Alternative to grace
trees
small places
by Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
____________________________________________
Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain
Let your imagination run wild on an old pallet for a one-of-a-kind Christmas
display, as done by Fresh Pickin's of Wallowa.
18 • Home for the Holidays 2015 • www.wallowa.com
Who doesn’t love a full Noble Fir Christmas tree? But for many
people living in apartments or other small homes, having a
Christmas decoration that takes up that much space is out of
the question.
A tiny tree or tabletop tree is an option, but here are a few more
ideas that conserve space and may establish a new tradition.
Antique ladders that lean against the wall are very popular as
decorative features in homes, often as handy storage places for
books. But with a little repurposing, they can become your
Christmas centerpiece.
Wrap your leaning ladder in lights and garlands, add your
favorite ornaments, and even place your favorite Christmas book
collection or Christmas gifts on and around it. By dressing the
ladder up with fresh fir boughs or a wreath on the top step, you
can enjoy the traditional smell of Christmas in a fraction of the
space of a traditional tree.
This next idea takes up as much space as a tree, but uses the
space very well. A newer free-standing wooden ladder, the kind
with cross braces along the back that match the level of treads in
the front, can be used as a platform to display numerous
Christmas Village scenes. Simply place boards through the ladder
from tread to matching brace and you have multiple platforms for
Christmas Villages or Nativity Scenes. An entire collection can be
easily viewed and enjoyed, one step at a time, on such a ladder.
Or consider a well-used sled as a focal point. The less useful
the sled is for actual sledding, the more decorative it becomes.
Lean your sled against a wall, drape a fresh wreath around the
point of the sled and attach decorations to the wood bed of the
sled. Voila! A space-saving decoration with plenty of Christmas
tradition built right in.
Another idea, especially handy in a studio apartment, or even
as a front porch decoration, is the wooden Christmas tree.
These are built from flooring, trim, pallet boards and other
reclaimed materials, which have been cut in graduating legths to
create a pyramid or tree shape. The boards are mounted to an
upright and either given a platform base or simply attached to a
wall. These trees can then be decorated as you see fit, for a
scene-stealing abstract representation of a tree.