Outdoor Tree Decorating
As the holiday season approaches, many homeowners are busy pulling down dusty boxes of Christmas ornaments from the attic. The indoor decorating is planned and organized, but many people tend to overlook the trees in the yard. This year, bring holiday cheer to the outdoor trees through lights and the addition of bird-friendly, nature-inspired decorations. Using nature-inspired decorations allows a family to attract songbirds to the decorated tree. This is beneficial to the birds too, as many sources of food are not available throughout the winter season. These outdoor, bird-inspired decorations helps parents teach their children about eco-conscious decorating. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Ladder (optional)
- Outdoor Tree Lights, about 400 per tree
- Outdoor extension cord
- Popcorn, 4 to 5 bags per tree
- 2 bowls
- Microwave
- Cranberries, 1 to 2 pounds per tree
- Fishing line
- Needle
- Scissors
- Pine cones, 1 dozen per tree
- Peanut butter
- Butter knife
- Pie pan
- Birdseed
Instructions
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Contact any homeowner's or other type of association to determine if your community has any guidelines about outdoor holiday decorating, suggests the All Things Frugal website.
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Wrap the interior of the tree with a string of outdoor-approved Christmas lights. Wrap the lights securely around the trunk of the tree starting at the highest point and moving to the base of the tree.
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Attach the male end of the next string of lights into the female end of the previously used string. Starting on the lowest branches, wrap the light strand around the interior first third of the branches, working upward.
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Attach the male end of the final string of lights into the female end of the previously used string. Warp this string around the outer edge of the tree branches, filling in any bare spots in the light coverage.
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Plug the male end of an outdoor extension cord into the female end of this string. Run the extension cord to an outdoor outlet.
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Pop popcorn in the microwave and place into a large bowl. Place cranberries in another large bowl. Cut a large string of fishing line about 3 feet long. Thread an end of the fishing line through a needle.
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Push the needle gently through the center of a popped piece of popcorn. Push the kernel down the end of the line. Push the needle through the center of a cranberry and thread it on to the fishing line. Continue to alternate popcorn and cranberries until the fishing line is covered. Repeat to create 3 to 4 more pieces of edible garland.
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Fill a pie pan with bird seed. Take a pine cone and tie a loop of fishing line around the top. Use a butter knife to cover the pine cone with peanut butter. Roll the peanut butter covered pine cone through the birdseed. Repeat with the remaining pine cones.
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Loop the edible garland through the tree at random intervals. Be sure to add garland to the top, bottom and middle of the tree. Store a few, extra strings of edible garland in the garage to add to the tree as the others are eaten by the birds.
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Hang birdseed pine cones by sliding the fishing line loops on thin branches of the tree. Continue to hang all the birdseed pine cones throughout the tree. After the birds snack upon the decorated pine cones, they still provide rustic ornamentation to the tree.
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Tips & Warnings
A strand of 100 count lights is about 34 feet long. Three strands of lights should be ideal for decorating a small tree, about 4 to 6 feet high. Use additional lights for larger trees.
Use care when working on a ladder in high trees. Always work with two people and have someone support the ladder. Check lights frequently for broken lights or exposed wires, which may be harmful to birds. Replace these strands immediately.
References
- Photo Credit Chris Knorr / Design Pics/Valueline/Getty Images
