What can you do with a Christmas tree after the holidays. What to do with the Christmas tree after the holidays

Well, what New Year and Christmas is without a green beauty decorated with all kinds of toys ?! When a light smell of pine needles hovers around the apartment, you feel that here it is, a real holiday. And how disappointing it is when a tree has grown for a single year to turn into a tall pine or herringbone, then it pleases us for some three or four weeks and ... it is thrown into the trash. Thousands of pines, having completed their mission, find themselves in a junkyard. But they can still be useful, the main thing is to know how else you can use branches, needles and the trunk of a coniferous tree. By the way, this will be a great idea for a weekend when you want to keep yourself busy with something pleasant, useful and uncomplicated.

1 Christmas trees are given to zoos, where they are eagerly eaten not only by ungulates, but also by such exotic animals as elephants! In addition to food for animals, pine chips are used as bedding for zoo pets.

3 It turns out that with the help of needles, plants can be protected from insect pests such as bear, wireworm, scab. To do this, planting vegetables in the garden, add a little needles to the hole. It secretes substances - phytoncides, which scare away insects that poison your life. By the way, if you are not a gardener, but would also like to have a hobby, the answer, how to find it, will tell youauthor of the site "Sunny Hands" Maria Duhovitskaya , she shares tipsin the article "Interests and hobbies that help overcome boredom" .

4 Branches of a Christmas tree are great as an elixir for flowers. It is necessary to chop them finely and put them in 3-liter jars. Then pour boiling water into the jars and let it brew for three days. Water indoor plants and flowers in the garden with this coniferous water - they will grow even better.

5 Twigs can be chopped and in reserve. After drying them and putting them in a paper bag, then to make "magic irrigation water" from them.

6 Needles are also very well suited as a plant insulation. Covering the beds with branches with needles, the Christmas tree will protect the plants from the cold wind. The needles also pass oxygen to the soil, so that the plantings absorb it and grow faster. In addition, the needles help moisture to stay in the ground longer.

7 Pine needles prevent weeds from growing.

8 Can be used in the garden and trunks of pine or Christmas trees. They are excellent supports for climbing crops such as cucumbers and beans. As a trellis, the trunks are also suitable for curly flowers.

9 In landscape design pines are also excellent helpers and decorative elements for a garden, a vegetable garden, a summer cottage. They can be used as a hedge. And since the trunk of conifers is even, the fence, respectively, will turn out nowhere better.

10 For health from pine needles, coniferous decoctions, tonic drinks are obtained - all this is also easy to prepare at home X.

For example, many remember how, in childhood, mothers often pampered us with pine baths, which soothe the nervous system. Then, when there were no all kinds of bath foams, aromatic additives, the pine bath was a real panacea.

So why bother with chemistry when you can make a great natural bath tea? So, we take a large saucepan and brew needles and twigs of pine or spruce in it. We filter the broth and pour it into the bath. It helps not only to calm down, but also strengthens the heart, gives strength, vigor, relieves pain in rheumatism and joint diseases.

11 You can use coniferous broth not only outside, but also inside. It is especially relevant now, when it's winter, as it helps to cope with colds. To prepare the broth, you need to brew and insist 30 g of chopped pine needles. Then add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and a little honey to the drink. Ready! The miracle infusion is rich not only in vitamin C, but also in vitamin A. It can be drunk even all year round, thereby strengthening the immune system.

12 In winter, this drink is also good: put 50 g of pine needles, 10 dry rose hips, a handful of onion husks in an enamel saucepan. Bring the broth to a boil and keep it in a preheated oven for another half hour. This drink can be drunk instead of tea, adding honey instead of sugar. Experts say that such a decoction helps cleanse blood vessels and supports the body with vitamins. In winter, this is what you need!

13 A healthy drink that can help with kidney disease and atherosclerosis can also be made from pine needles. It is enough to pour 250 milliliters of boiling water over 50 g of needles and let it brew for two hours. Now you can drink it, and if you add honey, then the benefits from it will be doubly.

The beneficial properties of conifers do not end there. From the needles, you can prepare a tonic that rejuvenates the skin. It's very simple: just brew the needles and wash your face with such a lotion. It not only heals the skin of the face, but also helps with skin chapping, heals small wounds.

