A $10.00 Christmas Tree (Part 1)

While I am not a big fan of decorating for Christmas BEFORE Thanksgiving, I wanted to share my Dollar Tree Christmas Tree with you before they are sold out of their holiday decor items.

If you haven't discovered The Dollar Tree yet, a word of warning... you will be hooked from the get-go.  I am a Dollar Tree FANatic, and I love the quality, variety, and of course the cost of all things "Dollar Tree."

Let's get started...

My sweet mother-in-law is 96 years old and is in a medical wing of a senior living establishment.  She is separated from my 101 year old father in law due to medical needs, so this year, I decided to create 2 small trees, one for her and one for him (Part 2 on Tuesday), so that they could enjoy them when "visiting" each other on a daily basis.

The Dollar Tree has both white and green 18" trees, hundreds of nice quality ornaments in different textures, colors, themes, and sizes, small lights that are both battery operated or plug in, tinsels, floral picks, ribbons,...really anything and everything you will need to create a beautiful tree, full sized or not.

I love a white tree because traditional Christmas colors really pop when paired with them.  I went with a red theme, using fairy lights that I already had as well as a checkered cloth napkin for a "tree skirt."

I purchased 2 trees.

You can see that these trees are not full and lush, but more of a sparser tree style.  I wanted a fuller tree, so I used snips to cut off the limbs on tree number 2.

Then, using my hot glue gun (this one is 24 years old...I'm not kidding!), I hot glued the branches to the "trunk" of the tree.

If you just hold it a bit, it will adhere and not droop down.

When I added all the branches from tree 2, this is what I had:

Doesn't it look great?  Super full, and you can't even tell where I glued the new branches.  You can also use the snips to trim the finished tree into its traditional conical shape, but I just used matched up the branch lengths as I ascended the tree.

Next, I added the fairy lights and it was ready for the ornaments.

I love having a few spare strings of these types of lights.  They are great for placing the jars, along table decor, and of course for stringing through and around items.  You can usually find them for a few bucks at discount home decor stores and Amazon.  Stock up...they are a decor staple!

I began adding these beautiful Cardinal floral picks.  They have a clip on the bottom for attaching to the branches, but I pulled that off and hot glued them to the tree in a zig, zag pattern.

I like to place my largest ornaments first, and then fill in with my smallest items last.  These picks look great as a whole, but I did pull apart the last two and used the elements separately on the tree.

Here is what it looked like with the picks; both in tact and pulled apart and added separately.

Next, I added small red balls and white glittered snowflakes.  The red balls came in a long tube and the snowflakes came in a package of 6.  These too were glued on the tree.

And once I had everything how I wanted it, including a red bow topper (again, Dollar Tree ribbon), this is what I created...

This bright and festive tree will be enjoyed by my dear M-I-L, her roommate, and her nurses and caregivers.

Total cost was $10!  Two trees, 5 floral picks, 2 snowflake packages, and 1 tube of red balls = 10 Dollar Tree items.

So, let's talk a bit about why I hot glue small trees like these.

First, at the incredibly cheap price of making these trees, deconstructing them is a waste of time and energy in my book.  When the season is over, a kitchen trash bag can be placed over the tree for protection and stored for the following season.  Instant tree, done and ready!

Second, because the branches are shorter, if things are not attached, they tend to shift.  As these are meant to be table top type trees, this can mean disaster if you are moving them to clean or shifting your decor from one place to another.

Finally, these trees are so easy, that they make GREAT gifts for just about anyone.  In my situation, it will be decor for the nursing home room.  Imagine it at a nurses station, or office desk, waiting room, or teacher gift.  You could also create trees that are not holiday related.  Using the Dollar Tree birds, butterflies, and dragon flies found in the craft section, you could make an amazing tree for a little girls room, or a baby's room.  They could be used as wedding table decor or even a money tree for an anniversary or wedding shower.  

If you have a business, you can use it for clipping on discounts that your customers can choose during sale events.  For $1-2, you can buy them for just about any sale event you pick!

If you have a favorite "thing," like a football team, a hobby, or sport, you can create your own tree to enjoy year round.  Image a beach themed, farm themed, or family photo themed tree (Dollar Tree has tiny frames that would be amazing to use for this).  The ideas are literally endless!

Hit your nearest Dollar Tree, create a tree and attach it in the comments!  I'd love to see what you create!

Stop back by on Tuesday to check out the tree I made my father-in-law, a tree I made for my own home, plus a "check in" on my Thanksgiving Planner post!

Have a Great Saturday!

BONUS:

I had some of the red balls left over, so back to The Dollar Tree I went and found these 15" wreaths.  Again, they were a bit sparse, but 2 together would create just enough fullness for what I had in mind.  I also grabbed a "bow" ornament.

I started by spreading the branches out and placing one wreath over the other one.  I used a chenille pipe cleaner (Dollar Tree in the kids craft/toy area) to tie them together at the top where I would be placing the bow ornament.

Next, I brought two branches from the back wreath over the top wreath and just twisted.  This "joined" them together.

When I had done that at 5 strategic points around the wreaths , I had this:

A nice, full wreath.  

