I hope you had a chance to visit my holiday home tour last week where I showcased all the handmade Christmas decorations. Today I am going to explain some of those DIY ideas in a few easy tutorials. As you may remember, my theme for this year's Christmas decor was birch trees and I incorporated that in many ways throughout my home. I actually used REAL birch tree branches and bark which I scavenged from the woods for free. It only took me about 5 minutes in a birch grove to find what I needed on the ground.

How to use REAL birch tree branches and bark in your Christmas decor

Birch Tree & Evergreen Arrangements

Some of the branches I kept whole and used with evergreen cuttings from various bushes and trees to create vases of natural decor. With the exception of the faux red berry stems, everything in this vase is from the forest and cost me nothing.

Make a stunning everygreen display for your front porch or step by combining real birch branches, evergreen twigs, and faux red huckleberry stems in a vase.

The great thing about using birch tree Christmas decor is that you will throw away the decor at the end of the season. It's fresh and naturally beautiful, plus it costs nothing and doesn't take up storage space in your house!
Mix birch branches, evergreens, and faux red berry stems for almost free Christmas decor!

I filled this hurricane vase with more forest cuttings. I love that you can see through to the birch branches and stems stuffed inside.

Birch tree and evergreen arrangement in hurricane vase as diy, cheap Christmas decor.

A lot of the branches I found were at the point they would soon lose their bark. The wood inside was soggy from the melted snow and actually loose. I used a screwdriver to push the wood out of the bark until each branch was hallow.

Birch tree and evergreen cuttings for free Christmas decor

With the hallow birch branches, I got really crafty. Some I cut open and and just cuffed the bottoms of red holiday candles.

Wrap candles in birch bark as beautiful birch tree Christmas decor

Wrapping candles is my favorite idea in this post all about birch tree Christmas decor

Others I wanted to create a centerpiece for my teal coffee table with. I added toilet paper tubes (which happened to be the exact right size) to the bark to solidify the base and strengthen the bark so it could stand on its own.

Solidify birch bark and birch tree branches by fitting them around toilet paper tubes. Then they are strong enough to stand up on their own!

I arranged them in a small trough with evergreen clippings.

Make a center piece for holding candles or ornaments with real birch bark

I added in some red by topping them with ornaments. I wanted to add candles inside, but I didn't have any the right size and it scared me to have flammable birch bark completely encasing a candle. I was worried a flame might light it on fire. I'm happy with how the centerpiece turned out anyways!

Create a birch tree centerpiece with red ornaments. I also think this would look beautiful with candles inside the birch bark!

Birch Tree Christmas Wall Decor

Last, but not least, I splurged on a statement piece for our living room wall decor. I bought a birch tree shower curtain from Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $20. They only sell this online, but you can bypass the shipping by ordering it from the store. I didn't even travel to the store, I just called BB&B and asked the nice sales lady to order it on her computer and take my payment by credit card over the phone. Saved myself $7 in S&H.

Buy a shower curtain with a gorgeous design on it (like these birch trees!) and hang it up as wall decor.

Then I laid it out and wrapped my existing wall canvas in it, using packaging tape to secure it down. The curtain was a little see through, so I wrapped a white twin bed sheet over the canvas first.

Wrap a canvas in birch tree shower curtain to get easy and inexpensive seasonal wall decor for Christmas!

This allowed me to change my wall decor to be seasonal for only $20. Since I didn't ruin the birch tree shower curtain, I plan to take it down after Christmas and sell it to recoup my cost. I think it would make a great shower curtain for someone, or they could use it as wall decor, or even a photography backdrop. When it is removed, my existing abstract family painting will still be on the canvas for the rest of the year.

Birch tree Christmas decor cover canvas with shower curtain or fabric to change out seasonal wall decor for little money!

If you don't have a canvas this big, it would be very easy to nail together long slats of wood as a simple frame for your shower curtain to be used as wall decor.

It is a great way to cover a large amount of wall space with something beautiful.

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I hope you found some inspiration here learning the tutorials for my birch tree Christmas decor. I wish you nothing less than a Christmas filled with health and happiness, family and food, presents and peace.

Thanks for reading!

My name is Melissa Woods, homemaker and parent. I am an amateur handy-woman and avid DIY-er. I am an adept painter and deft crafter. I am a finance enthusiast and frugal to the core. View all posts by Melissa Woods