Christmas Tree Alternatives

Most people have a traditional tree at Christmas time such as a pine or Douglas Fir. Other people prefer to decorate something far less traditional such as a tropical plant or an herb such as rosemary or lemon cypress that has been shaped to look like a Christmas tree.

Palm Trees and Plumeria make interesting alternatives to traditional holiday trees.

Palm trees are one of the most commonly decorated tropical trees. Sometimes palm trees are draped with Christmas lights to help keep ones warm that typically should not survive outside in a colder zone, and other times because there is a large palm tree in the house and the owners of the palm tree prefer to decorate it instead of putting up a traditional tree.

Plumeria trees are a blast to decorate. The downside being if you hang lights on them they tend to dry out and drop their leaves. Then you end up with a bare branched tree that doesn’t look so good.

Try a poinsettia tree for something really different!

Poinsettia can be purchased in a tree form. With its brightly colored bracts you really do not need to decorate this plant. If, however, you should choose to, make sure to hang ornaments on a sturdy stem so they do not fall off or break the branch.

Herbs such as rosemary and lemon cypress come in tradional cone shapes and smell great!

Herbs shaped as Christmas trees have become quite popular over the past few years. Rosemary has always been a popular alternative to a traditional Christmas tree but was one that was harder to find. Now you can walk into almost any plant shop or even some department stores and find cone shaped rosemary plants close to the holiday season. A real plus to a rosemary tree is that you can clip off tiny pieces of the plant to use in your holiday cooking! In addition, many people enjoy the invigorating scent of rosemary.

Lemon Cypress is being seen more often near the holidays now than it was a few years ago. The ones sold around the holiday season are mostly cone shaped, like a traditional Christmas tree. The foliage is a light green in color. Brushing against the leaves gives off a lemon scent.

Natural decorations are perfect accents on non-traditional living trees!

Regardless of which alternative to a traditional tree you choose, natural decorations are a must! String cranberries and popcorn to make a garland for your tree; just make sure the popcorn is stale or it will break. Use cookie cutters to trace shapes into cardboard, then cut the shapes out. Make a glue out of flour and water to attach seeds and spices to the cardboard. Small grapevine wreaths with tiny bits of dried flowers make great decorations as well.

Enjoy your alternative holiday tree and relish the thought that you just might have the only one of its kind in the neighborhood!