The holidays are coming! That means shopping for decorations, gifts, and more – you all know the drill.
But before you go out and start buying a bunch of new stuff to decorate your house for the holidays, have you stopped to think about how you can decorate and help the environment at the same time? If you haven’t, that’s ok because we’ve got plenty of ideas for you!
Instead of buying a standard plastic or real Christmas tree this year, why not buy an eco-friendly Christmas tree this year? Not only will you be helping the planet out by purchasing something recycled, but you will also be super surprised by the results. These trees are gorgeous and will look amazing in every home just in time for the holidays.
Recycled Plastic Aspen
This gorgeous recycled plastic Aspen holiday tree will fool everyone come this festive season. You won’t believe that this gorgeous design is made from recycled plastic. This one is even niftier because it’s built to last for about thirty years, so you are really getting the most for your money.
Cardboard Creation
This holiday tree is kind of reminiscent of the Charlie Brown one in the sense that it is adorable and simple. This cardboard tree is made from painted recycled cardboard and is a great way to use up some extra recyclable material that is lying around the house.
Paper Perfection
This gorgeous tabletop holiday tree is so pretty, that you won’t believe that it’s constructed entirely from recycled paper. This beige structure is just the sweet little extra you could use as a centerpiece for a tabletop or fireplace shelf. The subdued colors within the creation also make it sweet and simple.
Recycled Wood Design
This holiday tree is super cool and super different. This idea is comprised entirely of recycled plywood, making it super environmentally friendly, but you can also use regular wood, too. This design was constructed from old wooden crates that are so easy to find almost anywhere. Paint up the tree and add some lights for an extra super sweet touch.
Recycled PVC Creation
This holiday tree is so gorgeous and made entirely from recycled PVC materials. You wouldn’t guess it to look at it, but this is a super gorgeous recycled structure that will definitely stand the test of time. You wouldn’t believe that it’s made out of recycled plastic and PVC – it’s that beautiful.
Twiggy
This wooden festive design is super creative and totally eco-friendly! This little girl shows you exactly how to construct this beautiful tree in this simple how-to YouTube video. This is a pretty simple process that only calls for discarded wood you may have in the backyard. Paint the final product for an added holiday effect.
Small, Wooden, and Mighty
This small wooden holiday tree calls for discarded wood pieces. It appears that either flat planks of plywood or maybe even tiny chunks of particle board would work best in this design, but you can always get creative with it. Basically, you can use any kind of wood that is lying around for it to be eco-friendly.
Plastic Bottles for Decorating
So, this may seem kind of far out there, but hear me out. Using plastic bottles to decorate a Christmas tree can not only add an interesting element to the tree, but it can also relay an important message on the importance of recycling and conservation. Personally, I think the colors within all these bottles make the structure look pretty amazing.
Salvaged Cardboard Concoction
This salvaged cardboard holiday tree is a super interesting idea and will definitely get some attention. You can use any kind of leftover cardboard, but for an added effect, spray paint the cardboard to add some interesting designs or at least some shimmer into the mix. String up the lights and watch this baby glow.
Rustic Palette Pretty
This DIY tutorial shows you exactly how to make a beautiful rustic holiday tree made entirely from old wooden palettes. The raw wood color within these designs is truly stunning, but you could always varnish or paint your tree to give it a more unique look. Maybe even paint decorations on it.
Nature-Friendly
This nature-friendly holiday idea features some of the best stuff you’d find in your own backyard. Anything from twigs, holly, leaves, nuts, or feathers could make for an interesting holiday tree mobile, just like the one depicted here. Use your imagination and become one with nature with this super interesting take on a Christmas tree.
Newspaper Nice
Instead of throwing out all those old newspapers you’ve been collecting, why not put them to some good use? With this step-by-step tutorial, you can easily transform your paper print into an interesting holiday tree. You could also spray paint some of the boughs to create a silvery winter feeling.
Junk Mail Junction
This ingenious tutorial takes all that useless junk mail you receive in the mail and uses it to create something absolutely stunning. This junk mail holiday tree is interesting on its own, but you could easily spray paint it to cover all the labels and print if you’d prefer a green or silver tree.
Small Natural Wood Designs
This tutorial video is just like the one we saw earlier, only this tutorial video features smaller, easier-to-construct trees. You are still using all that natural wood or twigs for the tree, just at a much smaller scale. This would make for a fun wood-gathering scavenger hunt in the backyard.
