Give Your Christmas Tree Back To Nature

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - So, if you're wondering what do to with your fresh-cut Christmas tree after you take it down, you have a few choices.

You can put it out for recycling in most communities, or recycle it yourself. Christmas trees make pretty good mulch, so you can chop them up and sprinkle them under shrubs and trees, or just cut off the boughs and lay them over beds of bulbs you planted this past fall.

But, if you're like me, I can't be bothered going out in the cold to chop up a tree. So, for now, rather than putting it by the curb for pick up, you can just tuck your cut tree into an out of the way spot in your yard - such as along a back fence - to give birds, bunnies or other wildlife a place to hide from wintery weather.

Then in early spring when it's warmer out, you can shake off any remaining needles from the tree and cut up the branches for mulch or toss them into a compost pile, knowing that your Christmas tree was a gift of cozy cover to feathered friends and cute critters all through the winter.