Make an heirloom Christmas tree-Easy! Quick! Not!
Many years ago, when our children were small, my sister-in-law, Cati*, made the most wonderful wooden Christmas tree for her family. Last year, when Cati’s daughter Sabina, was pregnant with her second child, her mom brought out the tree as a decoration for the baby shower (because of course, you can hang “ornaments” for any celebration from its branches), and I was reminded what an awesome, memorable heirloom it is.
I decided to make one for our family.
My initial goal was to create it from real tree branches. Unfortunately, I didn’t think of this until we’d lived (barely) through two months of downpours. Any fallen branches I might find on a walk through the woods would be, at the very least, soaked through and would never dry by Christmas and probably would be covered in moss which is great if you’re making a terrarium, but hard to work with for this particular project. (Although come to think of it, gluing moss on the trunk after the holes are drilled might add a fun element!)
So I marched to our garage and pulled out a pole (nope, not the one that holds up the ceiling, though I’m sure eventually I’ll need that for a craft project), and some dowels and corralled my husband to attempt to replicate Cati’s charming tree by promising not to threaten to cut up his favorite shirt for a TV segment when I’m short on time and feeling just a tad stressed.
Like most projects I think will be easy to pull off before I’ve done anything other than admire them, I didn’t want to thwart my creativity by following actual directions and in any case, I wanted to make one or two “improvements,” like being able to screw the “trunk” on to the stand. (This proved a very challenging exercise despite advice from one engineer and two gentlemen in different departments at the local hardware store who insisted they knew just what I was looking for and sold me a new drill bit and a weird clawed thingamajig to hold the screw. )
Their advice was on the right track, but what we ended up with was something short of perfection. Let me just say this, don’t get too close to our tree or breathe too hard in its direction. Just stand back and admire.
But it looks neat, wouldn’t you agree? I figure little details like crooked branches and lack of stability just add to its charm.
Cati is thinking about making these to sell, so if you’re interested, email me via www.CelebrateGreen.net or comment below.
Actually, I think when I get ready to make one from fallen branches, I’ll pay her to do it!
*Listen to our interview with Aunt Cati on our radio show from 11-11-09. We recall wonderful family holiday memories together.