Magazine Holiday Tree
This magazine holiday idea is a fun way to recycle old magazines and create an interesting concept of a tree. All these colors are interesting on their own, but you could easily use a few colors here to create a super interesting concept of a tree. This could be a fun project for kids, too.
Soda Bottle Bonanza
This soda bottle design is super nifty because you can easily use all those soda bottles that collect over time. This is a way to get bottles out of the oceans and landfills to create something gorgeous just in time for the holidays. You could also use different colored bottles for an, especially interesting effect.
Recycled Plastic Holiday Tree
This recycled plastic holiday tree is truly a sight to behold. It’s so gorgeous you wouldn’t think that this tree was comprised of plastic that would have otherwise been trash. This tree is so colorful, the plastic trash just looks like different kinds of ornaments strewn together to create this gorgeous sight.
Seashell Holiday Tree
This seashell holiday tree is super pretty and not hard to construct at all. There are always collections of seashells around, so what better use for seashells than to make a tree out of them? This is a super pretty decoration and could even make a nice holiday gift or centerpiece.
Suspended Recycled
This recycled cardboard holiday design is so interesting because, not only is it entirely eco-friendly and made of recycled material, but it’s suspended! What an interesting concept. You’re essentially making a mobile of a holiday tree that results in this gorgeous tree setup. Perfect for doing something different this year.
Decorated Cardboard Holiday Fun
This cardboard holiday tree is super cute because it has some fancy decorations on it. This would be a fun project to do with a child or even as a class project since you could teach about the importance of recycling, and then find some objects around the house or classroom to decorate it with.
Blanched Wooden Beauty
This wooden tree looks like it’s painted or maybe even just constructed from raw wood. This would be a fun project to decorate with kids since you can have them be involved in the whole process – from the construction to the actual decorating. This is a fun concept for a Christmas tree.
Interesting Concept
This is an interesting and certainly more modern concept for a Christmas tree. It essentially involved a longer branch that has been decorated with other natural elements. This is a super cool concept for that minimalistic household since you aren’t actually cutting down a tree but still creating that Christmas tree feel.
Milk Crate Holiday Tree
This milk crate Christmas tree is a super cute concept for a tree and you could even use this setup all year long! After the holiday season, you could easily refurbish those milk crates again to create some really great storage space or an area for shelves to place toys. Super cute idea!
Large Plastic Bottles
This very large plastic bottle Christmas tree brings an important message to all the visitors that come into this hotel: RECYCLE. It’s a super great thing when a larger-scale display of eco-friendliness is out there for the public to see. Also, this tree is truly beautiful and looks spectacular.
Chicken Wire Holiday Tree
This chicken wire Christmas tree is so cool to look at! This also doubles as a pretty awesome night light once those little lights are strung up on it. This would look good in a child’s room or even in a smaller study room to bring in some Christmas cheer without having to get an actual Christmas tree.
Book Lovers Holiday Dream
This Christmas tree concept is perfect for the book lover in your life. Better yet, you can use books you already have since this tree will cause them absolutely no damage. You’d simply have to restock them on the shelf once you’re done, or you know, keep it up year-round because it’s so darn cool.
DIY Ornaments
This nifty tutorial video shows you how to make some DIY Christmas tree ornaments with stuff you’d find around the house or stuff that you’d otherwise throw away. These are easy projects that are super great to do with kids since they will also learn about the simplicity of recycling and the importance it.
Branches Everywhere!
This Christmas tree looks as if it is comprised entirely of branches or twigs. This is a really easy project that takes pieces of branches or limbs out of the backyard and into your living room just in time for the holidays. What a fun, interesting concept and a neat way to clear the backyard of tree branches.
Conclusion
There you have it – some of the most interesting concepts and alternatives to construct your holiday tree this year that is entirely eco-friendly and made up of recyclable/recycled materials. Just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy an expensive tree – try some of these super cool alternatives out!
So, which of these concepts was your favorite? Do you think you’re up for trying a few of these ideas out? Do you have any prior experience with constructing eco-friendly trees? Or any DIY green projects? We’d love to hear from you! Share your insights on the subject in the comments so we can all get some nifty tips and tricks.