14 "As soon as my domestic cat saw a living Christmas tree for the first time in his life, he immediately inflamed with special love for it," says Mikhail S. from Murom. - Most of all he loved to climb somewhere in the very middle and with rapture to tear the branches with his claws. When the time came to throw out the tree, I thought - why not prolong the joy of the little animal? "

No sooner said than done. Mikhail cut the trunk exactly in half, removed the thin branches completely, and cut the thicker and stronger ones shorter (so as not to sag under the weight of the cat). Then, for reliability, he covered the "product" with several layers of varnish.

“A little less than an hour of work,” the Murom resident states with satisfaction, “and my Snowball received an excellent environmentally friendly scratching post. Which, by the way, I successfully replaced exactly one year later, making a new one in exactly the same way. "

A somewhat different application of the "spent" Christmas tree was found by an inveterate summer resident from the Eastern suburbs Larisa H.

15 “I always carefully cut spruce and pine branches and clean them of the remaining needles,” she says. “The thinner ones make excellent trellises for climbing indoor flowers and seedlings. Those that are more impressive, I save until the start of the sowing campaign and I use them as props mainly for tomatoes and cucumbers. " And Larisa burns the trunk and needles into ash and uses it as fertilizer.

16 However, last year the woman even decided to embark on a landscape design experiment. As a trellis on one of her flower beds in a suburban area, she immediately used a whole spruce tree: she put it in the center, and planted creeping ivy around. “Already in the middle of summer, this installation looked very original,” says Larisa. - A Christmas tree with green leaves instead of the usual needles attracted the attention of all neighbors, gardeners. Some are even going to do the same this spring. "

17 Tver pensioner Nina Mikhailovna he does not use the spruce branches and the trunk, but, on the contrary, he carefully collects the needles. “This is a very good filler for throw pillows,” the woman is sure. - Firstly, the needles smell good. When you go to bed, it feels like you are walking in a pine forest. Secondly, the needles contain a sufficient amount of essential oils and phytoncides, which help to cope with colds. "

True, the cushions for such pillows, says Nina Mikhailovna, have to be sewn from dense fabric. Yes, and the needles themselves have to be pre-kneaded, steamed a little (to give it softness and thereby protect the head from injections), and, finally, thoroughly dry it so that it does not start to rot later. But now the pensioner does not know any problems with gifts for her friends and family for birthdays and other memorable dates. “They just don’t get in line for my pillows,” she rejoices. “Who doesn’t want to receive a gift that is not only healing, but also keeps the magical energy of the most important holiday”.

18 An elderly resident of Yekaterinburg also carefully collects needles Varvara E. She, of course, does not sew pillows, but she is happy to brew tea from them: rinses, pours in water, boils for about 20 minutes, strains, and then adds sugar and honey to the refined broth according to her own taste. Such a drink, she assures, is remarkably invigorating and increases vitality. Only here there is one "but": only pine needles are suitable for such tea.

19 “I work as a night watchman,” says a pensioner from Kaluga Alexey F.- I walk to and from work, fortunately that the object I look after is not far from my home. But in severe frosts, even in 10-15 minutes of travel, I often manage to freeze, as they say, to the very bones. And there is no better remedy for the prevention of colds than a hot pine bath ”. But since the elderly security guard does not trust modern chemistry, he cuts off all the branches from the New Year tree, chops finely, pours boiling water (at the rate of 8 liters per kilogram of raw materials) and insists for a day, after which, in fact, uses it for its intended purpose.

20 Farmer near Moscow Vyacheslav V. is also in no hurry to get rid of the main symbol of the New Year, which has lost its presentation. Moreover, he also collects old Christmas trees in all the neighbors. And he also cuts all branches "into small cabbage", and also rips off the bark from the trunks. Vyacheslav slowly feeds all this mass to his pigs, sheep and rabbits. Animals, he argues, sweep such a "dessert" rich in vitamins and minerals willingly and cleanly. And from the bare trunks, the man adds, very good cuttings for rakes and shovels are obtained.

21 “In addition, - adds the farmer, - I, like many gardeners, are of the opinion that there is probably no better mulching material for beds than spruce needles. It not only allows you to save energy and water on daily irrigation, saving soil under itself from drying out, but also scares away many garden pests, as well as rodents. "

But, perhaps, a resident of New Moscow shared with us the most original way of using the Christmas tree after the holiday. Sergei P., an experienced fisherman.

