Old made new - Celebrating Christmas on a budget
For many of you who love to decorate your Christmas trees with glimmer lights and fancy decorations year after year, you will find it useful to put them away in a safe place for recycling. It is rather costly these days to replace everything you need to decorate your trees, so here are some tips on how to recycle your old Christmas tree, decorations and lights.
Tips on recycling Christmas trees
- Purchase one that still has its roots in a pot, or one that has been cut off at the trunk. However, a tree that has been cut off at the trunk will need a lot more attention. The one in the pot will stay fresh throughout the Christmas season with less chance of the pine needles drying out and dropping off. The tree can be replanted in your garden after Christmas.
- Make sure you put plenty of water in the base. A cut tree tends to absorb a lot of water so check it daily. If the tree dries out, the pine needles will become dry and fall off. A dry tree and hot Christmas lights can be a fire hazard.
- When Christmas is over, you could have the tree chipped and shredded, then used as compost for the garden. Either way, they smell lovely and usually cost less than an artificial one.
ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREES
The great thing about an artificial tree is that it holds its shape throughout the Christmas season, and the decorations tend to hold on better, plus you can use it year after year.
- It's a good idea to wash your tree before using it.
- Try to keep it in a cool area.
- Even artificial trees can dry out if not stored properly.
- Tape the box and try to keep the bolts for the stand together by taping them.
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
- It is important to look for lights that are Underwriters Laboratories approved. Look on the side of the box, and check how many lights can be hooked up back to back. It is usually three. When there are more than three, you need to start a new plug for a second set of lights.
- If you have lights from last year that you want to use, make sure you inspect them for any exposed wires. If you find any, throw them away. You don't want to start a fire, and unless you're an electrician, that will be the safest route.
- If you find that the lights are defective when plugged in, or only half the string works, just check to see if any of the lights are loose or if one of the bulbs has blown. Sometimes it just needs a bulb replacement, so keep a spare bulb or two.
- If you decide to use different light colours on your tree this year, you can recycle last year's lights by wrapping them around a tree, or getting a piece of chicken wire, and wrapping it in a ball. Then wrap the lights over it, hanging them in the trees, or save them to use for a party.
- A good tip to taking your lights off the tree is to wrap them around a piece of rolled-up cardboard. This will help preserve the light for future use. Then place all of the lights in a file box or Rubber Maid plastic container. This will help again to preserve the lights and keep them from breaking.
- All lights have a little fuse in the plug itself, and you can change the fuse so the lights can be reused. If you are trying to conserve, just wrap the lights on the outside of the tree, and fluff the branches to help conceal the wire.
DECORATIONS
- You can take last year's decorations and put them on a wreath or Christmas garland this year. You can give a totally different look by just adding ribbons to the top of your ornaments.
- When wrapping presents for friends and relatives, you can add an ornament for an extra touch. The artificial poinsettia plant that you had in a pot last year can be put on a garland this year.
- Take those pinecones you used last year, and spray them gold this year, and add them to your tree.
- Use wrapping paper and tissues from Christmas day to wrap your ornaments in, for example, shoe boxes. It helps to compartmentalise the decorations. Again, a plastic container is great to help save dust and dirt from getting on your ornaments.
Information provided by Stacey Millingen, Christmas decorator.