“Christmas branch” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, does it? But after excessive deliberation and a lot of great advice, that’s what we happily arrived at. I wanted something that was low-priced, fanciful, wouldn’t end up in the landfill after the celebration and didn’t require a lot of storage. I looked at all sorts of alternative Christmas trees and eventually decided finally to arrange a few bare branches. Rather than buy expensive, heavy-to-ship manzanita branches, I went to my favorite source, Prospect Park, picked up windblown branches and hauled them home for a thorough washing. Once they dried, I arranged them in a vase with a lot of ornaments from years past and a few new ones. In total, the arrangement cost only $13 and the branches will be returned to the park at the end of the holidays. So what’s decorating your home this holiday season? Show off! I’d love to hear your peacock-proud boasts descriptions and even links to your decor in the comments section.
Rather than a symmetrical display, I wanted an arrangement that reflected the wind-torn street saplings that are dotting my neighborhood these days.
I was quite pleased with the look of these $1.50 Michael's craft bird.
$2 Vintage Indian glass ornaments from El Milagro in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Saved from our 2007 wedding, this glass ornament from CB2 holds a white pine tip for a bit of cheeky greenery.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
The birds! They’re perfect. They look just worried enough about where they’ll find their next meal in the frozen ground to be realistic! I have never decorated for Christmas, because it just always seemed too much to do for just me and my old dog, Lou. Plus, I always go home to Ohio to pre-decorated comfort. But, this makes me think I could do Christmas my own way, and get the Martha Stewart monkey off my back!
This is beautiful. I love the branches idea. I’m really uncomfortable with the whole real tree thing. Don’t get me wrong, this year we got one… but next year, oh hell no. This tree was exxxxpensive and I have trouble with soooo many trees being cut down, even if their farmed and what not. I think we might invest in either a living tree that we can decorate next year (and keep with us for years to come) or a pretty fake tree, I’m thinking silver. We’ll see…
Anyway, sorry for rambling. I do love your Holiday Branches though!
Beautiful! I love that you went to the park to gather the branches…that’s awesome.
Seriously, I love it. It’s simple and gets your point across… Merry Christmas!
The birds are def. my favorite but loving the overall aesthetic!
this is really beautiful
I, too have a “Christmas branch” in my entry hall decorated with glittery retro icicles. I found my branch, which had blown down in a windstorm, tossed by the curb at a neighbor’s house. After the first Christmas that I hung it in the entry hall, I decided to keep it up all year, sans the icicles…
http://sparky-youngbloodstudios.blogspot.com/2009/12/from-our-house-to-yours.html