Upcycled Xmas Tree Den

Sometimes you create something, not really thinking much of it, and it's only retrospectively you start to think more deeply about it: The making of the Used / Upcycled Xmas Tree Den was one of those things, where frankly, my son and I were a bit bored form being cooped-up indoors after Xmas 2023 overeating and general sloth - and looking to amuse ourselves with something fun to do on a cold day, in early January 2024...

They say 'necessity is the mother of invention', but so too is 'boredom' - hence calling our 'joint' instagram feed @BoredSmart - in that often during the state of being bored, the mind tends to turn out some pretty weird and fun results: This is one of them - a really snug, sculptural and surprisingly satisfying build of interlocking xmas tree branches, to make a cozy den.

So, my son and I had been walking down the streets as people had put their old Xmas Trees out for collection by the Council, presumably for wood-chipping, composting, mulch, etc.). Compared to when I was a kid, where by the 12th day of Xmas, the tree [I now have googled was a Douglass Fir] had dropped a staggering amount of needles, and was a nightmare to clean up! These days of course, trees have been bred/selected not to drop as quickly, and the pretty amazing Nordmann Fir variety stands by bins in the streets, frankly looking 'as good as new'. These are also not cheap, with the 6-7ft variety being between £50-£70. I'm not being a Scrooge or a Killjoy here - do enjoy your tree! - but can you enjoy it even MORE is perhaps my provocation here? What else can you do with a pretty robust tree after Xmas?

After a few parents saw this den, they often joked that their kids are the 'most environmentally progressive' people in a household, with some kids not wanting to cut trees down at all, and asked to make their own (much to a grandmother's consternation, due to her lack of DIY know-how - but she clearly sided with her granddaughter's ethics!).

~ ~ ~

Getting back to this Instructable: It takes relatively little time (about 1-2 hours) to make, with only an axe needed, and left us wondering about what other things we just 'throw away', when there is clearly (in hindsight) quite a lot of 'use' or 'fun' to still be had from it. This is not to say as a family we don't consumer and also throw stuff out like anyone else, but perhaps because I'd been working on the legislation around Right to Repair, and as a designer and engineer - perhaps, I was preoccupied and somewhat 'primed' to spot an opportunity like this...

We built this in our local park, in a secluded corner, and much to our surprise, it lasted about 2 weeks (the groundskeepers usually have to remove 'unofficial' dens [we've build a few in the past!] when discovered. Perhaps they just missed this one ;o)

My son and I would occasionally walk to school and check in on it, only to find a couple snuggled up, drinking coffee in there watching the late morning winter sun rise, or of course see other kids making full use of it, and occasionally a dog looking tentatively through the hole, trying to work out if it was safe to venture in (for some reason we never saw a dog pluck up the courage to try, though I did see one wee on it, so perhaps that's a compliment - so as to be worth 'claiming' in dog territorial behaviour).

Anyway, I thought having just presented a talk at the Engineering Design Show, and also at Oxford Uni on the work I was doing around re-use and repair of consumer goods, this was a nice thing to finally get around to writing up for this Xmas 2024! I hope you might share and save it, and perhaps have a go yourself! Indeed, if you have any other xmas tree 'remixes' - please also share in comments!

Apparently you should take your Xmas tree down after the 12th night, which would be 6th January. We didn't see any collections by the council until a couple days after this, so perfect time to grab yourself some unwanted trees, either for building in your garden or in a community space - although for legal reasons I'll say - with permission from the land owner!

I recommend using a small Axe (or technically a Hatchet) (link) to cut the branches off the tree. However, if you're not confident using a hatchet yourself or around kids, then perhaps just use Secateurs (link).

You may also want to use some wire (link) or rope to tie the pyramid 'frame' so it does not fall down. Other than this, it's really about using what you can salvage. I recommend getting about 5-6 large xmas trees, and you'll need 3 for the 'frame' and the rest you can use for extra-dense covering of the den, and some 'bedding' to sit on.

I did this very much on the fly, so drew this after the fact, so hope it helps.

The main 'knack' of getting this right, is to realise two key things about the tree and it's branches:

1. When chopping off the branches, start at the top, and work downwards, rotating the tree as you go to remove the branches layer by layer. (If you do it the other way, you'll find it surprisingly difficult). One can get into the mechanics of this, but essentially the branches are easier to remove with applying force from above.

