The post-holiday season has one more gift in store for us — but you won’t find it hiding under the Christmas tree. Actually, it is the Christmas tree — and there are more ways than one to repurpose it, giving it new life in the new year.
It’s easy to turn your Christmas tree into one of nature’s best helpers
As we branch further into the winter months and prepare for spring, we can’t help but start to think about new beginnings. Our old Christmas trees can be paramount in helping us give both our homes and our gardens a natural and renewed boost. Here are our top six favourite ideas to help get you started.
Christmas timber makes for year-round tinder
Tear branches and bark from the trunk of your evergreen for dry and highly flammable tinder. Ignite all year long for hassle-free backyard blazes. Avoid lighting these indoors due to harmful creosote build-up.
Coast into style with wooden coasters for the home
Slice the trunk of an evergreen into 1-inch discs. Sand, stain, and glaze the discs to achieve the desired look and feel – or leave au naturel for a more rustic take on the homemade evergreen coasters.
Take your backyard winter birding project to new heights
Prop your tree in the backyard, ideally near existing birdhouses and feeders. Hang strings of popcorn, suet, nuts, berries, and pinecones or dried bagels coated in peanut butter and seeds throughout the tree. Watch as winged visitors flock to enjoy the winter treats and extra shelter. Find everything you need for birding here.
Turn your tree into a chip off the old block
Process the Christmas tree through a wood chipper and treat your garden with a layer of the resulting chips. This will help brighten your garden, suppress weed growth, and can even be used to decorate garden pathways.
Got the mulch-ies?
Compost the branches and turn needles into mold-free mulch for your garden. Mulch helps fertilize the soil, reduce weed growth, and conserve moisture in any garden.
All wrapped up with a neat little bough
Turn in-tact branches into pine boughs for your garden. You can lay these over perennial beds and tender plants like roses to protect them from snow and keep them warm through the winter months.