Oh Christmas Tree

I love Christmas decor. I’m the kind of person who, as much as I am always shocked by how Christmas stuff seems to come out earlier and earlier each year, I am secretly thrilled that it means I am soon “allowed” to decorate my house. This year I wanted to add something to our porch steps as the old painted wooden trees I have put out previous years are starting to show wear and falling over ALL the time from the wind. Inspired by this pin I thought I’d make some nice, cheap porch trees. The only materials needed for this project are tomato cages (for as many trees as you are hoping to make), strands of garland, wire, and whatever decorations you choose (lights, ribbons, bows, ornaments, etc.).

The project was very simple and it wasn’t hard to find tomato cages (most garden centres or building supply stores have them in stock even in the winter) or greenery that worked. I went to the dollar store for my greenery since I didn’t care if it was super “real” looking since it would mostly be viewed far away and at night and because I didn’t feel like spending a fortune on something I wasn’t sure would turn out. In the end I found I needed a lot more garland than I anticipated per tree. Unfortunately for me there was none of the same greenery left at the dollar store. Apparently as early as I was there were many people even more eager than I to start decorating their homes. As a result I decided to just make one tree this year (it’s now my son’s own personal “room tree”) and make another next year (it helps that I also got a great “Black Friday” deal for two smaller pre-lit porch trees that look quite pretty sitting outside on my porch :)).

This was the final product. It’s not perfect, but I think it does the job for the amount spent on it ($3.00 for the tomato cage, and $8.00 on garland). I used some spare craft wire I had on hand to hold the prongs of the tomato cage together and simply “wove” the garland in and out and around the wires of the tomato cage. It was a quick project and the longest part was probably “fluffing” the garland to make it fuller and more the look I was going for. I then quickly strung some lights on the tree (I had extra) and a ribbon. All in all this was a great, easy, and relatively cheap project for anyone who wants an extra little "something" to decorate their home.