We Just Couldn't Do It...

By now most of you have taken down your Christmas Tree and some of you are in the process or getting ready to take it down, and put away all those wonderful Christmas decorations.  But we just couldn't do it, the tree looks so pretty and green (it's artificial so it'll stay green for quite some time).  We decided to upcycle our tree into a cozy winter scene:

We have our scene complete with a sled, cardinals, faux snow, and a fauxman (snowman).  But this is only one way a tree can be upcycled/recycled.  There are tons of things you can do with your REAL tree once the decorations are off of it other than have it hauled off to the landfill. (These ideas are not intended for artificial trees)

If there is a lot of snow where you are, consider using your tree to make a bird habitat, once all the decorations, tinsel, etc., is off of your tree, haul it out to your backyard and securely stake it so that it is standing.  Then you can "decorate" the tree by hanging strings of popcorn, fruit, veggie slices, or suet holders.  This provides birds a place to rest with plenty of food nearby, which I'm sure they'll appreciate when there is snow on the ground and they cannot get to their natural feeding spots.  Karma points all around for this one, recycling and helping out mother nature!

Do you have flower beds that will need mulch come spring? (Ah, spring you seem so far away.)  Then you can use a wood chipper and turn your tree into mulch that will help out your flowers.  Hmmm...you already paid for the tree, why not do this and save yourself a little extra cash later this year?

Also you can always trim off those branches to dry out and use for kindling your wood stove.  If the weather goes back to what it was just a couple've weeks ago then this use would definitely come in handy this winter.

Did you upcycle/recycle your tree?  If so what did you do with it?  We are always hungry for more ideas on how to keep things out of the landfills!