Christmas trees branch out: Where to hang ornaments

More people are decorating their homes with multiple Christmas trees this holiday season. A traditional tree might go in the living room, but in other parts of the house there is room for creativity.

However, you don’t even need trees to have Christmas trees in every room, according to Jami Warner of the American Christmas Tree Association.

“We’ve seen fantastic things, like big trees made out of lobster traps. People are painting trees on their walls and decorating them. I have a friend who has a mannequin, and they decorate that with ornaments. There are a lot of creative ways to have fun with Christmas.”

Dress form

Christmas trees, using mannequins made for dress design, have been a thing for a while. First lady Michelle Obama decorated the White House with two of them in 2014.

Mannequin trees use faux branches to form the shape of a floor-length gown or miniskirt. Like many Christmas tree alternatives, they straddle the line between do-it-yourself and a retail product.

They can be made with such materials as garland, chicken wire and ribbon.

Several YouTube videos demonstrate how to make them and share materials you’ll need from craft shops or even budget chains like Dollar Tree.

Home Depot has stepby-step instructions online with photos and links to order the supplies.

Dress forms with stands can be ordered from retailers such as Walmart, Hobby Lobby and Amazon for around $40-$150.

But 4-51/2-foot premade, prelit mannequin trees are listed by Lowe’s and Big Lots for as little as $60. The problem is they are out of stock, according to the stores’ websites. Christmas decorations are among the products stranded at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, creating shortages.

Lobster trap Christmas trees lend themselves to outdoor displays. They are a tradition in New England, where cities such as Gloucester, Massachusetts, stack hundreds of traps as high as 45 feet, according to Conde Naste magazine.

Crab pot trees are made with crab wire trimmed with LED lights and are offered by Wayfair for as little as $79.99, although they too are mostly sold out.

Wall trees lend themselves to small spaces.

Craft website Curbly has instructions on how to string together tree branches and twigs to make a wall hanging that can be rustic, or sparkling if you coat the wood with silver glitter.

Home Depot has a guide on how to make a treeshaped Christmas cardholder stand with wood, screws, clothespins, glue sticks and paint. The clothespins are fastened to the wood to hold Christmas cards, which serve as decorations. The cardholder can be hung on a wall or fastened to a wood crate as a base.

Martha Stewart’s website has instructions on how to create a 6-foot, 2D wall hanging out of various lengths of garland fastened to the wall with adhesive hooks. The display is big enough to stack presents on the floor beneath it.

Hooks can also be used to hang garland in the outline of a tree.

Alternative tabletop Christmas trees include tightly rolled paper cones that are held together with glue and painted or sprayed with glitter. Some are about 2 feet tall.

Tabletop trees made out of edibles include a Rice Krispies tree, with instructions on the Oh My Goodness Chocolate Desserts website (omgchocolatedesserts.com).

Pineapples were trending as Christmas trees a couple of years ago, according to Better Homes & Gardens. All you have to do is hang ornaments on the crown.

“I think if you’re going to go alternative, it’s fun to make one out of fruit,” said Mac Harman, founder of Balsam Hill, a Bay Area holiday decoration company.

“Do something that’s kind of different or a conversation topic.”

In a phone interview he had one caution for do-ityourselfers: Be careful with Christmas lights.

“If they’re incandescent lights, high-voltage lights that get hot, and you put them on something made out of sugar, or something delicate, or something that could burn, that’s a disaster. But if you have modern LED lights, you’re going to be good.

“What I’d probably recommend for an alternate tree would be what we in the West call fairy lights. There’s a really thin wire with little, tiny light bulbs. The challenge is hiding the wires on the lights, and you don’t really see the wires of the fairy lights.”

RESOURCES

Christmas tree fire safety: usfa.fema.gov (search “Christmas tree”)

HGTV: hgtv.com (search “Christmas decor”) Home Depot ideas and projects: homedepot.com (click on “DIY projects and ideas”)

Lowe’s Holiday How-to’s: lowes.com/nl/diy-projectsand-ideas/how-to/holiday

Martha Stewart: marthastewart.com (search “Christmas crafts”)

Simple As That blog: simpleasthatblog.com/25terrific-christmas-treecrafts