It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and you want your house to look a lot like Christmas. But alas! Perhaps the traditional red and green colour scheme of the holiday just clashes with your Nordic styled living room. Or maybe you’re tired of digging out the same old baubles every year? Not to panic, the Homewings team have got you covered, with the unconventional Christmas tree guide:
1. The Bonsai Tree
Bonsai is a Japanese art form of growing miniature trees, and it has become increasingly popular over the years. You can buy Bonsai trees almost anywhere, or you can try the craft yourself. It is possible to get a Bonsai pine tree, but don’t feel as though you need to stick to tradition!
Scaling down the Christmas tree can be a fun way to add variety to your decorations. You can now have more than one tree to decorate, so more than one colour scheme to work with. You can also spread the festivity to your bedroom, your kitchen or even your bathroom!
2. Scrap traditional decorations
Who decided trees needed to be decorated in particular colours, or that Christmas decorations had a status quo? Why not eliminate that idea and decorate your tree according to your style? Do you want a more summery vibe to get you through the cold winter? Great, put bunches of flowers all over the tree! Do you have a favourite film or TV show? Cool, make some character themed decorations to hang off your TV inspired tree!
You do not need to stick to Santa’s and snowflakes on YOUR tree this year.
3. Hansel and Gretel
Get in touch with your inner baker, and make an abundance of entirely edible decorations. Think gingerbread gifts, sweetie filled baubles, cookie Christmas trees, boiled sweet bells and of course, candy canes. Just bake away, and then tie some string on to make a lovely decoration for the tree. The bonus to this idea is that it makes UNdecorating the tree A LOT more fun!
4. Small spaces
Do you have limited space and worry about the tree taking up too much room? This method brings your tree to your wall and ensures it takes up as much room space as a picture frame!
There are a number of options to experiment with. You could gather some straight branches to attach to your wall, and use as shelves to perch decorations onto, as well as hang decorations off it. This style can look rustic or Nordic, depending on the decorations you choose.
Another option would be to forage for some beautiful leaves and twigs to gather into bouquets, and hang upside down from long pieces of string. Here you can decorate with fairy lights, or hang baubles from extra pieces of string. This takes apart the traditional Christmas tree, and creates an eye opening, beautiful piece of art in your home.
5. Give other trees a chance
Why does the pine tree have to get all the attention come December? Why don’t we give other kinds of trees a chance to be dressed up and become the centre of attention? Get your favourite type of tree into a large and pretty pot, and bring it inside (don’t worry, you can replant it in January). Now decorate your elm, or oak or even olive tree as you would the pine. This gives you the chance to bring non conventional shades of green into your home, if the shade of pine doesn’t work with your scheme!