Costs are going up this year on everything; with wages going down and people feeling low, can you even afford a Christmas tree in your own urban home? Shopping just after Thanksgiving at a Christmas tree stand in my way uptown in Manhattan neighborhood of Inwood I was told that the price on this year’s Christmas tree was $50 & $75! When you factor in mainstream items like the tree stand, tinsel, garland, lights, and other ornaments you’re talking about something bordering a $200 undertaking! For a Christmas tree! How can folks with little money to spare afford to have Christmas cheer and still have cash for presents this year? In my place the wife and I worked together to create a substitute Christmas tree for under $25.
Here in my apartment we had this perfect corner that’s totally fit for a tree. Too bad costs have gotten so out of whack! We thought about what else could have substituted for a place to hang our Christmas cheer and we batted around a bunch of ideas: making a tree out of cardboard, a step-stool/ladder, a high-backed bar chair, even just using wire coat hangers and fashioning them in the circular style of a Christmas tree. These were all ideas we kicked around but we decided on our goal to take an existing video camera stand and turn it into a Christmas celebration.
We have a Target discount retail store in our neighborhood where we went shopping. We got one strand of colored lights, one strand of white lights, tinsel, and a bow for the top of the tree, hanging balls, even a new ornament all for $21.82! On the way home we saw some comparably priced merchandise at a Dollar Store but the difference wasn’t that great. So surely there is a discount retailer in your neighborhood where you can go to find all the Christmas supplies you need to make a substitute Christmas tree.
With a little imagination, our existing camera stand, a corner, twenty-two bucks, we made our own Christmas tree substitute. This is as good a Christmas corner as any and it was super fun. Add in a pine scented candle (which we saw on sale at Target as a votive for .99) and you’ve even got the correct fragrance.
Don’t let the outrageous expenses of everything get you down. Instead focus on making your Christmas work your way for you! You can still have a whole lot of Christmas cheer without a whole lot of money!
To watch our video version of this tree making, click HERE.