With the Christmas holiday wrapping up, at some point you will be thinking about what to do with your Christmas tree.  The University of Illinois Extension Office is giving some tips on what you can do with that Christmas tree, when you are done with it. One popular use is to use them to help feed birds.  Trees can be used as a windbreak, by placing them to the northwest of feeders.  This will help protect bird from the wind as they feed and prevent birdseed from blowing out of feeders.  U of I Extension Horticulture Educator Chris Enroth says whatever you do with your tree, dispose of it properly. 

You can turn your tree into a large festive birdfeeder.  Anchor your tree to the ground, using a steel fence post and decorate it with strings of popcorn and cranberries, as wel as pinecones smeared with peanut butter and sunflower seeds, suet, or chopped fruit in a mesh. Different types of birds enjoy different foods, so the more you offer, the more diversity you will have.

Christmas trees can be used to create habitat for other wildlife in the form of brush piles.  Start by creating a base of large branches/logs or rocks on the ground and place limbs, brush, and your christmas tree on top to finish your pile.  You can place this pile near field borders and in woodland areas along with other brush to provide cover.  Enroth says that you can also use it for firewood—outside.  

Trees can also be used in a variety of ways in the garden.  Branches and needles are commonly used as mulch to cover perennial plants during the winter.  These mulches are light and won’t pack or suffocate the roots of the plants they are protecting.  If you remove the branches from the trunk, the trunk can be used to edge a garden.  Trees can also be chipped and used as mulch in the garden to help reduce weed problems, moderate soil temperature, and help to retain moisture. 

Your old Christmas tree can also be used in a variety of craft ways like using the needles to make potpourri, cut the trunk into wooden discs to make coasters, trivets or edge garden beds. Regardless of how you use the tree after the holidays, make sure you get all ornaments and tinsel off.