22 “I borrowed this version from the local foresters when I lived in America for a while,” he says. - With the help of cargo they specially flood driftwood, logs, including such trees, a few meters from the shore of some water body or river. The fact is that fish like to settle in such places, and these specific “houses” contribute to an increase in their population. So for the past few years I have also regularly drowned my Christmas tree in the nearby lake. "

A decoction of spruce needles is very beneficial for health. It strengthens the immune system, helps in the fight against coughs and other diseases of the nasopharynx. Therefore, if you are not one of those who hold the Christmas tree to victory until its last needles fly off, try making a healing drink. Pour a glass of pine needles with a liter of water, bring to a boil and let it brew for 24 hours. A coniferous drink in combination with honey activates the body's defenses and copes well with colds.

The smell of pine needles has long been considered an excellent stress reliever. To use the healing properties to the maximum, take a bath with a decoction of pine needles. Pour boiling water over a glass of pine needles, leave for 15 minutes, strain and pour into the bath. The scent of essential oils will relieve stress after a hard day and help you sleep well. Just do not overdo it: such procedures last no more than 20 minutes.

Make incense sticks for a pleasant pine smell to settle in your apartment for a long time. Collect the fallen needles, grind them in a coffee grinder, mix with a little water until the consistency of toothpaste, and then stuff tightly into paper cones and dry on a battery. By setting fire to such sticks, you will plunge into the atmosphere of the holiday every time.

For the aspiring woodcarver, conifers are the ideal material. It is easy to handle, soft and pliable. From the trunk of the Christmas tree, you can cut hairpins as a gift for a girl or a car for a child. Flat planks cut from the trunk are suitable as a basis for burning or artistic painting with acrylics.

You can make beautiful things from the tree for the interior. For example, from a cut of a trunk with spreading lower branches, you will get an original candlestick. You can also cut the trunk into many round planks and glue them together - you get an unusual hot stand. A part of the trunk with knots can be turned into an unusual clothes hanger.

Pine and spruce wood burns beautifully, gives a lot of warmth and envelops the room with a pleasant aroma with a disinfecting and soothing effect. Gather branches, cut the trunk into logs and go to heat the bathhouse with them. You are guaranteed a pleasant evening!

Take care of the birds by making a spruce tree feeder for them. New to carpentry? Nothing wrong. You will be able to make such a feeder in a couple of hours. Moreover, the sawdust can also be used. Combine them with peanut butter, seeds, grains, and millet. Birds will gladly eat such a mixture.

Editorial response

After the New Year and Christmas celebrations, a huge number of yellowed and crumbling fir trees appear on the streets of Russian cities. People leave the forest beauties at garbage containers, at entrances or in snowdrifts not far from their homes.

How are trees recycled in Russia?

In our country, the "correct" recycling of trees is not yet too developed. In most cases, New Year's trees are sent to a landfill or incinerator as they are considered bulky waste. But the housing and communal services sector has a choice - they can conclude an agreement with companies for the removal and disposal of garbage, which take out spruce to special facilities and store, and after ten years, humus is obtained. Other companies have special machines called tree chippers that turn trees into sawdust. These sawdust are distributed to summer residents who use them as fertilizers. Spruce can also be used as fuel for wood waste boilers.

New Year's firs after the holidays are also accepted in city zoos. Trees are used as food for ungulates and some birds. However, zoos do not take bare trunks; it is necessary that there be needles on the trees.

It is interesting that last year they found a useful use for fir trees in Tomsk - after the holidays, New Year's trees were used to feed livestock. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Tomsk Region carried out a campaign to collect Christmas trees. The townspeople could take the trees back to the Christmas tree bazaars, from where the workers of the Tomsk plant took them out in an organized manner and then fed the cows with the harvested needles.

An original idea in 2012 came to the mind of the employees of one of the management companies in Stavropol. They offered city residents to exchange Christmas trees for potted palm trees. For this, one hundred palms were purchased. The townspeople received them as a gift, and the collected conifers went to feed mountain goats and bedding for animals in the zoo. At the same time, the management company managed to save on the collection and removal of trees, because people brought them themselves.

