Cascades Boutique Christmas Tree Review

A few weeks ago, Cascades Boutique emailed me to let me know about the eco-friendly Christmas tree alternatives they sell, and they offered to send me one so I could try it out and share my thoughts about it with you.

Cascades is a Canadian company that produces recycled paper products, so the “trees” they sell aren’t exactly trees.

They’re made of sturdy cardboard, and come in a flat package.

They come in several different colors and patterns, but I asked for white so that we could decorate it ourselves.

My kids were pretty thrilled about this because they love to paint!

We went through a LOT of green paint.

Eventually we started branching out from green.

So, our tree is green. And pink. And blue. And brown.

And it’s topped with a blue star, which is yellow on the other side.

So, what do I think of this product?

Well, it was a super-duper fun project for my kids. They spent hours painting the tree and ornament pieces, and had a blast doing it.

And I think their tree does look pretty neat. I especially like the black swirls that Joshua added on his tree pieces and ornaments.

However, none of us are convinced that we could manage to use this instead of a Christmas tree.

We are just too enamored with having a tree that has needles. And I would seriously miss having a tree with lights on it for many reasons (not the least of which is the lovely bokeh it provides for my photos!).

However, for apartment dwellers, for offices, or for people who are non-traditional or who live in a very modern-looking space, I can see this tree being a great option. It’s not expensive, it doesn’t take a lot of space when it’s set up, and it can be taken apart, stored flat and re-used the next year. Plus, if you ever do get tired of the tree or it wears out, it’s very easy to simply recycle it.

So, though this tree isn’t what we’ll be putting our presents under every year, it’s a win on the green side of things, the frugal side of things, and the fun side of things. I think this is a product that would be especially delightful for families with children since painting or coloring the tree pieces is such a fun group project.

And I am excited to see what else Cascade Boutiques comes out with as they grow and expand. They’re adding recycled patio furniture this spring, and their recycled bench seems like a great substitute for a wooden one.

I may be able to give away a Cascades Christmas tree to one of you still this season…I’m not sure about that yet, but I was too impatient to wait to hear about that before I shared this review with you! So, stay tuned…I’ll let you know if I get one to give away!

disclosure: I received a free Christmas Tree from Cascades but was not otherwise compensated for this review. All opinions are my own, of course!