IT’S finally time to dust off your Christmas decorations and transform your home into a festive wonderland.
But it’s not all about the tree, you can add some charm to your home with wreaths and garlands too.
And you don’t have to compromise and buy faux decorations to get the look for less either – a simple Asda hack will do the trick.
That’s exactly what one festive fan discovered last year, and she’s revealed exactly how she did it without breaking the bank.
Taking to TikTok, Cloie Rachele explained how she made the most out of Asda’s incredible £20 real Christmas trees.
“If you do what I did and grab one of these you’ll be able to decorate your full house on a budget for Christmas,” she explained as she showed off the freshly cut trees outside the supermarket.
So, how exactly can you repurpose the tree? Some good old fashioned DIY.
Lat year, Cloie shared what she did in another viral video.
She started by cutting the large branches off the tree to make a door garland.
If you want to do the same you’ll need some chicken wire to secure the branches in place.
Simply cut and attach the wire around your front door frame and then start adding in the branches until you’re happy with how they look.
“I wasted a lot of time securing the branches with ties but then realised they stayed secure just by weaving them into the wire,” Cloie explained to a fellow DIY lover in the comment section of the video.
Once the basic door garland is to your liking it’s time to start adding in some festive decorations.
Cloie went for a classic red theme by using large baubles, candy canes and ribbon, which looked stunning, but you could go for any design.
But the decoration wasn’t done yet – she used the rest of the Asda tree to make a cute wreath too.
Like the garland, she wrapped the branches into the right shape with shape before securing it to her front door and adding some embellishments with with baubles and ribbon.
Cloie managed to use the same £20 Christmas tree from Asda for the DIY project, but if she had bought the garland and wreath ready made she’d have forked out much more.
For example, the Luxury DIY Christmas Garland from Christmas Tree Direct will set you back £79.99 – but you’d also need two of them if you want to wrap your entire door like Cloie.
This means the garland alone would cost £158.99 – and that’s without the baubles and chicken wire.
Adding a Christmas wreath into the mix would cost an extra £29.99 if you were to buy the Candy Cane Christmas Wreath – raising the total cost to a whopping £188.98.
So, Cloie’s hack ended up saving her over £170.
What’s even better is the hack would work out cheaper still if you manage to find a real tree for less, as one TikTok user noted.
They commented on the video they saw trees for just £13 at Home Bargains.
Meanwhile, someone else had a savvy way to save some extra cash, they said: “The potted ones are £12.50 in Tesco, repot after Christmas and use it every year.”
And others were simply left stunned for the simple DIY project.
One said: “That’s really beautiful and I love that they’re real branches.”
A second agreed: “Love to see people putting in the effort, it absolutely makes Christmas.”
HERE'S what you need to know if you're buying a real Christmas tree:
First thing’s first: buy a pot (if it doesn’t come in one already).
You’ll need to treat your tree just like a houseplant and give it water and attention.
Make sure the container has good drainage – and it’s a good idea to put something underneath to catch the excess water.
Check the soil everyday to make sure it’s not drying out.
If it feels dry, give it some water. If it still feels moist, leave it alone as too much water can also kill a tree.
Also check the LED bulbs on your tree lights aren’t too hot as they could burn it, and keep your tree away from radiators.
When Christmas is over, try planting it in the garden so you can dig it up and use it again next year.
It’s a good idea to take it out of its pot when you do re-plant it though, as large trees don’t survive well in pots as their roots need space to grow.
