Alternative trees are all the rage the past few years. With guilt about real trees and fake trees and what decorations are made of and whether they will decompose, making a tree with natural materials and recyclable material seems like a good solution.

Back in later December I made a tree using branches. For years I have been looking at them in magazines and on Pinterest and planning to make one then running out of time in the run up to Christmas. But this year – finally – I started in plenty of time. I had the tree made in a day. I even had enough to time to write a blog post on it well in time for you to make your own one.

But then life and a bad internet connection and a lack of blogging mojo hit me and so here I am with less than two weeks till Christmas publishing a tutorial on making your own alternative tree.

So let’s get down to it. Here’s what you’l need:

A long, straight branch or branches, about 3cm in diameter

Copper wire

A drill with a very narrown bit

A ball of twine

A section of decorations

Begin by deciding on the width of the bottom of your tree. Mine is 30cm at the base and has ten rows. The top row is 6cm.  Mark the length of each section of your tree on the branches and saw them through.

Wrap each cut off with copper wire, as shown in the photos. Then drill through each end of each cut off to create holes for threading the branches together.

Tie a knot in the end of a piece of string long enough to thread the branches together. Thread it through each branch, making a knot to prevent the branches slipping down on top of one another. See photo below.

Once your tree is assembled, decorate it with a selection of decorations and lights. I chose to use mostly natural materials for mine.

I’m very pleased with how it has turned out. All I need to do now is find the perfect place to hang it.

And since there is a very real chance I won’t manage another blog post before Christmas, merry Christmas dear readers and a very happy new year!