In 2009, the Kremlin Christmas tree was also recycled, and not to a landfill - it was sawn into planks.

Useful uses of the Christmas tree

Do not throw the tree out into the street, it is better to hand it over to the zoo or farm. The needles will diversify the diet of animals and will serve as bedding for them. If you decide to take the spruce to the zoo, before that you need to thoroughly clean it from rain and tinsel.

If you have a summer cottage or a country house, a Christmas tree can be useful in order to heat the stove in winter. The tree in the country can also be used to make mulch. The wood needs to be chopped into splinters, and then sprinkle the ground near the trees and flowers in the garden or in the vegetable garden with these splinters. This will help protect plants from death, prevent soil erosion, and get rid of weeds. In addition, a tree trunk can be cut into several parts and from the resulting rounds to make a border for flower beds.

Spruce needles contain many beneficial substances and vitamins, therefore they are used to treat various diseases. So, with bronchitis, coniferous inhalations help. You need to take 200 grams of spruce branches, put them in a saucepan and pour boiling water over it. Then you need to cover yourself with a towel and inhale the steam emanating from the needles.

To cure colds and coughs, you can make spruce paste. You need to take 300 grams of chopped needles, 200 grams of honey and 50 grams of propolis. Mix everything and store in the refrigerator. Take pasta 1 tablespoon 3 times daily before meals with warm water.

A homemade mattress stuffed with spruce needles will help get rid of joint pain. To prevent the mattress from pricking, you need to put a woolen blanket on top.

However, if you still decide to throw out the tree, use the advice of AiF.ru,.

How do they deal with spruce trees in foreign countries?

Abroad, the recycling of fir trees is more widespread and better organized. Europeans and Americans have found many ways to use them so as not to pollute the environment.

In many cities in the United States, spruce can be taken to a recycling center after the holidays. Coniferous trees in America make paper and litter for cat litter.

In Sweden, Christmas trees are burned in boiler houses, thanks to which more than 10% of the country's population is heated at home. In the Scandinavian countries, spruce is also taken to furniture factories and made into furniture.

In Austria, New Year's trees are used to make fuel briquettes, and in Germany, wooden knives for butter. In addition, in some countries, spruce is used for composting urban parks and is even used in the manufacture of medicines for the flu.

Ancient and modern New Year's signs and superstitions of our ancestors and not only. It will be interesting to read, probably, to everyone: both those who believe and those who do not.

Probably, all of us on New Year's holidays, at least a little, but still believe in a miracle, it must happen, and the wish made at midnight will certainly come true! Yes, thoughts materialize, so you need to tune in to the positive, believe in a miracle and make your deepest desires on New Year's Eve.

New Year's signs and superstitions

• Before the New Year holidays, you should carry out a general cleaning at home: wash all floors, shelves and cabinets from dirt and dust, wash chandeliers and lamps, vacuum carpets and rugs, throw out chipped (cracked) and broken dishes).
• Before the New Year, you need to pay off all your old debts, as well as ask for forgiveness from everyone and forgive yourself.
• Dishes on the New Year's table should be a symbol of material wealth for the next year.
• It is advisable to have a talisman or amulet on New Year's Eve, which you can even make with your own hands. For example, an embroidered shirt or a donated pendant can serve as a talisman.
• Grain in the old days was a symbol of prosperity, so the bride and groom were sprinkled with grain and money on their wedding day, the same was true for the New Year holidays.
• There is such a sign “As you meet the New Year, so you will spend it”, so you need to get rid of everything old, unnecessary and broken in advance and celebrate the holiday in new clothes, cheerfully and amicably, then the next year will be the same.
• Before the holiday itself, you do not need to wash dirty linen in public, you should do this in advance.
• Before throwing away the shards of the shattered glass toy that was hanging on the Christmas tree, you need to make an unusual wish. It will definitely come true.
• When taking the New Year tree out of the house after the New Year holidays, one should say: “Down with bad luck, the tree to rest, well, to me to my home. May it be so".
• This is a family holiday, so it would be a great solution to invite all relatives to celebrate the holiday together on the 31st or the next day.
• Fallen needles of a Christmas tree or pine needles do not need to be thrown away. In case of a cold, you can pour a glass of such needles with a liter of boiling water, leave for 3 hours and add to the bath. Taking a bath, you will feel the real healing scent of the forest. But this can only be done if you are sure that the pine tree did not grow by the road and was not sold near the road, and that the tree is 100% environmentally friendly. Also, you should first consult with your doctor whether it is possible for you to take such baths.
• And there is also such a sign: you need to put your cherished desire written on paper under a New Year tree or pine on the night of January 13-14. At noon on the 14th, you need to burn a piece of paper. Desires will definitely come true.
• If you light candles on New Year's Eve, then the wax (stearin) remaining after burning the candle should be collected and then made a new candle from it. In case of illness or blues, you need to light such a candle and look at its flame. The necessary healing will come.
• Place a stool where your Christmas tree or pine tree was. And now sit on it for at least 10-15 minutes. All negativity will go away from you. True, it is believed that this place has magical properties only a day after the tree is taken out, so hurry up, do not miss the chance to get rid of bad energy!



