6+ Ways To Reuse A Real Christmas Tree After The Holidays

What can you do to reuse that real Christmas tree without tossing it into a landfill? Once all of the Christmas presents are unwrapped, the carols have stopped, and the holiday food has all been eaten, it’s time to take down the decorations. And that includes your real Christmas tree.

A real Christmas tree is different than a “living” Christmas tree. Living trees are usually wrapped in burlap and include the roots of the tree. The best thing to do with those types of trees is to plant them in pots or containers until the ground thaws out enough to plant outside.

However, I’m talking about once-living Christmas trees that have been cut at the trunk. You can find these types of trees at most big box stores like Lowe’s, Tractor Supply, and even Walmart. But you can also find them at dedicated Christmas tree farms.

Every Friday right after Thanksgiving, my family all bundles up and visits a local tree farm. We walk through all the trees and pick out the perfect one to join our family in the living room during the holiday season. We’ve been getting real trees all my life, so it’s a tradition I enjoy doing every year.

However, once the holidays are over, what do you do with that once-living Christmas tree? Instead of tossing it into the trash, there are actually some great ways to reuse the tree without adding it to our local landfills.

6 Ways To Reuse A Real Christmas Tree (Plus A Few Bonus Ideas)

Once a tree has been cut from the ground, it can no longer be replanted and survive. That’s just the cold, hard facts about real Christmas trees. If that bothers you, then definitely go the faux tree route. (Although, at least a natural tree will decompose eventually as opposed to those faux plastic trees!)

The goal during the holidays is to keep a once-living tree fresh. With proper care (i.e., watering it as needed and keeping it away from direct heat), a pine tree can last from the day after Thanksgiving until about the first of the New Year (speaking from personal experience).

After that, it’s really not safe to keep it in your home, especially if you are using Christmas lights. Instead, it becomes a fire hazard and something you definitely don’t want inside your home! So what do you do with it? Here are a few great ways to reuse your tree:

1. Mulch

As a gardener, one of my favorite ways to use dead Christmas trees is as a natural mulch. The best way to do this is to use a wood chipper to turn the tree into wood chips. The smell of the pine chips alone is worth the effort! However, not everyone has access to one of these machines.

Thankfully, you can still use the tree to protect your plants. Break off the branches and lay them around plants or directly on the soil. They will help to insulate the soil and protect it from the thawing and freezing temperatures.

You can even remove all of the needles and use just those as a great natural mulch. You might be wondering, aren’t pine needles acidic and will change the pH of the soil? While fresh, bright green living pine needles are mildly acidic, brown dried needles are pretty much neutral. This allows you to use them pretty much anywhere within your garden. (I like to use them to mulch my fall-planted garlic.)

2. Recycle – Reuse A Real Christmas Tree

This is probably the best answer for those of you who live in cities or urban areas. Many local municipalities or waste management companies have tree recycling programs.

Depending on what you find out, these companies can go around and pick up dead Christmas trees. There might also be drop-off locations where you can toss the tree once the holidays are over. Often, the trees will be turned into mulch or compost.

The key here is to make sure you remove all decorations from your tree before recycling. (This actually goes for any of these suggestions on this list.) That includes tinsel, ornaments, lights, and anything else you might have displayed on your Christmas tree. You also won’t be able to recycle any trees that have been sprayed with a synthetic snow spray.

3. Bodies Of Water

If you have access (and permission once again!) to a body of water, Christmas trees make for a great natural habitat for fish. Thanks to the weight of the trunk, dead pine trees will sink to the bottom of the water. Smaller fish then have a great hiding place from larger predators and fish.

The tree can be used for more than just protection, though. Over time, algae will start to form around the branches and needles. This algae can then feed the fish.

Some local towns will actually collect real Christmas trees after the holidays to use in community lakes and ponds. Check with local officials to see if places around your location do the same. Facebook Marketplace or other online forums might be another way to find people who are looking for dead Christmas trees.

4. Natural Habitat– Reuse A Real Christmas Tree

Just because the tree is no longer living doesn’t mean it can’t still be a great natural habitat for wildlife. If you have access to places on your property or a neighbor’s (with permission!) where wildlife could benefit from a bit of protection, toss the tree there.

Birds are always looking for shelter during the winter months when most trees have lost all of their leaves. To help encourage birds to find the tree, attach homemade bird feeders to a few branches or sprinkle seed around the area.

Living pine trees don’t lose their needles during the winter months. (Hence the name “evergreen” trees.) Even a cut Christmas tree will retain its needles for most of a year. Sure, they will be dried and crispy, but that won’t bother the birds.

Please note, while you might think you are doing a good deed, don’t just toss your old Christmas tree out the window as you drive down the road. The people who live along those paths won’t appreciate having to deal with the tree when spring arrives. Instead, always ask permission before putting the tree on anyone’s property, rural or not.

5. Firewood

A great way to reuse a real Christmas tree is to chop it up and use it as firewood. This is a great option if you are an avid camper or have a fire pit outside. (Be sure to look into your local rules and laws about burning in your community first.)

Pine trees have a very high resin content thanks to their sap. This can cause creosotes to build up quickly if you burn large amounts of it. For this reason, it’s best to use pine tree lumber for outside burning only and avoid using it in wood buring fireplaces inside.

The sap also causes the wood to burn quickly and intensely, perfect for those chilly winter nights outside by the fire! The best part (in my opinion) is the subtle pine scent of burning old Christmas trees.

Once you are done burning up the old Christmas trees, use the wood ash in your garden. Wood ash is loaded with calcium, potassium, and other nutrients. It also helps to raise the soil’s pH, so it’s great if you have highly acidic soil. Using the wood ash is like a double bonus way to reuse a real Christmas tree!

6. Wood Slices

The last suggestion I have for a natural way to reuse your real Christmas tree is to turn the trunk and thick branches into thin wood slices. This is a great option if you are a crafter and have access to a miter saw or another way of making the thin cuts.

Larger slices can be turned into wooden coasters, ornaments, and more. Use a wood burning tool or paint markers to add all sorts of neat designs and phrases on the slices. (Product Link: Weller Genuine 15 Piece Woodburning Kit)

Smaller branches can be cut into wood buttons. Just add a couple of small holes using a thin drill bit, and you have the perfect handmade button! I like to use these for adorning my crochet hats, scarves, and other projects.

It’s best to wait until the Christmas tree has dried out before making the wood slices. Then, to protect the wood, use a varnish to help seal the wood after adding your artistic flair.

Bonus Ideas

Do you plan on adding any raised beds to your garden area this spring? If so, you can chop up the lumber and use the Christmas tree to help fill the base of the beds. (For more information on using raised garden beds, check out my article, “Raised Garden Beds – A Great Alternative To In-Ground Gardens!”)

Another great way to reuse a real Christmas tree is to donate it to a local farmer who has livestock. Goats love to chomp down on the pine needles and will quickly take the tree down to bare branches.

We like to toss ours into our fenced-in chicken run. The tree gives the chickens a place to hide and perch. In addition, many chickens like to dine on the needles for a great natural treat.

I’m sure there are plenty of other great ways to reuse that old real Christmas tree. Hopefully, this list will give you a few great ideas without resorting to the trash bin!

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
– Chelsea

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