The cost of Christmas trees have skyrocketed. The cost of land combined with a sluggish economy contribute to inflated holiday paraphernalia. A cut 5-foot tree retails for approximately $20.00 to $50.00. If you have an environmental heart and have been purchasing live Christmas trees, you've been spending approximately $50.00 - $120.00 (depending upon the size and type of tree). If you're like me, you purchased a live tree, kept it outside until the week before Christmas, brought it in, decorated it, watered and misted it according to the directions, put it outside the day after Christmas, and ended up with a dead live tree! So much for buying a tree that can be replanted, so much for saving a tree, so much for caring about the environment...

Back in the early 1990s, weeks before the holidays, I laid in bed pondering over what type of Christmas tree to buy for the upcoming holiday. My husband, although a devoted enrvironmentalist, made it clear that we weren't going to buy another live Christmas tree for $120.00, only to watch it turn brown and end up composting it with the last three Christmas trees. In my heart, I couldn't justify it either. On the other hand, how could I possible buy a cut tree at the corner lot? The more one becomes aware of environmental issues, the harder it is to buy a cut tree. Ecology Action, the local environmental awareness organization, had suggested buying artificial trees. Even though they are made of synthetic materials, they are reusable for years and they don't involve cutting trees. But an artificial tree in my home was simply not an option. Artificial trees are for those who wear polyester pants and live in homes made of particle board.

So what to my slumbering mind should appear but the solution to the Christmas tree problem! I woke up with the vision in my mind, and leaned over to my snoring husband to tell him the good news. He hadn't been thinking of the Christmas tree dilemma, so this insight at 4:00 in the morning was of no comfort to him. Since it was only September, he also thought I was in need of professional help. Why not build a Christmas tree similar to an artificial tree, only instead of synthetic tree branches, use real Christmas tree branches? The base can be reused every year, the branches can be used and then composted. Not one tree (except for the 2" x 4") would need to be cut for this tree. Cutting tree branches helps trim live trees, and keeps them healthy as well. The Eco Christmas tree should cost no more than $12.00 for the first year, and $3.00 - $5.00 every year thereafter (depending upon the cost of branches). Some Christmas tree farms will even give you branches for free!

This is how the Eco Christmas tree came to be. The Eco Christmas tree is the perfect Christmas tree. It is reusable, it uses discarded branches from Christmas tree farms, and it stops the useless cutting of thousands of trees each year. Because you put in each branch, you can also create a perfect Christmas tree! No more bald spots or huge gaps that need to be hidden. Every side of your Eco Christmas tree can be gorgeous - it's up to you to fill in the bald spots.