2. When building / layering the branches, it's better to a. start from the bottom and work up (inserting the branch into the ground even for stability on the base layer), and b. having it 'facing upwards' for the first layer gives strength. Then if you have enough branches, adding a second layer facing in the opposite direction will 'interlock' them and also allow rain to roll off and away. With that said, this is not Ray Mears' standard, so you can also just relax, have fun and not worry too much - the kids will just enjoy the awesomeness of building a den, I'm just saying as an engineer, you can get quite 'into it' if you want to!

Tips - do try and dig (with a spade, in in a pinch the hatchet) 3 holes to stabilise the 'frame' of 3 main poles which have been stripped of branches, and do also tie the 'tops' together for security. It's unlikely to do serious harm if the den does collapse, but this is good practice for den making anyway, so good to start well.

Some photos of cutting the the place where the branch meets the main trunk of the pine tree.

WARNING: Do take extra care if using a hatchet, if you slip, or the blade 'follows through' you want to be well out of the way. If in doubt use secateurs, or a pruning saw. Obviously, also keep kids safe and away from sharp things!

You can just see the edge of what was a pile of cut-off branches. We actually 'sorted' these into piles of 'really big', 'medium' and 'small', and one applies them to the den in the same way they were on the tree - big at base, small at top.

To begin, however, one starts by creating a tee-pee or 'A'-frame, and biding at least 3 branches together into a pyramid structure. Hold fast with Wire, and if you are inclined, insert the bases into small holes for extra stability.

Add a few twigs and loose branches if you like to add more 'skeleton' structure for which to weave the xmas tree branches into if you like. Do take care on the inside not to have any sharp points poking 'straight' at you, as of course kids will enthusiastically 'dive in', so do a safety check and weave any braches in safely, smoothing the interior as you go. Later you can add an 'interior' layer, which is not just comfy, but also makes it a bit safe, as illustrated.

Save some branches for the 'floor', as it being winter, the ground is very cold, and I did learn this from Ray Mears, and it really works - we sat (eating chips) in there for a good hour, very cosy!

Also, you'd be surprised, but the needles of the pine, if placed flat, are not sharp to sit on, so long as you have jeans or thick trousers.

This stage is optional, but as we came back a couple times, we wanted to make it even more cosy, and wove a 'round' doorway as shown. This was just done by trial and error, and trying to get the branches to 'interlock' with their pine needles having a way to stick to each other in opposing directions. It felt almost 'womb-like', like something created by the outdoor artist, Andy Goldsworthy.

Having grown up in Cumbria, in the North of England, I've always loved Andy Goldsworthy's art - which uses nature to create beautify, mediative and captivating forms. It has that wonderful quality of being approachable - and you and your kids can of course do some version of it - whilst at the same time one realises his skills and judgement are extraordinarily good, and one only acquires a deeper respect for his work after attempting to replicate it in some way.

My son wasn't the old kid who was asking their parents to spend the night in this den, and perhaps adding a 'night light' was a nice choice, even if it meant we were regularly late for dinner, after getting carried away!

By the end, we'd evened the shape out nicely, and a few folks even bought their old xmas trees to the park for us to use!

I'm curious to see what we might do this year, but for now, I hope you'll enjoy having a go, and sharing your dens, and/or making something different!

For more info about my work, and fun projects like this, check out:

https://www.judepullen.com/

https://www.instagram.com/boredsmart/

Thanks again, and have a lovely Xmas!

Jude

As a side note, in 2023, the usual xmas tree place we get our trees from sold out of the small 2-3ft ones we usually get (our living room is not very big!), so we ended up making our own from cardboard. Safe to say, what was initially a little disappointing, ended up being quite fun, and we sort of merged the 'advent calendar' idea of 'opening doors' with making homes for stuffed toys....something like that from Brambly Hedge books...

If you have kid(s) aged between 4-8, I highly recommend Brambly Hedge books (link) by Jill Barklem (who happens to have grown up near Epping Forest, not far from where we now live in London, and even wrote one about Cumbria. Her wonderful books have a feel of The Borrowers, but with a cast of mice doing all the ingenuous work. They are also a great resource as they contain a lot of wilderness knowledge, and have certainly inspired us to make things like Elderflower Cordial, and various preserves. A great series of books.

We were recently in Epping Forest, near where we live, and again, a little bored, we ended up making a den out of the staggering quantity of dry leaves, and using some of the old branches and brambles to create a skeletal structure, leaning against a tree for support, before laying on old bracket fronds, then covering with leaves.

My point being, the general design of the den can be applied to many materials and settings. Enjoy!