Alternative Space Saving Christmas Tree

Almost every year of my life, I've had a real Christmas Tree. Nothing compares to that fresh pine scent wafting through the house. Last year, was probably only the 3rd time in my 30+ years that I had a fake one. We got it for free, so we decided to give it a try. It was ok. It looked pretty after decorating it, but it was so big it nearly didn't fit in our living room. And, of course, it didn't deliver a wonderful fragrance. We were set on buying a real one this year and then we looked over our budget and our space and realized that it wouldn't be practical. We still had the fake tree from last year, so that saves at least thirty bucks on the purchase of a new one. Plus, I had an idea to make the tree fit in our space better.

Alternative, space-saving trees are plastered all over the internet. There is a growing trend of folks living in smaller spaces, so the subject of decorating for christmas without a giant tree has become very popular. There are also some people who just want a unique tree (or something else to take the place of a tree) regardless of space. I think my tree accomplishes both of these goals. It is unique and only takes up half the space of an actual tree.



If you are still looking for ideas for your tree, then read on.

Here are a few of my favorite alternative trees that I found on the good ole interwebs.

A large print of a christmas tree hung on the wall. I found this image on oh happy day blog where she turned it into an advent calendar (which is a great idea) but any sort of thing could be used for the ornaments. The fabric is said to be found at ikea, but I don't think it's available anymore. This could be a fairly easy diy, though.

Hang up ornaments and pictures and whatever else you want in the shape of a tree. You could incorporate lights too. Looks awesome. I found this image here.

This could be an easy diy as well. This one is an actual vintage aluminum tree smartly named the "peacock tree." This image was sent in by a reader of retro renovation and she shares some pics of her amazing vintage decorated house. Also, that website is pretty great. 

Taking some inspiration from other space saving trees, I decided I would make some changes to ours so that it wouldn't take up so much room. I wanted it to fit flat against the wall and look almost as if it had been cut in half long ways.

By doing this, I am able to save so much space, but also make the tree taller, so it appears to be even bigger than it was last year. I began by separating all the branches and put the larger branches aside. Since I was using less branches by doing only half I didn't need the longest ones. Within the first couple of layers, I realized it was going to be too heavy on one side and tip over. It needed to have a heavier stand or be secured to the wall.

There are many different ways you could do this, but we used whatever we had on hand to make it work. My husband busted out a bike rack hook and secured it a stud in the wall and it worked great. If you do something like this, make sure to secure your hook into a stud. If the tree isn't too heavy or big, you could also probably secure with a dry wall anchor. Yes, it will put a hole in your wall, but those are a pretty easy fix.

I continued to add the branches, using smaller and smaller ones toward the top.

It appears to be leaning towards the wall, but that's because of my bad camera angle. 

Viewed straight on and it looks like a normal christmas tree.

The awkwardness of it took a little bit of an adjustment, but I love how it looks. It's interesting and it doesn't take up nearly as much space as a full tree. It literally takes up half the space.

I did a little research, after the fact and found a website that actually sells half trees like this. The stand is weighted so you won't have to rig something into the wall to hold it upright. You can buy one at here. Be sure to check out all the other trees there on Treetopia.com.  There are so many great trees there. You might not have enough time to get one for this season, but now you know for next year, at least.

Here are a few pics of it decorated.

                           

I think it turned out pretty cool. The munchkins really like it and that's really the most important thing. The fact that I saved money and space on it, is just an added bonus.

Plus, with the leftover tree limbs, I was able to make mini trees for each of the kids to decorate on their own and display in their rooms. See them here.

Also, we themed our tree the "Nightmare Before Christmas Tree."  See it here.

I'd love to see your Christmas Trees. Send in a pic to be posted up here.