• The last decoration (be it a Christmas tree toy, rain or something like that) that you removed from the New Year tree is a powerful and reliable amulet for the whole year. You need to hang or put it in the place of the apartment or house where it will be most needed.
• On the Old New Year (night from 13 to 14 January), according to the ancient traditions and customs of our glorious ancestors, the hostess must necessarily bake pork and bake pies. The hostess of the house must certainly cook the porridge on New Year's Eve, according to the old style. There were traditionally signs and superstitions about porridge. For example, porridge that crawled out of the pot foreshadowed trouble. Good and rich porridge promised a successful year. In the morning, the resulting porridge was eaten, and the bad was thrown away.
• In the old days, there was a tradition to entangle the legs of the table with ropes so that no one left the family next year, everyone lived together without quarrels.
• Throwing a Christmas tree out of a window or balcony is a bad omen. You need to take it out and stick it in the snow.
• Strangers should not be lent before the New Year any items associated with fire (a torch in ancient times, lit from a hearth, nowadays matches or lighters).
• The fire of the hearth is very important and before it had to burn all New Year's Eve. Now it can be an ordinary night lamp (night light) or a Christmas tree garland. Observe the safety instructions when doing this!
• It is advisable to celebrate the New Year in something new, so that there will be prosperity for the whole next year.
• Many people think that sleeping on a festive night is not worth it, so as not to miss anything in the coming year.
• You need to celebrate the New Year with money and without debt.
• For happiness to be in the house, a man must enter it first.
• Cleaning on January 1st will bring losses, so it is not recommended to do this.
• A splash of champagne or its foam on New Year's Eve - to wealth! So if you get splashed or foam of champagne on this fabulous holiday - it's only for the best.

Happy New Years to you!

I just did a whole lot of research! I climbed the internet on this topic. In general, I must say that all this talk, that the tree can be given to the zoo to be eaten by animals, is empty.
Many write that they tried to take the tree to the zoo or even to the circus, but no one needs them there. They don't even need a boiler room, because nowadays very few people heat with firewood.
In the end, I found an article on how you can use a Christmas tree just at home - for the house, for the family. I'm not sure if this will work out as it should, but it's worth a try. Here is the article.

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New Year's holidays are passing. Every day the moment is approaching when the need to remove the tree will grow into a need: after all, it takes up a lot of space, and a lot of dust has collected.
Finally, the toys are packed and safely hidden until the end of the new year and the question arises of what to do with the tree - after all, a good housewife does not waste anything. If you had a felled beauty - do not rush to say goodbye to her, she may come in handy after the holidays.
First, collect the needles, and if you find, the resin. It is the winter needles of spruce and pine that are rich in ascorbic acid, vitamins B, E and iron.

To strengthen the immune system
To strengthen the immune system, we will brew a vitamin drink from pine needles.
Rinse the collected needles thoroughly with cold water, cut with scissors, put in an enamel bowl and fill with cold boiled water (¾ glass of water in a glass of needles), add a little lemon juice or citric acid, cover the pan with a lid and let it brew for 2-3 days, remembering constantly go to the pan and shake it.
After this period, the infusion must be filtered, honey or sugar must be added and you can drink - half a glass a day.
For those who have little time, but want to use needles, two simpler recipes:
1. Pour a glass of pine needles with one liter of water and bring to a boil, leave for 24 hours. Take half a glass of infusion before meals. This infusion is also very useful for frequent colds and prolonged coughs.
2. Grind pine needles in a mortar with a little cold boiled water. Then add enough boiled water so that the ratio of pine needles to water is 1:10. The solution must be slightly acidified with lemon or citric acid, boil for 20-30 minutes, insist for 3 hours, strain and take as a general tonic 2 times a day after meals, half or one third of a glass.

