Another Baltic Christmas - Day 23 and a stick tree

One more quick Christmas craft, inspired by nature and created from sticks!

Somehow it’s the longest and straightest sticks that hold special attraction for the boys, although many times the ones they pull from the woods have mushrooms sprouting from the ends – not ideal for this final Christmas tree-inspired art. We saved the fresher, more solid branches for this Christmas tree; perfect for a wall decoration, something to hang in a window or even a faux tree if you’re skipping the fir this year.

Because they’re always looking for an excuse to bring out the tools, I asked the boys to saw the branches one weekend. It was simply a matter of measuring them out and marking the lengths with a permanent marker – the longest was 2 feet long with ½ inch subtracted from each additional branch.

The sticks sat out on the back porch for a few weeks until we were out enjoying a sunny day and I brought out some twine to string them all together. The boys helped sort them out according to length, but I did most of the tying.

We hung some ornaments on it to give it a little color, although it might serve as a great Christmas card holder for all the beautiful holiday greetings we’ve gotten in the mail. I had been hoping to cut a star from some birch bark to top it off, but it looks festive even without. Other decorating ideas include stringing up some popcorn or cranberries as a garland, or maybe hanging your dried oranges & felt acorns on the branches.

However you choose to decorate your wooden tree, may it bring the simplicity and beauty of nature indoors. To all my readers, thank you for counting down the 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas with me – just one more day until we’ve reached the end of our countdown!