Trees with a twist: Halloween tree décor

[TeenHelp]

Trees with a twist: Halloween tree décor
By Cassie (cynefin)

When people think of trees as décor, they typically think of Christmas or Christmas trees. After all, Christmas trees have been a tradition for many people for quite some time. Christmas trees have served as inspiration for other holidays, such as Halloween.

Halloween trees are exactly what they sound like: they are similar to Christmas trees, but feature Halloween ornaments and lights. They often have a cute tree topper as well! Halloween trees can look like traditional Christmas trees, but some also resemble a bare, spooky tree, as pictured below.

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If you're short on time, you can purchase a tree that is already set up and decorated. These trees are usually equipped with battery powered LED lighting, ornaments, and a tree topper of some kind.

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I am personally not a fan of battery powered LED lights, so I usually choose to gather my own materials and decorate a tree myself. It is a lot of fun, and easier to personalize it the way you choose. If you'd like to make your own tree, here's what you'll need. The last three on the list are optional, depending on your preferences.

• A tree (usually a Christmas tree) of some sort. I purchased a small black tinsel tree to decorate, but there are plenty of other colors such as purple, silver, or orange! Black is the traditional color, but you can choose any other color you like. You can decide to purchase a bare tree instead of a tinsel tree. It might be easier to find a tree during this time of year, as Christmas trees are already for sale.
• Lights. There are often Halloween lights for sale around this time of year, but you can also purchase Christmas lights in different colors and use those instead. Some Halloween light colors include orange, purple, or green. Candy corn lights are also available too! I decorated my tree as a gift for someone else, and used jack-o'-lantern lights in addition to my other ones.
• Ornaments. Some people enjoy the clean look of a lit tree, but others have interest in ornaments. Many stores sell colorful ornaments around Halloween, but there are also Christmas ornaments that come in a variety of colors. I get a lot of my tree accessories at the Dollar Tree (USA), and you might have a similar store near you. I chose glittery ornaments in black, purple, green, and orange. I also got little sparkly purple clip-on bats to add to the tree.
• A tree topper. Many premade Halloween trees come with a topper and it can be difficult to think of one if you decide to make your own. I have chosen a witch's hat, which works well for the shape of the tree. Get creative and see what you can think of!
• A tree skirt. Halloween tree skirts are very hard to find, and are usually expensive because of this. I actually planned to purchase some, but the price went up higher because of the time of year and I decided not to. You can use small Christmas tree skirts if you'd like. An alternative to this is wrapping a scarf around the bottom of the tree.

Decorate it any way you like! I typically set up the tree, add the lights, and then work on the ornaments and other decorations. Here is the tree I gifted.

[photo by cynefin]

As Halloween trees have grown in popularity, people have chosen to try decorating little trees for each holiday. If you like the idea of a Halloween tree, try trees for other occasions such as harvest time, Valentine's Day, or Easter.