My Christmas Decorating Secret

Christmas prep is in full swing over here! I’ve been super busy with the semester winding down at school, and the buzz of Christmas is alive and well in first grade. Thankfully there’s just ONE WEEK left of school before it’s officially Christmas vacation! Our home is fully decked out for Christmas, and I am *almost* done with my Christmas shopping. There are always those last minute things to get accomplished, but I can’t deny that I love the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

Today I want to share with you all what I’m deeming THE BEST KEPT SECRET OF CHRISTMAS (y’all know I’m dramatic). Seriously though, if you’re cheap like me, you’ll want to keep reading.

I was too impatient this year to wait around for the real Christmas trees to come out, and so we caved and bought an artificial tree in early November. I don’t regret that at all, however, we missed the homey scent that comes with a real tree. Ever the optimist, I came up with a plan to get the best of both worlds: get an artificial tree early in the season, and still have the homey smell of a real tree. I was inspired by some friends who used tree clippings from their yard to make garland for their staircase. Now, I have neither a staircase nor the proper tree (nor the money to spend for that matter). But that has yet to stop me!

Here’s what I did. THIS IS THE SECRET, SO READ CLOSELY. Did you know (I didn’t) that Home Depot has their own tree selection (0kay this part I knew, but the rest I didn’t)? Each time someone purchases a tree, they trim the bottom/excess and put the clippings in a large bin. Here’s the cool part: the clippings are FREE for anyone to take. I said they’re FREE!!! How awesome is that?!

We simply asked the kind gentleman at the cutting counter for the clippings, and he directed us to the free bin. I may be the only person on the planet who didn’t know this, I don’t know. But if there’s someone out there who is like me, you might be excited to find this information out. I broke the boughs down when we got home and placed them in various places around the house.

I spread them out all around my home in jars, vases, wreaths, and mixed in with my decor. It smells amazing! We’ve had our tree up for weeks, but now it smells like Christmas in our home too! I think my favorite look is in the first picture, the cuttings in a big bucket. Having these clippings around makes the house not only feel homey, but it also adds to the rustic/primitive look I was going for this year.

I got mine from Home Depot just because that was the closest thing to us locally, but I’ll bet you could ask just about anywhere trees are sold and you’d be able to take some some clippings free of charge. I’m a pretty budget conscious gal, but this is big even for me! The clippings make an impact in several rooms in our house and it cost me nothing at all!

Have you done this before? Did you already know about The Best Kept Secret Of Christmas? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or if you plan on trying it this year. That’s all for today. Have a fabulous day, friends!