By Austa Somvichian-Clausen, Marketing and Communications Intern There’s so much more that can be done with your Christmas tree besides throwing it away! From festive decorations to functional garden helpers, here are a few tips on how to make the most of your Christmas tree this year. 1. Living Bird Feeder A whole Christmas tree makes an excellent bird feeder for your backyard. Stick the tree in the ground or leave it in its stand. A wide variety of birds will be attracted by suet, cranberry and popcorn strings, stale bread and dried, chopped fruit in mesh bags. If you grow sunflower seeds, simply hang the whole sunflower head on the tree. Your family will discover that chickadees, song sparrows, cardinals and a host of other birds come for the food and stay for the shelter. 2. Home and Garden Decor Cut off all the branches and use the trunk to edge a garden. The trunk can also be strategically placed in your garden as a resting spot for birds, squirrels and other little critters.

You can also use the cut-off branches as decorations throughout your home. Since pine needles dry quickly and decompose slowly, you can use them as moisture- and mold-free mulch in your garden. Many communities throughout the country have tree-recycling programs, in which trees are collected from residents and then chopped up to be used as mulch for plants in community parks and gardens. You can find out about your local tree-recycling program by calling city hall. 4. Relax by the Fire The trunk can be sawed into logs and burned in your fireplace. Just make sure to not burn the branches, since they can send off sparks! 5. Smell Like Christmas Year-Round You can make a DIY air freshener by crushing up the pine needles and putting it into a bowl of potpourri or into sachets. 6. Sippin’ on Tea Another use for your pine needles is to make them into tea. It’s as easy as steeping pine needles in boiling water, and then straining it into cups to drink.

Use the stump of your tree to make wooden coasters! Saw your tree stump into 1/3- or ½-inch-thick disks. 8. Feed Your Garden If you still have your Christmas tree out in the yard when warm weather appears, there’s still a use for it. Burn the branches, which contain soil-enriching nutrients and minerals, and spread ashes in your garden.12 Cheerful Christmas Door Decorations Give your Christmas tree a heartfelt touch of homemade with these fun ornament craft ideas. Plus, make our favorite DIY Christmas decorations!Save these great DIY Christmas ornament ideas for later! Don't forget to follow Country Living on Pinterest for more Christmas ideas. Mini Snow GlobesMini Snow GlobesFor these winter wonderland globes, you'll need plastic old-fashioned light bulb ornaments, white glitter, mini bottle brush trees, red and white striped baker's twine, and a hot glue gun.Get the tutorial at No Biggie. How to Make a Fall Wreath Out of CookiesBack to Wildlife Info

Winter Foods & Holiday Decorations for Wildlife Birds need protein, fat and carbohydrates in the winter.  Both birds and squirrels have high metabolisms and need loads of calories to help stay warm. By using natural elements for winter and holiday décor, we can provide healthy food and shelter materials for birds and other animals during the cold months. As an added benefit, by bringing nature closer to our homes, we are able to observe and appreciate our wild neighbors.apartment living room decor ideas pinterest Below are some fun projects that your whole family can take part in, plus a few dos and don'ts to get us started.winter wedding decorations ukA Few Dos and Don'tshow much does it cost to have someone paint your house exterior

If you're making your own suet feeders, please keep in mind that not just any fat should be used. It should only be rendered beef fat - no pork, shortening, butter, margarine or any other type of fat. Do not spread peanut butter on a live tree or shrub.  Squirrels will chew through the bark as they try to get at the last of the peanut butter.Glues are toxic to birds and animals. All edible decorations should be hung with biodegradable materials, such as cotton string or thread.ideas to decorate home on budget Cut out fun shapes in stale (but not moldy) grained bread. best christmas cookies for decoratingAttach a string through the center of the bread and spread both sides with peanut butter.  ideas to decorate home on budget

Sprinkle with fresh wild bird seed. Hang from a tree. Coat a bagel with peanut butter, roll it in mixed birdseed and hang it on a tree branch. Fruits are a great high-sugar winter treat for birds. They're also good for birds that migrate such as warblers, thrushes, wrens, tanagers and grosbeaks.  Apples, pears, oranges, grapes, bananas and raisins are all good.  The fruit pieces or halves can be hung, placed on a platform bird feeder or on a long stick like a big shish-kebab. Cranberries can be strung using a needle and thread and hung outside in the trees. Try covering whole fruits such as apples with peanut butter and bird seed mix. Another option is to stick berries or seeds through with toothpicks and insert into the apple.  If squirrels can get to the hanging fruit, do not use the tooth picks. Tie a piece of string to the pine cone to make a hanger. Smear a mixture of peanut butter and cornmeal on the pine cone, getting it deep into the cracks. Then roll the pine cone in bird seed, which will stick to the peanut butter mixture. 

You can also add cereal, cranberries, nuts, seed or any combination.   Hang the completed cone outdoor tree branches. Grow sunflowers over the summer and hang the seeded centers on the tree branches in the winter. Nut and corn ornaments Hang sections of dried yellow and colorful Indian corn on the tree by drilling a hole all the way through (not lengthwise) and hang with cotton string. Hang nuts in a shell individually on a tree rather than making a garland. The squirrels can pull them down one at a time to eat them. When the snow falls make it a project with the children to create a bird feeder snowman. Make corn cob lips, suet ball eyes and buttons.  Sunflower centers on the end of branches for arms and hands. Millet makes great hair. Sunflower centers also make great earmuffs. For a simple wreath made of evergreens, cut a pile of sprigs all to the same length. Stretch a coat hanger into a circle, keeping the hook at the top to hang the wreath. Start with one sprig, hold it close to the stretched hanger and wire the two together by wrapping craft wire around the sprig a couple of times.

Lay a new sprig on top of the wired green. Wrap wire to the stem and repeat the process, continuing around the hanger, until the circle is completely filled with greens. This basic set of directions can work with any wreath material. To the wreath add seeds, pods, berries, nuts, fruit pieces, acorn, nuts and pinecones. With a needle and long piece of string, string seeds, pods, nuts, dried fruit, popcorn (no butter) and cranberries. Alternate among the branches with hanging feeders or fruit ornaments.  String Cheerios (or other round cereal with a hole) on a string and coat with peanut butter.  Use a sturdy needle and thread and string peanuts in their shell to make a garland of peanuts.  Drape the garlands along tree branches and fences. Birds need water in the Winter.  Provide a fresh bath of water daily. Placing the Christmas tree in the yard at the end of the holiday season makes a great birdfeeder and provides natural cover from the winter weather. Decorate  it with cranberries and pine cone feeders. 

It is not recommended to spread peanut butter on branches because birds and squirrels may get it on their fur and feathers. Leave summer plants unpruned Leave your plants unpruned and let them go to seed to provide food for the birds. Downed trees, old tree trunks and branches become places for bugs to hide thus providing insects for the birds as well as giving them lichen for their nests and giving them some shelter. Leave your old leaves and branches. You don't have to let your entire yard look like a wild place you can create areas where you pile the leaves and branches. Recycle and save money Milk cartons and well-rinsed detergent bottles that have been decorated by the children make great feeders to hold birdseed and fruit. Onion bags make great suet feeders and hold fruit as well. Cleaned rind of grapefruit and  oranges make great bowl feeders. Cut the fruit in half and peel out the flesh to make a bowl. Punch four holes around the edges and tie with cotton string.