While winter brings fun, festive holiday traditions, the cold weather can also usher in the winter blues. If you want to introduce a tropical vibe to your holiday decor this year to keep your spirits bright, you can learn how to decorate a holiday pineapple. Because, pineapples are the new Christmas trees. Seriously, Pinterest searches for pineapple Christmas trees have skyrocketed in 2017 as people ditch the traditional tree in favor of dressing up fruit instead.
If you like to keep the holidays non-denominational, trimming a pineapple tree is a perfect non-traditional way to celebrate the spirit of the season of giving. Pineapple holiday trees are also ideal for small spaces because you can get a few and put them on table tops, and unlike a tree they won't drop needles or take up all of the space in your apartment. You can even put one on your desk at work.
Additionally, the lifestyle website Apartment Therapy reported that pineapples are a sign of hospitality, which means they're a great way to welcome people into your home for the holidays. "Pineapples are seen as a welcoming motif — their depictions serve as door knockers, bookends and tchotchkes, and they almost always come in a hotel gift basket," Andie Powers wrote for Apartment Therapy.
How To Decorate Your Holiday Pineapple
How you choose to decorate your holiday pineapple is totally up to you. Hang some bulbs from your pineapple's "hair," dress it up with sunglasses and a Santa hat, string your tropical fruit in lights, or even paint your pineapple. Holidays pineapples are fun and festive, and even make great — not to mention affordable — host gifts for when you're making your holiday party rounds this year.
You can even get a family of pineapples and give each one its own personality. Because, just like people, each pineapple is different and should be dressed according to its (err, I mean your) unique tastes.
The popularity of decorating pineapples has risen in recent years. Halloween 2017 even saw many carved pineapples instead of traditional pumpkins, proving that this tropical fruit is here to stay as a holiday staple.
The holiday pineapple tree is much less labor intensive than heading to a tree lot and tying a spruce tree to the top of your car — or dragging one home on foot if you don't have a car. You can get your holiday pineapple tree at the grocery store, and it's light enough for you to carry home in your arms like the precious gem it is.
The pineapple won't shed and leave needles hiding around your house for the rest of eternity, and the best part is that you can even eat it after the holidays are over, which is also super eco friendly. Even if you decide not to eat it, the clean up is much easier than a traditional tree.
Seriously one year I left my tree up until March. By that time it was so dry and stiff it took all of my strength to shove it out the door. And, I still can't even talk about the clean up. This would never happen with a pineapple tree. There is literally zero downside to dressing up a pineapple for the 2017 holidays.
The only thing you'll be missing is that lovely spruce-tree smell. Some people use scented candles, but personally I don't think they smell anything like a real tree, and they give me a monster migraine. Consider using essential oils instead. In fact, you can even put a few drops of oil right on your pineapple holiday tree so it smells like the real thing. The pineapple holiday tree is so cute and affordable that you'll have a hard time not falling in love with your little piece of tropical paradise.
Your pineapple tree can also help lift your winter blues by ushering in a feeling of the tropics, especially when accompanied by the Jimmy Buffett Christmas album. And, for this selfless service it asks nothing in return — not even water. If you have a cat, it's not such a big deal if Whiskers knocks over the holiday pineapple tree.
And, not being on constant tree patrol in a standoff with the cat can go a long in reducing your holiday stress. So, pick your pineapple and turn it into the holiday tree it was always destined to be. The pineapple won't even be mad if you turn it into juice come New Year's.
Image: Hispanolistic/E+/Getty Images
