primitives discuss edible Christmas tree ornaments

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11281872

Oh my.

Flaxbee (11,862 posts)    Thu Nov 29, 2012, 12:58 PM

Compostable or Edible Christmas Tree Decorations

From the blog "The Minimalist Mom" - frugal and environmentally friendly decorations ...
 
We've had a little pink tree for years - just for fun - and don't really decorate it, but I'll probably pick up some pine cones from the little pine tree copse across the way, and maybe some pine branches just for their wonderful smell.
 
Full post at link: http://www.theminimalistmom.com/blog/

All of our Christmas tree decorations are packed away in a decoration box in Vancouver.
 
They were too fragile to ship overseas. At least that’s what I told myself when we were in the thick of moving.
 
Perhaps I was feeling too overwhelmed to put the energy into packing them properly. Or I was thinking we’re probably not going for long – why bother sending them across.
 
Those Christmas decorations aren’t doing us much good this year, a year when we will hopefully have our first live Christmas tree.
 
I don’t want to buy a lot of new decorations. And I’m not terribly crafty or inclined to start making angels and stars out of felt. My other goal is to not accumulate a lot of ornaments that we will have to store year round and eventually ship back to Canada.
 
Is there such a thing as minimalist Christmas tree ornaments? Probably not.

cbayer (114,370 posts)      Thu Nov 29, 2012, 01:02 PM

1. My mom just brought us some little decorations.

An old fashioned bird with real tail feathers. An advent calendar that hangs as a star. A battery powered *candle* with fake fir branch around it.
 
I might string the indoor/outdoor 12 volt lights this week.

But a tree is out of the question. There is absolutely no where to put it.

^^^Man oh man, don't we know that; no room for a Christmas tree on a tiny boat.

Probably not even any room for a miniature creche scene.

<<<am still wondering what the cbayer primitive's son did, that he needed scared straight.

Curmudgeoness (9,007 posts)    Thu Nov 29, 2012, 10:00 PM

4. Oh, there is so much you can do!!!

My first Christmas when I was really broke, I had just set up housekeeping and didn't even own a pillow (one of my most cherished gifts I got that year). But I did get a tree and I decorated it well.
 
Popcorn strings, and then you can feed the birds.....in fact, until I gave up putting a tree up, I would take the tree outside after Christmas and prop it up for shelter for the birds until spring when I would recycle it in the compost, with the popcorn strings still on it.
 
Candy canes, and they can be eaten. Or maybe find other small candies in cellophane and put hooks on the cellophane to hang them.
 
One spool of ribbon (or a few spools of different colors) can give a lot of color to the tree. Just tie pieces all over the branches. These can be thrown away, or untied and stored in miminal space for later years.
 
I baked gingerbread men and put them on the tree, then also fed the birds.

If you get Christmas cards, you can use them as decorations....or cut pictures from them for the next years. Again, hardly any space to store them.
 
That is a start. If I think of other ideas, I will let you know.

^^^the primitive who's looking for a charity for the homeless operated by atheists.

NMDemDist2 (48,494 posts)    Sat Dec 1, 2012, 06:37 PM

5. candy canes on the tree make great gifts too

if someone comes by, i'd give them a cane off the tree as a 'gift' so no one left my house empty handed

LiberalEsto (15,051 posts)    Sun Dec 2, 2012, 08:19 PM

6. Ribbon is 50-60% off in some places this week, too

Curmudgeoness, you have some great ideas.

I stopped in Joann's fabrics a few days ago and all the holiday stuff is marked down considerably.
 
If you can spring for a box of inexpensive, plain ornaments, you can get a small squeeze bottle of fabric paint and decorate the ornaments with dots and swirls, or glue and glitter.
 
Some years I buy clear ornaments and swirl two colors of fabric paint inside them, or pour in some glitter. Tie a bow to the top of the ornament, and it makes a nice gift to accompany a small loaf of cranberry or pumpkin bread, or a plate of cookies.

Tanuki (1,421 posts)    Fri Dec 7, 2012, 06:47 AM

8. Fruit, nuts, cookies,

after which an image of an abomination of a so-called "Christmas tree"--if franksolich dared have such a travesty of thing around this place, I hope somebody'd shoot me, to put me out of my misery

As others have suggested, garlands of popcorn and cranberries, festive bows, and images cut from Christmas cards or the cards themselves are cheerful, inexpensive, and have low impact on the environment.

[franksolich]

I just thought of something.

Is anybody here old enough to remember those silvery aluminum Christmas trees where one had to use a rotating multi-colored disc to light them?

I know there's probably plenty of primitives old enough to remember them.

They sucked; I'm very happy it's been years and years since I've seen someone use them.

[Duke Nukum]

Play Doh is edible. Or, at least, non-toxic. Makes a great gift and then you can make your own Play Doh decorations!  And then you can gnaw them down through at least March.

[miskie]

Cheap-ass primitives...

Every year we do a tree, sometimes live, sometimes a gigantic fake one I've owned for years - but regardless of tree, we do it up expensive.

Every year we theme the tree in color and style, and every year, it changes - which means I am constantly buying new strings of lights, ornaments, etc.

This year, (Tomorrow, actually) the tree will be done in blue. - Lights, ornaments, garland, etc - all blue. The only thing we don't buy are breakable ornaments, as we still have young kids and adventurous pets.   

Though I will say this, the primitive has one thing right. A tree covered with edible things is most definitely 'for the birds'.