4 Things You Can Do with Your Christmas Tree

Christmas is over and it’s just about time to take down the holiday decorations — including the tree. It takes about ten years to grow a Christmas tree and it seems wasteful to just leave it in the alley. There are things you can do with your tree so it doesn’t end up in a landfill. Here are 4 things you can do with your Christmas tree now that Christmas is over.

Scents Christmas trees have a fabulous natural fragrance and it can fill your home well beyond Christmas. You can put the needles in sachet bags and scatter them around the house or simmer a few small branches in water with a cinnamon stick for potpourri.

Recycle Many communities support Christmas tree recycling. There are drop-off centers who will take your tree off your hands — some cities even have curbside pick-up. The trees will likely be chipped into mulch to cover hiking trails and park paths.

Return it to Nature Trees are a natural habitat for all sorts of wildlife when they’re alive — and they can be a habitat even after they’ve been cut. Prop it up in your backyard for birds and squirrels to use temporarily. If you have a pond or a friend with a pond, you can create a semi-permanent habitat for fish. You have to anchor the tree and fully submerge it in the water, but it’s an excellent way to return your tree to nature.

Gardening If you have a garden, remove the branches of your tree to created a natural cover for your vegetable and flower beds. The pine needles will help the ground stay moist. If you have narrow but sturdy branches, you can save these for the spring to make a trellis for a vertical garden or stakes for plants. Evergreen stakes work to give indoor plants support as as well.

Those Christmas trees can’t stay up forever, but you can make use of them long after the holidays are over without tossing them in the alley. Remember that they’re too wet to burn and can be hazardous if you try to burn them in your fireplace and, even if you don’t want to re-purpose your tree, your community may environmentally-friendly ways to recycle it for you.