Creating Christmas - DIY Half Tree

It's Day 1 of Creating Christmas at The Girl Creative and I'm co-hosting with 14 other awesome bloggers!

As my family has grown, our need for every day storage has grown... this means the space for a Christmas tree has greatly reduced.  O-man is close to 4 but still very curious about, well, everything.  These two problems were resolved the past two years by using a 4 foot tree on top of a table, aka, out of his reach and small space friendly.

But, I've been promising the girls we would use a regular size tree again this year.  As I contemplated where to put our mammoth tree (artificial for us, allergies) I looked into getting a new skinnier tree.  Alas, it just didn't seem worth them money, especially since what I really wanted was a flat back/half/wall tree (different places called them different names).  Have you seen these things? So cool and totally space saving.

Wait a minute... my tree comes in multiple pieces, it shouldn't really matter if I use all of them, right?  Well, since the tree I ultimately wanted was $400, I figured it was worth a try!  Since it worked, I wish I'd taken step by step pictures.  But, I didn't so I'll give you the directions.

Step 1:  If your branches are not pre-sorted (thanks IronFish) from putting it away the last time, sort them by size now.  In my fake tree experience, they are color coded and usually come with a diagram which basically tells you, the largest ones go on the bottom and the mini tree looking thing is the ready to go top.
Step 2:  Assemble your base and center pole (we store our center pole as one piece since I wrapped extra garland around it when we first got it, otherwise it would break down into 2 pieces).  Push it back into a corner or against a wall as close as it will get to the wall(s).
Step 3:  Find the very bottom row where the longest branches are supposed to go.  Now put those branches back in the box, and the branches of one row up also.  Look at all that space you've saved already!  My bottom row has a diameter of over 5 feet, not using the bottom two rows saved me 2 feet in diameter.  The first branches we are going to use will be the normal 3rd row.  My picture is labeled with the new rows.
Step 4:  Remember that very bottom row, leave it completely empty.  More space under the tree for presents (or the 3 year old playing under it).  Our new bottom row is the next one up.  Take those 3rd row branches, put half on the new bottom row and half on the new row 2, only on the front.  Fluffing your branches as you go.
Step 5:  The original 4th row branches are the new row 3, use half of your branches again on the front half.  Put the rest away.
Step 6:  The height of your tree will determine how many rows you have.  As you move up the tree, you will be using the next size up, but only half of them.  My rows 4 and 5.
Step 7:  Now, my tree is pushed up against a cabinet.  I did a little rearranging so we can survive the next month without accessing what is inside, it just has to be there, I have no other place for it.  Since my tree is not completely against the wall, I used all the branches of rows 6 to 7, you may want to depending on how it looks.
Step 8:  Put your top on and decorate!!!!!

IronFish has a system for putting the tree together.  This definitely didn't follow his system, but I'm happy to say, he was very pleased that we managed to make the tree more space saving.

I know, the decorations are pretty interesting, O-man started adding his toys right away and they have just been so proud, I've let them continue to play with the tree.  Christmas should be a joyful time, so if moving toys around makes them happy, I'm not going to complain:

He's most proud of this decoration:

 

Don't worry, it's clean, I gave in and got him his own, he invents all kinds of games with his plunger.  

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