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Creative Christmas Trees & Stands

by | Nov 28, 2010 | Christmas, Christmas Decorating, Seasonal Decorating & Entertaining

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Creative Christmas Trees & Stands

I saw this Christmas Tree in a basket on Southern Living last year and I loved the idea of the basket instead of the traditional stand and tree skirt, but I wondered how sturdy it would be.

This week I was reading the current Country Living magazine I saw a great solution, a basket with the bottom open for the traditional stand! Doh, of course! If you had the right basket, you could probably make one but if you want to buy one ready to go, the basket I saw is for sale here.

Creative Christmas Trees & Stands

I love this little tree in a great old pail, from Better Homes & Gardens.

Creative Christmas Trees & Stands

I also love this tree in a big metal tub seen in Country Living magazine. Another charming and interesting idea for thinking outside of the traditional stand and Christmas tree skirt.

Creative Christmas Trees & Stands

In this same home they put a smaller tree in a white pot and yet another tree in a large bowl! (via Country Living). I love that they used several trees and they all have different containers! The variety of informal trees gives the home a much more laid back, homey feel!

Creative Christmas Trees & Stands
This is a fun tree on a coffee table, from Better Homes & Gardens in a white flower bucket.

Creative Christmas Trees & Stands

This room from Coastal Living also has a tree in a white bucket with a handle. I always put a small tree in my bedroom, I really love that look. The bucket is so cute and is in keeping with the coastal beach theme of the home (find a post on coastal holiday decorating here)!

You’ve got to check out the link to this tree stand left by a reader in the comments, SO FABULOUS!

{post updated from 2009}

What creative ideas do you have for trees?

38 Comments

  1. linda

    So….then the idea is to put the stand in the pot? I just love all these…but cannot figure out how they stay in there…altho…I’m thinking of a live tree.

    Reply
  2. Traci

    Those are great ideas! I put my tree in a galvanized bucket this year, but my tree stand didn’t want to fit in the bucket. It kept tipping over. I had to take it out. :(
    It looked cute for a little while. :)
    Have a great week!

    Reply
  3. Stephanie

    Very cool! Love the basket and the pail.

    Reply
  4. Shannon

    I love this look as well!

    Reply
  5. cindy

    Those are all great inspiration, I wish I had something to add, but I don’t. Thanks.
    Cindy

    Reply
  6. Tessa

    you’ve got my wheels turning…how pretty to use a basket of galvanized container!!! I’ve never been too crazy about my tree stand and skirt…great pictures!

    Reply
  7. Carmen

    These are all cute ideas. :) I love the trees in the buckets and bowls. Too cute. We’re hauling out our Christmas decor today. I don’t know how I can make our tree creative without buying anything new. I will have to check out what we have.

    Reply
  8. Tina

    I have donr a few of these thru out my home this year. To keep them standing, I just added rocks on the top of the stand. To cover the rocks, I put leftover balls on top and filled to the brim of my buckets. Adds a little sparkle and covers up those ugly rocks!

    Reply
  9. Jimi Ann

    Just want to tell you I love your new winter decorations up top! Thanks again for all the great ideas.

    Reply
  10. Pat Allen

    Our tree skirt is a wool red plaid Pendleton blanket that my Mom used as my carriage blanket 64 years ago. (a real antique)

    Reply
  11. Estela

    I love the basket and bucket idea! I’m pondering on what type of tree to get this year. I’m thinking a small one :)

    Reply
  12. Vee

    Nothing original, but my little tree is in a kitchen bowl and my bigger table tree is in a bucket. Love the look! I really like the basket you’ve shown as well.

    Reply
  13. The Cottage Chick

    Love these ideas. I think I might try something like this!

    Thanks for the inspiration.

    Denise

    Reply
  14. Diane

    My cats are always laying on and under my tree skirts, so I wanted to do something different. I tried my baskets but none were large enough for the stand. I remembered years ago the fences that were popular for the table trees. Viola’!! I’ve got it! After many years of being the art director for our VBS I knew that creating “stuff” that looked real from cardboard had to have uses beyond VBS. So I grabbed a box…saw that it was the right height….cut the bottom and top off (actually used 2 boxes the same size) and took some craft paint in white and quickly and lightly brushed paint on the cardboard…inside and out….it was looking like worn painted wood. Then I cut the cardboard in 2 inch strips…only cutting one lay of the paper…not going all the way through. Then I bent back each cut and painted a dark barn red on those open cuts (to help create depth). After that I made little triangle cuts to form a ‘Y’ at the top of the vertical cuts to create a wide dog-tooth fence look. I didn’t need to do the whole second box…I only made about 6 more “fence pieces” to complete my little fence. I taped it together on the “inside” with packing tape. My tree is a snowman tree so I added fiber fill inside the fence for snow! I love it!! And the best part…it was free…and easy!! Hmmm…what else can the cardboard queen make for Christmas???

    Reply
  15. Elizabeth

    My friend used to get root-balled Christmas trees so she could plant them in her yard after Christmas. This necessitated a bucket or other type of container to house all the dirt and muss. Maybe some of these pictures are of live trees that can be replanted. This would answer the question of fitting a tree stand….they don’t need one;)

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Good point!