You could even add a third wreath if you wanted to, no problem.

I simply glued on the ribbon ornament and the remaining balls in groups of 3, and now I have a great wreath for the door to my M-I-L's room...plus, it matches her tree!

Cost = $3

The 2 wreaths and red bow ornament.  The red balls were left over from the tree project!

Happy "Affordable" Holiday!

The Gift Closet

By now, you've probably figured out that I am a very organized individual.

It's true.  In most areas of my life, things are neat and tidy and well thought out.

I've even heard from some of you that my organization doesn't resonate because you are not organized at all.  

That's okay.  You're you.  I'm me.  Remember...there are NO RULES!

However, one area that you can "organize" without much skill and trouble is a gift closet, or bin, or drawer, or container.  

The idea of having gifts, ready to give, organized with your wrapping supplies is easy for ANYONE to do.  I'm going to share some great tips on how to organize your area, how to buy for your gift closet, and how to SAVE MONEY along the way.

Let's get started...

My gift closet is actually a large DIY cupboard (not mine, but I love this option) from Lowes.  It is in the finished part of our basement  and is a great place for me keep everything centrally located.  Now, I've not always had a gift closet set up like this, so don't fret if you don't have anything remotely like an "actual closet" or cupboard.

What you really need is a bit of space.  Large bins stacked on top of each other make a great gift closet.  Under the bed rolling bins can work as well.  A storage ottoman, a child's unused toy box, or even a cardboard file box stored on a shelf can make a great gift closet. 

Size is only needed based on the amount of gifts, wrap, and ribbons you want to keep at any one time.

Here is mine inside...

Not too overwhelming, especially with my Dollar Tree bins and baskets.  

It's ready to go, so let's take a quick tour around.

On the one door I have all my gift wrap.  Yes, that is all my gift wrap.  8 rolls, and 6 of them came from The Dollar Tree.  Did you know that Dollar Tree has the BEST wrap, ribbons, bows, tags, decorative gift boxes, and cards?  The wrap is just the right thickness, and rolls like the printed butcher paper and script can be topped with colorful ribbons making them specific for weddings, birthdays, showers, or even Christmas and Easter.  

I always have a few dark colors, like the black with white polka dots or the argyle pattern.  The black with a bright green bow or royal blue bow is perfect for wrapping more masculine gifts.  If I want to make it more feminine, I add a pink or yellow bow.

The red swirl paper is great for Christmas with green, gold, or red bows.  It looks very Americana with a navy bow as well.

The nice thing about buying paper from the Dollar Tree is that you are not buying a large amount of paper - they are not mega rolls.  I like this for three reasons.  1 - Unless you know you will use that mega roll in its entirety, you will end up stuck with it and probably not use it to the end.  2 - You never get tired of a print because you will more than likely use it to the end.  3 - You can purchase a specialty paper (like baby or kid paper) and not be stuck with 4 yards of it.  As a person who needs little amount of specialty paper, I like that!

Nestled in the left side of the closet are 2 stacked plastic drawer units that I have had for 10 + years.  They were used in my classroom before I retired, and they are some of the most versatile things to have in your home.  I removed the wheels so that they would stack and fit snugly into the space.

They are deep enough to hold lots of supplies and I've used my label maker to identify the drawer contents.  These types of drawers can also be used a your actual gift closet.  If you leave the wheels on them they can easily roll in the back of a closet, corner of a room, or even in a garage area.

Inside, are a whole host of wrapping needs.

I purchase my curling ribbon and tulle on large spools.  I keep to general colors and use them until the spool is empty.  Curling ribbon is great for balloon strings as well.  If you don't want large spools, The Dollar Tree has it in small amounts.

Tulle is a great way to make a present "lush" for little money.  I have it in white, black, and cream.  It gives a package the illusion of fancy ribbon without the cost.  100 yards of tulle is around $7.00!  That's 7 cents a yard...

Tissue paper is super cheap as well.  The Dollar Tree have packages of white as well as colored sheets.  The scalloped sets were bought at Tuesday Morning.  

Here's a great tip:  When you are shopping in places like Marshal's, TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Burlington, or Tuesday Morning, be on the look out for packages of tissue paper.  You can see that the one set was $2.99 for all that coordinated scalloped tissue.  In a white gift or plain colored gift bag (Dollar Tree) with a full tulle ribbon box attached, your gift is elevated to something that is striking and beautiful.

Here's another tip - DO NOT RE-USE TISSUE PAPER WHEN GIFTING!  I know that it may feel like a waste, but please find another use for used tissue paper.  A gift doesn't look great with crinkled or squashed tissue sticking out of the top of the bag.  And don't iron it either.  NO ONE has time for that, not even me.

It's okay to use it inside a gift box; you know, when it folds over a shirt or sweater, but not as the filling for a gift bag!

Tissue paper is cheap and it's worth the minimal cost.

Here is something that you can and SHOULD re-use.  Bows!

Unless the bow is in total shambles, they are great to "re-gift" over and over again.  

I love the bows and curly-cues that The Dollar Tree sells.  They come in sets of 3!  Yes, they are 33 cents a piece.  

When you are buying your wrap, grab a few of these so that you have coordinating sets.

