While Mariah Carey may already have put her Christmas tree up, you’re probably not quite there yet. And even though, as Team Debrief’s biggest Christmas fanatic, I find it really hard to resist the lure of that real Christmas tree smell, I think we can all agree that real trees aren’t always the most practical of decorative options option. No one has time to be hoovering up after needles every night.
That said, there’s nothing particularly magical about boring old plastic trees now, is there? So in the spirit of mixing things up and DIY-ing yourself the most Instagrammable of Christmases (you were thinking it, let’s be real here), we’ve rounded up some of the trendiest alternatives that are really easy to do. It’s time to dig out the PVA glue…
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1. Arty bare branches
Meet the type of tree that you’ll find in overtly trendy cafes and teeny tiny expensive homeware stores. Take a stroll through the park, gather some twigs and branches and go mad on the fairly lights.
2. The Tree’s Lit
Still haven’t decided what to do with that pile of books lurking in the corner of your bedroom? Give them a festive purpose and assemble your own literary Christmas tree without spending a penny. Bonus points of you can find a pine cone to pop on top.
3. Recycle friendly
Once you get past the assembly of this cardboard slot and slide tree, it’s a cute little option if you live in a shared flat. Get everyone to stick pictures of your festive escapades on it and (if you trust them) give everyone free reign to draw, doodle and write nice things with some old school gold and silver gel pens.
4. Poms for your presents?
Okay, this might be a bit of a stretch for the Christmas traditionalists out there but look how cute. There’s not a chance in hell of a balloon and pompom assembly staying put for the whole of December but worth having a go.
5. Nothing a lick of paint can’t fix
Pairing things way, way back with this Christmas crate. Yes, crate. Pick a colour and paint your own damn tree.
6. Crepe master
Consider this the middle finger to your landlord who won’t let you stick posters on the wall (but also try and find some wall-friendly adhesives so you don’t completely ruin everything and lose your deposit). All you need is a shit load of crepe paper and a fair amount of patience.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.