A Spring Decorating Idea that Lasts Through the Seasons

Spring is all about energy, awakening, and renewal. When I think of spring, I see baby animals, colorful flowers, and bright green leaves just starting to appear on the tips of all those dull brown winter branches. So, when thinking of something to brighten up the house for spring, I naturally thought of a tree just starting to show its new spring clothes. I imagine it sitting in the front window, welcoming everyone who comes up the walk, and showing my joy in the new spring season.

Of course, bringing actual trees inside the house is only a good decorating decision if you have a green thumb, or at least a marginally friendly relationship with vegetation. This is something that I lack - as the struggling houseplants in my living room window hanging on to life with the thinnest of threads demonstrate. Instead, I suggest a fake tree.

If the tree itself is simple and has only the basic structure of trunk and branches it will prove to be an element that you can decorate for any season or holiday, and therefore will become a good investment of time and/or money, depending on how you choose to acquire your tree.

I recommend rolling up your sleeves and celebrating the newness of spring by creating your own. You can create a pretty amazing tree out of a few wire coat hangers, papier-mâché, and a little brown paint. You'll also want to include some kind of a base - a small flowerpot in your favorite bright shade or neutral silver metallic would be a nice touch. If you're not inclined to do the glue-and-scissors thing, you can purchase a tree pre-made. You can find anything on eBay - I came up with a few options by searching for 'ornament tree', and you may also want to check out your local craft store.

Once you've got your tree finished and the paint is dry (or you've removed it from the shipping box), it's time for the best part - decorating that skeleton so it matches your joyful spring mood. I like the idea of making paper flowers and attaching them to the branches. I've seen paper flower kits for sale online at Paper Source, and you can find some patterns at your local craft store, or directions in a book of origami. You can save these flowers and use them again next year, or attach them to a wire stem and arrange them in a vase elsewhere in your home.

For Easter, hang Easter eggs from the branches - either colorful construction paper cutouts, or the hollow plastic variety. If you're feeling particularly crafty, you could even dry out eggs from the grocery store and paint them with Easter colors and cheerful patterns. Place a little green Easter grass in the pot around the base of the tree, and you've got a great table decoration.

A fun Easter party use for your new centerpiece is as a dessert server. Bake a batch of sugar cookies shaped as eggs, rabbits, and chicks, and decorate them appropriately. Then wrap each one in a clear cellophane bag, tie it with a ribbon, and hang it from a branch of your tree. Make sure you've made your tree sturdy enough to handle the weight before you try this! Place it in the center of the table and serve tea and cookies, or set it on a stand by the door so your guests can pick a cookie off the tree to take home with them. Children who've been running around hunting for eggs all day may particularly enjoy this.

The uses of this decorative piece can last well beyond the springtime. Trees are a symbol of all the seasons - fresh buds and blooms in the spring, rich green leaves in summer, bright red and yellow foliage in fall, and bare branches blanketed in snow in the winter. You can also use each holiday for inspiration, below I've listed a few of my ideas, but half the fun is thinking up your own!

Valentine's Day - paper hearts and small Valentines
St. Patrick's Day - shamrocks
May Day - flowers and ribbons
Fourth of July - streamers in red, white and blue, a garland of sparkling stars
Halloween - tissue paper ghosts
Thanksgiving - hand-print turkeys
Christmas/Holidays - Christmas ornaments, naturally! Or paper snowflakes