Thu Nov 29, 2012, 12:58 PM

Flaxbee (12,525 posts)

9 Compostable or Edible Christmas Tree Decorations

From the blog "The Minimalist Mom" - frugal and environmentally friendly decorations ...

We've had a little pink tree for years - just for fun - and don't really decorate it, but I'll probably pick up some pine cones from the little pine tree copse across the way, and maybe some pine branches just for their wonderful smell.

Full post at link: http://www.theminimalistmom.com/blog/

All of our Christmas tree decorations are packed away in a decoration box in Vancouver.

They were too fragile to ship overseas. At least that’s what I told myself when we were in the thick of moving.

Perhaps I was feeling too overwhelmed to put the energy into packing them properly. Or I was thinking we’re probably not going for long – why bother sending them across.

Those Christmas decorations aren’t doing us much good this year, a year when we will hopefully have our first live Christmas tree.

I don’t want to buy a lot of new decorations. And I’m not terribly crafty or inclined to start making angels and stars out of felt. My other goal is to not accumulate a lot of ornaments that we will have to store year round and eventually ship back to Canada.

Is there such a thing as minimalist Christmas tree ornaments? Probably not.

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8 replies	Author	Time	Post
9 Compostable or Edible Christmas Tree Decorations (Original post)	Flaxbee	Nov 2012	OP
My mom just brought us some little decorations.	cbayer	Nov 2012	#1
Saw this post on LifeEdited.com and thought of you :)	Flaxbee	Nov 2012	#2
Thanks! He sounds a lot like me.	cbayer	Nov 2012	#3
Oh, there is so much you can do!!!	Curmudgeoness	Nov 2012	#4
candy canes on the tree make great gifts too	NMDemDist2	Dec 2012	#5
Ribbon is 50-60% off in some places this week, too	LiberalEsto	Dec 2012	#6
That is a great idea. Craft/fabric stores	Curmudgeoness	Dec 2012	#7
Fruit, nuts, cookies,	Tanuki	Dec 2012	#8

Response to Flaxbee (Original post)

Thu Nov 29, 2012, 01:02 PM

cbayer (120,011 posts)

1. My mom just brought us some little decorations.

An old fashioned bird with real tail feathers. An advent calendar that hangs as a star. A battery powered *candle* with fake fir branch around it.

I might string the indoor/outdoor 12 volt lights this week.

But a tree is out of the question. There is absolutely no where to put it.

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Response to cbayer (Reply #1)

Thu Nov 29, 2012, 06:56 PM

Flaxbee (12,525 posts)

2. Saw this post on LifeEdited.com and thought of you :)

http://www.lifeedited.com/man-goes-into-deep-end-in-quest-to-edit-life/

Someone in England downsizing and moving onto a 42-ft "Gentleman Cruiser" motorboat.

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Response to Flaxbee (Reply #2)

Thu Nov 29, 2012, 07:07 PM

cbayer (120,011 posts)

3. Thanks! He sounds a lot like me.

Beautiful boat, too. While I prefer the sailboat, were I to get a motor boat, I would choose something like that.

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Response to Flaxbee (Original post)

Thu Nov 29, 2012, 10:00 PM

Curmudgeoness (10,491 posts)

4. Oh, there is so much you can do!!!

My first Christmas when I was really broke, I had just set up housekeeping and didn't even own a pillow (one of my most cherished gifts I got that year). But I did get a tree and I decorated it well.

Popcorn strings, and then you can feed the birds.....in fact, until I gave up putting a tree up, I would take the tree outside after Christmas and prop it up for shelter for the birds until spring when I would recycle it in the compost, with the popcorn strings still on it.

Candy canes, and they can be eaten. Or maybe find other small candies in cellophane and put hooks on the cellophane to hang them.

One spool of ribbon (or a few spools of different colors) can give a lot of color to the tree. Just tie pieces all over the branches. These can be thrown away, or untied and stored in miminal space for later years.

I baked gingerbread men and put them on the tree, then also fed the birds.

If you get Christmas cards, you can use them as decorations....or cut pictures from them for the next years. Again, hardly any space to store them.

That is a start. If I think of other ideas, I will let you know.

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Response to Curmudgeoness (Reply #4)

Sat Dec 1, 2012, 06:37 PM

NMDemDist2 (48,853 posts)

5. candy canes on the tree make great gifts too

if someone comes by, i'd give them a cane off the tree as a 'gift' so no one left my house empty handed

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Response to Curmudgeoness (Reply #4)

Sun Dec 2, 2012, 08:19 PM

LiberalEsto (16,765 posts)

6. Ribbon is 50-60% off in some places this week, too

Curmudgeoness, you have some great ideas.

I stopped in Joann's fabrics a few days ago and all the holiday stuff is marked down considerably.

If you can spring for a box of inexpensive, plain ornaments, you can get a small squeeze bottle of fabric paint and decorate the ornaments with dots and swirls, or glue and glitter.

Some years I buy clear ornaments and swirl two colors of fabric paint inside them, or pour in some glitter. Tie a bow to the top of the ornament, and it makes a nice gift to accompany a small loaf of cranberry or pumpkin bread, or a plate of cookies.

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Response to LiberalEsto (Reply #6)

Sun Dec 2, 2012, 09:29 PM

Curmudgeoness (10,491 posts)

7. That is a great idea. Craft/fabric stores

usually sell things prior to the season, so artsy people can get to work on them early. By this time, the sales have already started.

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Response to Flaxbee (Original post)

Fri Dec 7, 2012, 06:47 AM

Tanuki (1,548 posts)

8. Fruit, nuts, cookies,

Last edited Fri Dec 7, 2012, 06:48 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

As others have suggested, garlands of popcorn and cranberries, festive bows, and images cut from Christmas cards or the cards themselves are cheerful, inexpensive, and have low impact on the environment.

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