Rachel's answer to everything in life: tape it to the wall!
I do this a lot. See my gallery wall and advent calendar if, for some strange reason, you don't believe me.
My little sisters were once again lamenting the fact that my parents got rid of my family's 4 ft. tall Christmas tree 3 years ago (apparently it takes kids a long time to get over something like that), so, being the problem solver that I am, I went to the craft cupboard, grabbed two kinds of green paper and some gold-colored sparkly foam, along with the paper chopper and masking tape, and had this up on the wall in 20 minutes. The hardest part was cutting out a semi-decent star free hand. Stars and I never seem to get along.
The girls might make ornaments to "hang on" (aka tape to) its branches, but I like this simple design, which I modeled after the Christmas tree on the cards we made a few years ago.
My parents have no regrets about throwing the Christmas tree away. Certain lifestyle changes must be made if you want to fit your large family into one small apartment, and that was one of them. This wall tree is a good compromise.
If you're looking for other "flat Christmas tree" ideas, Chelsea posted a cool one with a totally different look from mine on her blog last year.
p.s. Our flat Christmas tree makes a cameo appearance in our latest video, which is about the difference between Christmas traditions in Michigan vs. Christmas traditions in SE Asia. If you've ever celebrated Christmas in a tropical climate, you'll be able to relate to a lot of this. This video is a perfect fit for the December Vlog Challenge at the Murphmans, so I'm linking up there!
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What does your tree look like this year?
Can you tell the difference between a fairy and an Angel? (Watch our Youtube video if you're confused by the question)
Oh I love it!! :) love your advent calendar too!
Okay, I saw this post JUST IN TIME! I was going to go out and buy a tree tomorrow from IKEA (fake, obvs), because for the past (almost) four years, since we've been overseas, we haven't had a tree. This is the PERFECT solution!! Thank you thank you!
Also I love this: "Rachel's answer to everything in life: tape it to the wall!"
I absolutely LOVE this idea! It's festive, modern, and practical.
When I was teaching in France, my friend and I met up in Bordeaux for Christmas. My mom had sent me some Christmas decorations since it was my first Christmas away from home. My friend and I used some tape and a lot of luck to fix a green garland around an empty Pringles can to make a Christmas tree in our hotel room. Miraculously, it worked!
What a great idea. Never seen this before. I've told people about the decals but now I can mention this as well. I'll be pinning.
That's cute! I never thought to do anything like that when I lived in my small apartment. I'm in a bigger place now, with a ton of room for a tree, but this would have been really helpful a few years ago.
I have 4 christmas trees in the house, but still want one insode my room. It is a good idea! Thanks for sharing ;)
When we were first married we would get a real tree but over the past few years we have been trying to simplify more and more and have found that a fake one suits us right now. :) No hassle or fuss and very simple for the kids to deorate because it really isn't so big! Have a blessed advent!
What a cute idea!
I love this idea. It is sleek and chic.
No Christmas tree yet.
bisous
Suzanne
what a cute idea, i love this!!! we have a pretty small house, so we always go low key on the decorating. the first year we got a tiny real tree, but that can get expensive fast! so last year we just did a table top tree, and this year we made a tree out of a pallet & stained/painted it so i'm excited for it to dry & bring it inside!
Love this! You can make it look however you want!
LOL! You are hilarious! I love your sense of humor. I like it too! Way to be simplistic during the busy season!
I'd love to decorate a little in my apartment, but the problem is... Then I will leave for the holidays around Dec 20th... And when I return all the decorations will still be up and it will make me sad that the holiday is over! ha ah ha!
I love the different perspective on celebrating Christmas in a different culture and climate! I live in the same small town that I was born and raised in and we have 4 distinct seasons ...so as I type this we are blanketed in snow and my tree is up and the lights are twinkling (and I don't want to go out in the cold!) I love your creative tree - and advent calendar too! Happy Holidays!
This is so cute if you don't have the space for a large tree! I'm downsizing next year and my husband keeps saying we need to get rid of our tree... I may need to come up with something creative like this!
So fun! This would be good if you just wanted a tree in other rooms of the house (if you already had a regular tree in the living room). I like the modern look of it. Maybe we should have done this, considering our real 8ft tree fell over about an hour after I decorated it last week!! HAHA it was hilarious.
This is so cute! I might try this for my little cubicle!
I love "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th Street." Also, it cracks me up that your sisters don't know what snow angels or tacky sweaters are. I bet you guys have awesome Christmas celebrations that none of us over here would ever dream of!
The star looks great! I bought a flat, wooden tree from the craft store (boards stapled and glued together), painted it and hung it. It's my Christmas tree. I even put candy canes on it.
Ok, I love it. Of course, my family would be shocked if I did this. However, the girls are moving out next year and its up to me. I love the holiday but hate the drama brought on by the decorating and party planning.
This is such a good idea!! I never would have thought of that! We need that for our house, because our cats sit in our tree all the time!
This is such a cute idea!!!! And it doesn't come with the mess or pine needle clean-up of the real tree, lol ;-)
Wow, it's really innovative Christmas tree. Thanks for sharing!
Great idea. I have done a "flat runner" for my races, but this is cool. We are heading out this weekend to get our tree and I am always a fan of a "Charlie Brown" tree myself :)
Haha. We don't even wear socks! I remember when my in-laws were moving to Malaysia for a year and their youngest wanted to bring a robe...not super practical. I've seen a lot of fun flat tree ideas on Pinterest and I think it's a great alternative even with young kids.
This is so cute!!! I am in a small rental right now, so this would be perfect!
Oh my gosh nicely done, I love it!
I LOVE the way this looked, but I don't think I'd ever be able to not have a Christmas tree! I'm on #TeamRealTree though I have seen some impressive fake trees in the last couple of years. I went and got my tree last night and will be decorating it tonight; decorating the tree is one of my favourite things to do.
That is fun! We had a "Christmas bush" when we lived in our tiniest apartment and it was rough. I need a tree! ;)
This idea, though! So cool. So clever. Perfect if you don't have much space to work with.
I love it. :)
Christie's Take on Life. x
I love the flat tree. It's excellent for a small apartment.
Such a fun little idea! I love the idea that you can make anything Christmasy and beautiful if you're creative enough! Thanks for sharing this fun idea!
Very creative, but I don't know if I could ever get rid of my tree.
That's cute!!!!
Very cute idea. I used to make my Christmas tree out of lights in my small apartment! Looove it.
You gotta do what you gotta do. Our first apartment didn't have room for a traditional tree either, but my husband found a small 2 foot tree that we put on top of a bookshelf. It worked.
Such a cute idea! We have a real christmas tree in our apartment and it takes up space!
I love the idea of a flat tree!
So smart and creative! Also, I've been loving your youtube videos.
Yay! Thanks for joining the linkup! I love the idea of the wall tree but since one of our favorite traditions is cutting down the tree we've never tried a paper one ;) But this year if we can't find a cheap one in London we might do your idea!
Your flat tree is cute and Jingle All the Way is my little guy's favorite Christmas movie too. :)
XOXO
I am the new one
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