Our Upcycled Christmas Tree Ideas

Once again, AnyVan have teamed up with the Queen of Upcycling, Lynne Lambourne, to spread some Christmas cheer!

A traditional Christmas tree decorated with baubles and lights is a magical sight to behold, but if you’re a little less conventional and don’t feel the need to conform with the norm, unleash your inner festive creativity this year!  There are plenty of beautiful Christmas tree alternatives you can make yourself!  If you are looking for something quirky and creative that won’t break the bank, then we have some easy ideas for you. All we need now is a pinch of enthusiasm and maybe a small glass of mulled wine for inspiration!

Old pallet wood, upcycled bed slats or just random offcuts of wood are perfect to use, and they look charming painted in different colours like this one.  I made mine from old bed slats from a broken bed that I salvaged, painted them in Annie Sloan 'Paris Grey' and voila!  For a wintery feel, I used a white wax to give a whitewash effect over the top to finish the tree off.  They are great to pop in the corner of a room and perfect for smaller rooms as they don’t take up much space.

Making a Christmas tree from a pallet is also super easy as the shape of the tree is already in there - but you need to cut them down!  Mark off the triangle shape of the tree and then use a saw to cut out the shape.

I used a reciprocating saw to make mine as it cuts the pallet wood easily, I then gave it a good sanding down to get rid of any splinters before painting.

I gave the tree a very light paint in Annie Sloan Pure paint which I had watered down for a whitewash effect.

If the thought of sawing the wood is too much or you don’t have the tools merely paint onto the pallet a shape of a tree and hammer in a few nails to hang the decorations.

Now, this upcycling project may seem like a crazy idea, but it's effective.  Charity shops are full of old unloved lampshades (as are lots of lofts!) and they make the perfect frame for a Christmas tree - and cost next to nothing. It's just about collecting the right size ones that can go on top of each other to form a tree shape.

All you need to do is strip down the lampshades to their metal frames; this is super easy to do. Once you remove all the fabric from the frames, it’s time to wire them together making sure to keep them stacked in the Christmas tree shape. Now you are ready to attach lights and baubles, get creative!

This year, my favourite upcycling idea for the festive season is a ladder tree.

I found a tall old ladder and cut it in half, attaching two hinges to the top of the ladders to keep them together.  A bit of Annie Sloan paint on the ladders to give a vintage, and then I decorated them.  I used clear cotton attached to the rungs of the ladder to make an invisible frame that I could hang the babbles on.  I think it looks so lovely when lit up and such a great way to use an old ladder - second-hand sites are full of old ladders that cost next to nothing and can put to good use year after year.

These ideas demonstrate how nifty alternative Christmas trees can be, with the average Christmas tree costing around £70.00 they could also save you a pretty penny. Let’s face it, despite all we do to keep a real Christmas tree alive if someone sneezes too close to it after day five most of the pine needles are on your floor - but not with one of these creations. Christmas is a time when families come together, this year in the lead up to Christmas designing and making your very own individual tree would be a lovely activity.  Don’t get out the scrabble board - get pallet hunting and tag us in on all your creative trees.

Merry Christmas you creative lot!