Most homes will have a majestic Christmas tree festooned with baubles, tinsel and lights, as part of the Christmas decorations. Real trees have the benefit of adding their aromatic fresh green spruce or pine fragrance to the room – giving the house a beautiful festive scent. Fake trees can be as glamourous or kitcsh as you want them to be. From realistic looking pine branches to frosty glittering all white and even minimalist black ones. But there are a few other ideas for Christmas ‘trees’ you could also consider.

*Stack books in the shape of a tree – start with the big thick ones on the bottom in a circle and gradually place others on top, tapering up toward the top as the books get smaller. Decorate with lights and baubles when you have achieved the height and shape you want. Theme your books by coloured (red or green) covers, or by content – for the foodies out there a collection of cook books makes a seasonally appropriate ‘tree’.

*For the really creative souls among you, wire coat hangers have the right natural shape to be joined together in layers to form a tree, then bedecked in green tinsel or even real green foliage.

*Bare branches gathered from the woods can be arranged decoratively in a bucket of earth or sand, then dangled with sparkly baubles and lights. You can spray the branches first, or leave them natural.  This is a good idea for homes with lack of space, as the finished result will stand neatly in a corner.

* For those into their  ‘re-use and re-cycle’ ethos in a big way – a recent post on Facebook showed a ‘Christmas Tree’ made out of empty beer bottles.   Green glass bottles are best for this. Arrange a circle of them standing on the floor, then place a flat board on top, make a smaller circle, cover with another board, and so on, making the circles smaller as they go up,  to create the shape of a tree. Decorate with fairly lights which reflect in the glass. This one needs to be erected in a space where it won’t get knocked over when you have a crowd in!

* Get your hands on an old fashioned wooden step ladder, open it out, wrap the lights around it and hang balls and decorations from the rungs.

*Recycle and old wooden palate. Dismantle it and  use one long board as the central ‘stalk’ of the tree. Cut smaller ones of graduating sizes, which you nail across the stalk, getting smaller as you get to the top. This is a simple tree good for hanging on a wall. You can paint the boards in festive colours or in a theme to suit your room.  Complete the look and feel with simple lights and  traditional wooden decorations  – a rustic tree which is really good for a minimalist country cottage look.

*Gardeners will love a tree made from a large cane garden frame – the pointed wigwam shaped ones normally used for growing climbing runner beans, peas and sweet peas.  Wrap around the frame with fake pine garlands festooned with lights and decorations.

*For the simplest idea of the lot, invest in a very long string of white fairy lights and hang them on pins against the wall in a Christmas Tree shape. Place pins in the wall at the ends of the ‘branches’ to hang your baubles.  Even the smallest room can accommodate this wall decoration Christmas Tree!