CHRISTMAS | 5 alternatives to the classic Christmas tree

Is it too early to write about Christmas in October? I'll tell you the truth - when I walked into Tedi or Pepco a few weeks ago, for example, Christmas decorations were spilling off the shelves and there were more boxes full of Christmas decorations all over the store. At that moment I was startled and horrified at the same time, because I was wearing sunglasses, a light dress, white paid sneakers and in my head I was organizing an evening barbecue with my family on the patio. But over time, it's been coming to me earlier and earlier every year too, after all it's such a wonderful time of year, we all look forward to it all year round and want to enjoy it for as long as we can. So why not from October onwards? So far I'm only dealing with Christmas with my thoughts, I'm mainly dealing with one thought and that is "what Christmas tree will be in the living room this year?" Or better yet... "will there even be a tree in our living room this year?" One of the material things that, from my perspective, most characterizes the Christmas season is, without a doubt, the Christmas tree. Could you imagine Christmas without it anymore? Because I don't.

In Slovakia, the Christmas tree began to appear among the nobility and townspeople at the end of the 17th century, but it was not until the 1920s that the Christmas tree appeared among the common people in Slovakia. Nowadays, there are very few households that do not have a Christmas tree. Whether it is in a stand or hanging from the ceiling as in the past, whether it is new or has had a few years and broken branches, whether it is small or its top touches the ceiling, whether it is artificial or the smell of the living one wafts throughout the house - whatever its form, it has its charm.

I myself can't remember a Christmas without a tree since childhood, not even a situation that would suggest there would be a Christmas without a tree. However, this year sucked a change. We've temporarily moved into an apartment that isn't quite big enough to accommodate the classic Christmas tree. No matter how I thought about it, no matter which way I moved the furniture in my head - I just had to find another solution. One option that I'm sure many people have thought of is that I should simply replace the big tree - with a small tree. While that's a fine idea, if I'm going to give up the classic beautiful big tree, I'm going to reach for a more interesting alternative. I was really pleasantly surprised by how many options there are to replace the classic Christmas tree, so I decided to share them with you:

1.

In my opinion, one of the most beautiful alternatives is this hanging tree, made from just a few branches of any wood. The twigs are connected to each other with jute string in order from smallest to largest - from top to bottom. This particular one, which you see in the picture on the left, was handmade by my mom last year, and like me this year, she was inspired by ideas from the internet. This year I would decorate it with more wooden ornaments such as snowflakes, snowmen, angels or Christmas balls. Of course, you can also decorate the tree with Christmas ornaments that you make yourself. If you are at least a little handy with handicrafts and maybe want to spend another nice Christmas moment with your kiddies we recommend you to check out the great ideas here: 26 DIY ideas for Christmas decorations and I guarantee you - you won't be able to choose what to make first - so beautiful and easy ideas!

The whole tree is made of natural materials so it will bring a beautiful atmosphere to the room.

2.

Do you remember the time when the Christmas tree was decorated with clown dolls, straw ornaments, salt dough ornaments, pinecones, cinnamon or oranges instead of plastic decorations? This particular wooden tree is the epitome of nature, beautiful wood and ornaments of your own imagination. If you're the more modern type, you can decorate the tree with classic plastic balls that you simply hang in the holes. However, if you don't want to disturb the tree's natural look, you can decorate it with branches from coniferous trees or the aforementioned oranges, pinecones or cinnamon sticks. Believe me - the smell of wood combined with natural decorations will awaken all your senses.

3.

Did you know that in the past, the tree did not stand on the ground but hung from a trail? And for exactly the same reason, which was that there wasn't enough space in the cottages, and during Christmas time many families gathered together, so the tree was just a nuisance. Since long ago houses were built mainly of wood, it was easy to drive a nail into a wooden beam in the room and then hang the tree on it. Nowadays, we couldn't hang a tree from a pole without the help of a drill and a metal hook.

4.

Another alternative I came across is this tree made from paper rolls. Apart from the fact that this idea looks really nice and simple, I can imagine that making it can be a nice change to a cold afternoon for the kids too. The rolls are cut to the desired size and individually glued to the surface. If I were to choose this Christmas tree alternative, I would definitely glue the individual pieces to a board or chalkboard and reuse it a year later or give it to someone as a gift. Plus, this option is also very eco-friendly, as the paper Rolls would normally go straight into the trash.

5.

And the last option of my choice, which excited me at first sight, is this green tree, made of two thin boards of wood and a chain made of artificial shoelace. It's decorated simply with bulbs in one colour and I'd still decorate it with this set of wooden tree ornaments or this set that includes Christmas ball motifs.

Final tip: If your Christmas presents got kicked up a notch this year, hang the tree a little higher on the wall.

So what - which alternative of these five appealed to you the most? For me, number 1 wins so far, but since we had such a small decoration last year (and the year before) I'll probably go for option number 5 this year. And I'm immediately going to go on a search for the nicest and thickest faux chenille chain.

Monika Bočkajová | Sentop s.r.o.