Our $2.38 Christmas

In the spirit of 2009, we decided to celebrate a thrifty Christmas - no new decorations, (mostly) homemade gifts, and no Christmas tree. What? No Christmas tree?! This wouldn't do.

With coupon in hand, Adam allowed me to purchase the smallest little spruce top I could find at our local floral center. Everything else had to come from our yard. So, here is how we decorated the tree this year.

1. Gather your ingredients: hand saw, pruners, trowel, gloves, container, helpful canine assistant (Fig 1).
2. Dig up a few shovelfuls of dirt from behind the shady north side of the house. Nothing grows there anyway.
3. Place the spruce top in the center of the container (Fig 2).
4. Fill in bare spaces with additional spruce tips, pine boughs, and/or fir branches (Fig 3).
5. Accent with red dogwood, ornamental grasses, pine cones, or whatever else is lying around the yard (Fig 4).
6. Sacrifice a few hydrangea poofs and mountain ash berries for extra color.
7. No need to water. The freezing temps and coming blizzard(s) will hold everything firmly in place.
8. Now you are ready to take the annual Christmas photo in front of the tree (Fig 5).

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Happy Holidays to all!