      Reply
    • Melissa

      I’m adding it to my facebook and tumblr, that is very cute! Thanks for sharing it!

      Reply
  16. marigold

    Oh Melissa, I adore them all but my favorite is the Country Living photo…dreamy~ you have such great taste!

    Reply
  17. Heidi

    I saw that big galvanized pail and got all excited because I have one out in my yard that I could use, but my tree stand is too big and won’t fit in the bottom of the pail. Rats! Cut idea anyway!

    Reply
  18. susan

    All the “CountryLiving” ones remind me of growing up. All our trees were live,rootballed in burlap from the elderly farmer across the road. He had named pine groves all along his lane,past the pond&stone cottage he opened up for skating parties, with a roaring fire, and every kid in the township was invited&knew him as “Grampy”. How blessed was i? ;) he honestly popped corn&roasted chestnuts over the fire&had a castiron swingpot full of cocoa. Sorry-about the trees…i can remember them in metal tubs, pickle crocks, and a couple times he’d put 2 smaller ones in an enameled dishpan big as his apron sink. I have a treasured crocheted red/green/white throw made by a disabled neighbor that I use for a table topper, and I think this may be my year to start collecting “FatAlbert” dwarf Alberta spruces to plant outside the first Spring thaw. A jaunt to the nearest TSC (TractorSupply) or their website for a galvanized tub or trough may be in order? And i’ve been collecting Christmas hankies&ittybitty clothespins for several years,so those&teeny white lights will be the decorations. Since am in Cleveland,OH I think i’ll be using my Valentine’s hankies come Feb. Hopefully my FatAlberts will be planted b4 I need to use the St.Paddy’s hankies! :D Thanks for all your gr8 ideas &reminders of a wonderful childhood. More Grampy legends available (he had a sleigh!). -s-

    Reply
  19. LuLu

    I love all these ideas too, and i am trying to figure out how to keep a 8 ft tree stable… now i want lots of small trees… which has my hubby rolling his eyes!!! SO i’m going to take a deep breath love everything but not buy everything… i think i’ll need a latte to keep me from purchasing things i shouldn’t :)
    xo,
    LuLu

    Reply
  20. Paula (Salad in a Jar)

    This post takes me back to the big old galvanized bucket my parents would fill with rocks to hold our Christmas tree. I still vividly remember the night my Dad brought home a real tree, stuck it in the bucket and it fell over strewing rocks everywhere. The festive atmosphere kinda went south that evening.

    Reply
  21. Maria

    I love all of these ideas! So fun!

    Reply
  22. Judy

    I love these ideas and they look great, but I wanted to try a basket for my tree last year . Even with the stand on it was a VERY tight fit and the tree would not stay up. It’s hard to find things that fit the stand of an artificial tree. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Hmmm, maybe rocks? Sand?

      Reply
  23. Jody

    My spruce tree will go in a galvanized bucket this year, tree stand and all. I love the rustic look.

    Jody

    Reply
  24. melissa stover

    i have a bucket! but my tree is already up and my husband refuses to pick it up and see if it will fit in the bucket. Men! why didn’t you post this yesterday before i decorated my tree?

    Reply
    • Melissa

      lol, always a day late and a dollar short.

      Reply
  25. Rene'

    I love this topic and love putting my trees in different containers….A few years back my husband made a wooden insert for my metal tub so it would hold our 7′ tree… That won’t work for our 12 ft. tree so I’m racking my brain for a soulution! Thank you for the inspiration!

    Reply
  26. Paige

    I LOVE the idea of a basket or a bucket. I just wonder how I could make that work…? Maybe next year I’ll give it a try! Love the inspirational photos.

    Reply
  27. susan

    Me again…so many tipovers&Melissa mentioned sand–if you dont want to chance a beach party, what about tube sand? The kind for sandboxes & repurposed to hold temp sign bases&such for road crews&law enforcement? We used a literal ton of it for large special events like the DewTour,GrandPrix,etc. The tube bags take abuse well, you coud pack the tubes around the base of the container and cover with a throw or felt or a length of polarfleece? Reuse them for extra weight over your wheels for the winter&into the sandbox for summer! -s-

    Reply
  28. Katie B

    Love the buckets! Such a cute idea.

    Reply
  29. stacey

    We are galvanized bucket aficianados. It takes at least 2 strongish people to do this. You use a five gallon plastic home depot bucket inside the large galvanized bucket/pail. The plastic bucket is filled with dampened playground sand. Make sure your tree is trimmed so you have at least a foot of bare trunk at the bottom. Scoop out the sand from center and lower in the tree, then pack the sand around the trunk. This is how we have done our tree for years. I cut felt and glued it to the bottom of the galvanized bucket to protect the floor. We always get a 5-6 foot tree, so I am not sure it would hold a giant specimen! The damp sand keeps the tree fresh much longer too, no dry tree stands!

    Reply
  30. Layla

    Love the photos in this post! So breathtakingly beautiful!
    We stuck our tree in a big ol’ basket my Mom gave us last year.
    I love it!

    Layla :-)

    Reply
  31. Jennifer martinka

    I see these trees with buckets …. Very cute buuut, do you have to use glue or tape?!

    Reply
  32. Carol

    I want that tan couch! What store, brand, style? I wish you had put a link to it.

    Reply

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