After having a few years without a Christmas Tree and deciding to celebrate Christmas in an alternative way, this year my inner child demanded I get a tree! So, with a voucher that needed using up I got a fake tree. My first choice would have been a live tree in a pot that I could grow outside all year, but that wasn’t an option for me this year.

Living on a shoe-string budget, and having the urge to create – like I often do – I decided to decorate the tree with my own creations. I kept it simple as I prefer minimal to over-crowding and co-ordination to mismatch. I also like lots of shine!

The first thing I did was collect some pine cones while out walking. They were mostly closed tight when I found them and took a few days to open up. After I washed them and let them dry out, I dabbed on some Silver glitter glue. As I said, I like shine! Then I tied on some thread to hang them with.

I love the natural look and Mother Nature provides us with such an abundance of natural goodies to use in our creative endeavours. I always ask the Fairies or the plants first of all if it’s okay to take anything.

Then, I delved into some childhood memories for inspiration and remembered that I used to enjoy Origami. After a little time spent researching and practising, I liked the look of these simple but effective stars. I made them from wrapping silver paper for the ultimate in shine! And tied some thread so they would hang.

I didn’t want to bother with shop-bought tinsel, so I used the same silver wrapping paper and made some paper chains. The chains are on the small side as I didn’t want them over-taking the tree. Just wanted to add a bit more shine and disguise the sparse branches! I’d already hung some battery operated lights, so the only thing left was the tree topper.

I went with something simple but effective, and decided on the angel. Again, this was an Origami creation, and I used the same silver paper. 

I had so much fun making these decorations, and every time I look at the tree it makes me smile.

For me, Christmas has become far too commercialised, with the true meaning often lost. The joy of Christmas is in the giving. And if you can give something that you have created and poured your love and time into, it will mean much more to the person receiving it.

For the last few years I have made all my gifts, and enjoyed every minute.

Here’s a picture of the finished tree. I hope you enjoyed this post and feel inspired to go create something yourself!