For beauty and freshness
Did you know that pine needles have healing properties. You can make various face masks from pine needles (for any skin type!). These masks allow you to restore the natural balance of the skin, give the face freshness and rejuvenate you.
In winter, it is especially important to take care of your face. This nourishing mask will help you be special: 1 tbsp. a spoonful of broth needles (see recipes above), mix with 2 tbsp. tablespoons of soft cottage cheese and 1 teaspoon of honey, mix well, apply on face, keep for 10 minutes. Remove with a swab dipped in warm water or chamomile tea. Then throw an ice cube into the remaining chamomile tea and wash. Several of these masks will leave your skin supple, velvety and radiant.
Our face has received proper care. Now you can pamper your body with a homemade scrub. For the scrub, we need needles, dry tangerine peels and simple sea salt. The needles and boxes of tangerine must be ground in a coffee grinder or grind in a mortar, add sea salt (you can do it in a 1: 1 ratio). Add warm water or some shower gel to the dry mix before use.

At the end of the working week, it is pleasant to relax and gain strength in a wonderful pine bath. The pine bath, like the infusion, will soothe you after stressful everyday life. Prepare a broth: pour a glass of chopped needles with a liter of boiling water, keep on fire for 10 minutes. Then we filter and pour into the bath. Doctors and cosmetologists recommend staying in such a bathroom for ten to twenty minutes, but no more.
And if you add 1-2 drops of tea tree essential oil to a part of the decoction prepared for the bath, rub into the hair roots and wet the hair along the entire length, and then rinse off after 10 minutes, your hair will grow much better.
Also, spruce needles can be useful for a husband. To prepare an after-shave lotion, you will need half a glass of chopped pine needles and half a liter of vodka. Pour the needles with vodka and leave for 7-10 days. The lotion refreshes the skin of the face, relieves irritation, inflammation, and heals cuts after shaving faster.

For home
We will create a wonderful natural floor cleaner from the needles.
We will need: half a glass of soap shavings, a quarter of a glass of baking soda, a glass of salt, two glasses of broth needles (can be replaced with plain water), if there is essential pine oil - 2 teaspoons. Heat the shavings, soda and salt with a decoction (or water) until all the loose ingredients dissolve, then cool and add pine oil. Stir and pour into a screw cap bottle. Before washing the floors, add 3-4 tablespoons to a bucket of hot water, mix thoroughly. After washing the floors, they should be wiped with clean water with the addition of vinegar (a glass for half a bucket).
Such a tool is somewhat laborious to use, but natural, without chemicals.
Needle infusion also helps in the fight against aphids. Pour 500 grams of needles with 2 liters of water, leave for a week in a dark place, dilute in a 1: 7 ratio before use, treat the plants.
For the mood

The needles will help maintain a wonderful mood after the New Year holidays. In a coffee grinder, you need to grind the needles, mix with a little water. Make a cone out of thick paper and stuff it tightly with the mixture, then dry on the battery. You have got incense sticks, you can set them on fire and enjoy the pleasant aroma of the past holidays.
For hobbies
Baskets and other decorative elements are woven from pine needles or from cedar needles. Needle weaving is a long-standing art of Russians, but like many other folk crafts, it is forgotten and almost unknown to anyone. But on the Internet there are master classes on weaving from cedar needles by American Indians.

Not only needles are useful for creating wonderful crafts. The trunk of our beauty can be cut into small round or oval planks. They can be used both as coasters for cups or other containers, and as a basic form for various crafts: from small painted miniatures to a burning board.
And in many countries, after the holidays, spruce is collected from the population and processed either for fertilization or for feed to zoos. So do not rush to get rid of the spruce - it gives not only the mood for the New Year, but also health and joy every day of the year.