating. 

Since then, it has come out a few more times depending on our levels of motivation each December, and whether or not we would be hosting for the holidays. Since we moved into our house almost four years ago, it has been a struggle to find a place for it to fit, and I have become less excited by the look of an artificial tree. On top of all that, last year one of the feet twisted like a cork-screw and the whole thing fell down, smashing ornaments along the way.

This year, knowing we would be hosting, and nurturing the Christmas-loving child inside of me, we wanted to decorate, but I didn't want to buy another artificial tree. My ruined artificial tree is still squirrelled away in my basement because I feel terrible about sending it to the landfill; I certainly don't want to be responsible for the eventual discarding of another one. 

We considered getting a real tree, but the cost and the unknown growing practises turned us off. We considered chopping down a little tree growing in our back yard, but weren't sure where to put it in our house. Eventually, we found what I think is the perfect combination of space-saving and zero-waste: a Christmas branch.

All of my favourite ornaments from my childhood on display, out of the way but in full view. I am very happy with how it turned out.

We also hung the ornaments from my partner's childhood off of a shelf on the other wall.

Overall, I am feeling very festive without needing to buy anything, and with nothing to throw away. 

Have any waste-saving decoration ideas? Leave a comment!