Top 10 Eco-Friendly Christmas Trees For Sustainable Christmas Days

Christmas trees are a major part of the Christmas season.

They are the centerpiece of Christmas decorations, and many of us can relate to the joy of decorating a Christmas tree with our family.

Sadly, Christmas trees are also a source of waste and pollution.

Many of them are shipped halfway across the world, burning tons of fuels, emitting carbon gases, and polluting the air.

Furthermore, many Christmas trees are immediately dumped after the holiday season, which adds to the already massive amount of waste in landfills.

Fortunately, you can do a few things to have a more sustainable Christmas celebration – starting with Christmas trees.

Below are 10 eco-friendly Christmas tree ideas and alternatives that are less taxing to the planet. (and can save you a couple of bucks too)

Let’s get started.

1. Reuse old Christmas trees

One of the most eco-friendly Christmas trees you can have is the one you already own.

Remember the one you used last Christmas?

Reusing and redecorating old artificial Christmas trees will effectively help reduce waste during the Christmas season.

Moreover, it can also save you some money from buying a new Christmas tree this year.

Yay for the planet and your wallet!

Of course, this only applies to artificial Christmas trees and not to “real” Christmas trees, which we will be discussing in a moment.

2. Buy locally grown Christmas trees

When buying a real Christmas tree, buy one from a local grower who has actually grown it on their property.

Why?

An imported Christmas tree is probably shipped from miles away, which means they already have a massive carbon footprint before you ever started using them.

Moreover, buying locally grown Christmas trees encourages local farmers to plant more trees, which help aid deforestation in your area.

If you don’t know where to buy eco-friendly Christmas trees near you, you can search the internet using certain keywords, including your country or city.

If you’re in the UK, you can search for:

• eco-friendly Christmas trees UK
• eco-friendly Christmas trees London

If you’re in the US or Australia, try these:

• eco-friendly Christmas trees USA
• eco-friendly Christmas trees LA
• eco-friendly Christmas trees Australia
• eco-friendly Christmas trees Melbourne

And so on.

3. Use other plants as Christmas trees

You don’t have your old artificial Christmas tree, and you don’t want to buy a real Christmas tree either?

No problem.

No rule says a Christmas tree has to be a pine or a fir.

Instead of getting a new artificial Christmas tree that’s made of plastic, why not find a plant or a tree you already own at home.

Your imagination is the limit.

You can literally use any houseplant, shrub, a branch, or even an entire tree in your backyard.

Hang some Christmas lights and some of the basic Christmas tree decorations on it, and you’re good to go.

Doing this, again, you’re not only reducing unnecessary waste that will end in landfills, but you’re also saving some money.

4. Build a driftwood Christmas tree

You can make an eco-friendly Christmas tree using driftwood if you live near a beach or shore.

And the good news is, you don’t need to be a professional woodworker to be able to build one.

And guess what?

It costs next to nothing to make a driftwood Christmas tree too!

If this interests you, start your project by going to the beach and collecting driftwood that you can find.

Now, it is crucial that you only pick driftwood that is as straight as possible and with different lengths.

Once you’ve collected enough driftwood, depending on how tall you want your Christmas tree to be, you can start working on it.

Click here for a step-by-step guide on making a driftwood Christmas tree by yourself.

Alternatively, you can buy a driftwood Christmas tree if you don’t have enough time to build one.

5. Make a DIY ladder Christmas tree

Yes, you read that right.

You can have a beautiful and unique eco-friendly Christmas tree using a ladder.

This is pretty convenient given that most of us already have a ladder at home.

And with a ladder Christmas tree, there’s not much hammering, drilling, and gluing needed.

Just stand your ladder in an upright position and make sure it’s grounded evenly, so it doesn’t trip over.

Then you can start hanging ornaments, lights, and other Christmas decors. Voila!

6. Make a temporary Christmas tree with books

Got a bunch of books gathering dust in the corner?

You can put them to use again, and don’t worry; you won’t even need to read them. (or do, lol)

You can make a temporary eco-friendly DIY Christmas tree out of your books!

It’s pretty simple to do this.

Start by arranging books on the floor and make a sturdy base.

Then stack more books on top of one another and make a triangle or a cone.

Once you got the shape locked in, throw in some LED lights and Christmas ornaments, and you’re good to go!

You can make multiple book Christmas trees at home.

You can make one for the table and a bigger one on the floor, totally up to you.

7. Get a potted Christmas tree

Potted Christmas trees are great if you don’t have a lot of space to display a full-size Christmas tree at home.

Moreover, a potted Christmas tree can become a houseplant once the Christmas season is over.

You don’t have to worry about where to store them or feel guilty about throwing them away.

And to further reduce your carbon footprint, opt for locally grown potted Christmas trees.

Potted Christmas trees are also more budget-friendly and less pricey than full-size Christmas trees.

8. Buy second hand Christmas trees

If you’re not keen on building DIY Christmas trees and you don’t want to fork a lot of money to buy a new one, don’t fret.

Many establishments, businesses, and thrift stores sell second-hand Christmas trees at affordable prices.

The amount you pay will depend on the size and make of the Christmas tree you choose.

Go visit your local thrift shops now before all the great ones have been bought out.

Getting a Christmas tree this way will help you save money.

More importantly, you’re also not creating more waste during the Christmas season, and you’ll be saving an old Christmas tree from ending up in a landfill.

9. Rent Christmas trees

If renting a Christmas tree is a new concept for you, then you’ll be glad to know this.

Today, more and more companies allow you to rent a Christmas tree just for the holidays.

Here’s how it works:

There are companies and businesses that have farms where they grow Christmas trees.

When you decide to rent a tree, their workers will carefully remove it from the ground so it stays alive, transfer it to a pot, and deliver the tree to your home.

Once the Christmas season is over or depending on your agreed date, the company will collect the Christmas tree you rented and replant it to be used next Christmas again. 

Some businesses even let you choose the same tree each year, so it’s almost like a family member that stays with you every Christmas.

Pretty cool, huh?

Once Christmas trees grow too big to rent, they are typically transferred and planted out in forests.

10. Borrow a Christmas tree

And the last tip to have a more eco-friendly Christmas tree this year is to borrow one from the people you know.

You’d be surprised how many people are keeping old Christmas trees at home.

If you’re up for it, ask some of your relatives, friends, and neighbors if they have an extra Christmas tree they’re not using.

Tell them you’re trying to use the most eco-friendly Christmas tree you can find this year.

They might be more than happy to lend you an extra Christmas tree they have.

And if they do, you’ll end up saving some money from buying a new Christmas tree.

Furthermore, you’ll also be educating other people that there are sustainable and less wasteful ways to commemorate the birth of Jesus.

Final Thoughts

Who would have thought that having an eco-friendly Christmas tree can be as easy as one, two, three!

We certainly hope that with the 10 eco-friendly Christmas trees we’ve shared above, both us and mother Earth can all enjoy a merry and eco-friendly Christmas.

By taking small yet decisive eco-friendly steps like this, we can ensure that the next generations can still celebrate Christmas on this planet.

Anyways, which of the eco-friendly Christmas trees above are you most interested in getting this year?