Gift bags are a great way to present bulky items, or a great for the gift giver 

who doesn't like or want to wrap.

I buy my gift bags in sets where ever I find them.  Again, The Dollar Tree has sets of plain and printed bags in many shapes and sizes.  In fact, their Christmas bags are out now and there are some beautiful styles that range from whimsical to farmhouse to elegant.  They also have larger gift bags for some of the bulkier toys that you might purchase for under a little one's tree.

Here's a tip - check out places like Michaels or Hobby Lobby right at the end of each season or holiday.  You can find the actual drawstring mesh bags (like the black and silver swirl bags above) in packages at 50-75% off.  If you keep them in a neutral color as they are perfect for all year round.

The Dollar Tree also has a great selection of "crush" filling.  I use it for lining gift baskets.  It's also one of the things that I save from received gifts.  I store it in gallon zip-loc baggies which makes it easy to see and east to contain.

If I purchase something with "crush," I will also save that.  For example, our Young Living Savvy Minerals products come packaged in beautiful black boxes with black "crush."  I save that as well as the box!  Crush keeps things from sliding around.  You can argue that it's messy, but it sure makes a gift basket look polished!

The final drawer holds my collection of balloons.  Over the years, I've planned many parties, and balloons are a great decor item - especially for centerpieces.  I like to save them to use for gift giving as well.  I always have a small helium tank from Wal*Mart that will fill upwards of 30 balloons.  It has a valve that can turn off the helium and it will save until you need it again.

Filling up a few balloons with helium and attaching them to a gift makes a cute present topper.  You don't even need to use helium for this.

Here are 2 examples from Pinterest...

Super cute...huh?

Now, having all this supplies for wrapping is great, but having a few gifts saved up is even better.

Having actually gifts in your gift closet is the real reason behind having one in the first place.  

Now let me preface this by saying...

I DO NOT like to shop. 

I don't mind going every once in awhile, but on the whole, unless it's The Dollar Tree, I'm not a big shopper.  But this doesn't deter me from adding items to my gift closet when I can.

Here's my rule:  When I see something that I like, or that I know someone would like, appreciate, and use, I purchase it.

What are those types of things?  Here's a solid list...

Unique frames.  Fun, cute, or fancy dish towels.  Small zippered bags for purse or travel.  On SALE items that are unique.  Seasonal decor items on sale.  Costume jewelry like stretchy bracelets and beaded necklaces.  Key rings.  Notepads and journals.  Thoughtfully packaged "sets" - like office supplies of rose gold clips, push pins, and matching pens.  Cocktail napkins or  paper bathroom hand towels.  Plastic thermal drink cups.  Scarves, both outdoor and fashion.  Unique coffee, cookies, olive oils, or popcorn.  A great, gender neutral gift is storing a few "gift cards" in the closet as well.  $5 or $10 gift cards for local convenience stores, Amazon, or food places make a great treat for anyone.

The list could go on and on...

(I also use my Young Living Essential Oils and products as gifts, usually in combination with something from my gift closet.)

I store my little gift stash in my Dollar Tree bins on the top shelf of the closet.

I've got some "manly" items here as well.  Rubber ties for outdoor cords, small LED flashlights that were on sale at Lowes, and a few Dashboard Mats for keeping money and cell-phones from sliding while driving.  

I don't have a particular person in mind for them, but as I wouldn't mind getting any of the items as a  gift myself, I'm confident that my family and friends will not mind either.

One thing to do  while shopping is purchase gifts for a specific person in mind and then attach a post-it note to that gift and store it in your gift closet.  This is especially great when you find that perfect birthday gift but the recipient's birthday is 4 months away.  Typically, the average person will a) not buy the gift thinking they can get it later and miss out on a sale or even accessibility to the gift, or b) buy it and place it where they can't remember and end up getting a different gift only to come across the "real" gift months after the birthday.  Sound familiar?

I LOVE gifting people for no reason at all.  It's nice to visit a friend with a small gift or take a hostess gift when attending a party or at-home dinner event.  Having a little something to gift your pastor, a teacher, your hairdresser, or mail person is always special too.

It's also nice to have a few items that can be donated to a worthy charitable cause for door prizes, raffles, or auctions.  

If you've ever "been caught" needing a last minute gift, this is where the gift closet comes in especially handy.  5 minutes to grad, wrap, and tag... you're ready to go without fuss and bother!

When you have some gifts set aside, you can easily assemble them for giving without having to go out and purchase - saving you time, energy, and money!

Now back to the closet...

I save little boxes, because you know those are hard to come by! 

I also have a bin with gift toppers, labels, and small tags.

The other side of the closet is where I hang my scissors, store some gift baskets, and store extra large gifts (like my Thirty-One auction items that I win on Facebook from my friend Amy!) 

I keep my tape, stapler, pens, ribbon curler, and small remnants of wrapping paper here as well.

The large picture frames are for Graduation 2019!  They were a sale item that has a place for a tassel, grad photo, and diploma.  They will be put to great use in June!

Having an organized routine for wrapping and gifting makes my busy life a little bit easier.

I hope you can make your's easier as well!