This article was originally published on Mako
Who doesn’t love Christmas? Towards the end of each year, people all over the world are getting excited about this season. Nearly every family in Western culture has its own traditions for the weeks leading up to Christmas. For most, this involves Christmas shopping, planning parties, and of course decorating! Decorating for Christmas is something that we are all familiar with. It usually involves putting up a tree, lights, and stockings. Some people, however, choose to get a little more creative with their holiday decor. This list of the weirdest Christmas decorations around the world is sure to shock you!
Grinchy Greed
We are all familiar with the beloved Characters that are generally associated with Christmas. Santa Claus, elves, reindeer, and of course, THE GRINCH! While the Grinch may not be considered a model of Christmas cheer, this Christmas fanatic combined Christmas cheer and grinchy greed in a fun and humorous way. A sign saying “leave gifts here” makes sure that there is no mistaking the purpose of this creatively decorated tree.
Watching Christmas movies is a part of the Christmas experience for many people. For this person, A Grinch-inspired tree was the perfect way to pay tribute to an old Christmas classic.
Succulents
Some families love Christmas so much that even their houseplants get in the Christmas spirit. Succulents, such as aloe vera, are plants with fleshy, engorged parts that are meant to hold water so that they can survive in dry and arid environments. Succulents are a common type of houseplant, especially in the southern parts of the United States, but this woman took her common houseplant to a whole new level.
By growing her succulent plants into the shape of a tree and decorating it with a string of beads, this woman was able to create a beautiful “succulent Christmas tree.”
Surprise
What a sweet surprise! This man got into the Christmas spirit and earned himself some brownie points all at the same time. He told his book-loving girlfriend to come home late one night and when she got home, he surprised her with a Christmas tree made totally out of books. What a sweet surprise and a weird way for this couple to use their holiday decorating as a way to showcase their books!
It may be a little bit unusual, but this weird Christmas decoration may just be the best way to win over any book lover’s heart, or a fun way to express your own interest.
Dogo
What do you put on top of your Christmas tree? The most common Christmas tree toppers are stars and angels. This person claimed that they couldn’t decide between the two, so they achieved both by displaying a polaroid photo of their adorable dog using a binder clip. What a weird but creative idea! This sweet display is sure to inspire all pet lovers while spreading a little bit of Christmas cheer.
We all love our pets, but very few of us think to include them in our Christmas traditions. This display is sure to inspire pet lovers while also spreading a bit of Christmas cheer.
Baby Yoda
Nothing screams Christmas like Baby Yoda! The force was strong with this Christmas lover. This weird Christmas decoration spreads Christmas cheer while also paying tribute to everyone’s favorite sci-fi series. You may have thought you were a Star Wars nerd, but I’m pretty sure that this person has us all beat. Even if you’re not a huge Star Wars fan, you have to appreciate the amount of effort that went into this display.
Star Wars themed Christmas decorations maybe a little weird, but what’s fun about being normal? This jolly Jedi clearly wanted a holiday display that was way out of this world!
Natural
Artificial trees are so overrated. They look fake, they are difficult to store, and they are not as impressive as real trees. Because of this, more and more people are turning to more natural options. This person, however, took nature to a whole new level. This beautiful Christmas tree is actually not a tree at all. This tree’s maker fashioned it completely out of local sea glass. Talk about impressing your guests!
While making a purchase from a local Christmas tree farm might be sufficient for most Christmas lovers who want a natural look, some people just have to go the extra mile.
Shape
Want a Christmas tree without the tree part? This person obviously did. I can’t imagine how much time, effort, and concentration it took to meticulously hang these balls from the ceiling in just the right way so that they would fall into the shape of a Christmas tree, but it is certainly beautiful in a weird kind of way. Just don’t sneeze too hard or the fragile display might just fall apart.
While an invisible Christmas tree might be really cool, it’s debatable whether this weird Christmas display encompasses the Christmas spirit in the same way as the traditional tree that we all know and love.
Village
This elaborate village display is not as weird as it is beautiful. It is a unique way to display one of those little Christmas villages without having to occupy an entire table. This display looks like two Christmas trees with multiple platform tiers that allow the person to arrange their village pieces throughout the tiers. It’s complete with a toy train that makes a figure eight around the bottom of the trees.
Many of us grew up helping our parents put together those miniature Christmas villages, but this person took their tiny village game to the next level. What a creative idea!
Artwork
We all remember making those fun but corny Christmas crafts in elementary school. Most kids are proud to take our artwork home and show them to their parents, and even more proud when they display them in the home as part of their Christmas decor. But what about when your parents never stop displaying them? This dad still displays his 45-year-old child’s elementary school artwork every Christmas. Talk about a proud parent!
While it may be a little weird to continue displaying your adult child’s elementary school artwork, it shows that our parents will always see us as their babies no matter how old we get.
Charlie Brown
Clearly, this couple learned a lot from A Charlie Brown Christmas because every year they make it their goal to purchase the one Christmas tree that they don’t think anyone else will want. This year, they found a 14-foot tree with a 12-inch gap. While most would see this tree as undesirable, this couple decided to be creative and find a way to turn this tree into something that was absolutely adorable!
By attaching a cute lumberjack to the gap, the couple truly encompassed the Christmas spirit by showing that anything can be loved and accepted if you change the way you look at it.
NASA
Have you ever noticed that planets just happen to be the same shape as Christmas ornaments? Yeah me either, but apparently this person did. This unique Christmas tree includes planet-like ornaments and is topped with a rocketship that is blasting off into space. Tree decorating may not be as complicated as rocket science, but this weird and creative Christmas decoration is sure to impress both creatives and astronomy lovers alike!
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to hypothesize that this strange and unique display might just be the greatest discovery in astronomy since NASA sent a man to the moon.
Latex Gloves
While for most people work may not be a place that oozes Christmas spirit, these workers decided to bring holiday cheer into a normally dreary place. For laboratory workers, latex gloves are an absolutely essential, but not particularly interesting part of everyday life. These lab workers, however, turned a boring part of daily life into a way to bring Christmas into their workplace with a cute Christmas tree made of latex gloves.
Hopefully, this weird Christmas decoration will inspire you this holiday season to think outside the box and find ways to bring Christmas cheer into the most mundane parts of your everyday life.
Hard Year
So 2020 was a hard year for all of us. Between empty shelves at the supermarket, riots in the streets, and a deadly pandemic, many of us saw 2020 as a nightmare with no end in sight. Some people, however, seem to make a joke out of everything. Laughter, after all, is one of the best ways that many people cope with difficult times. This person did that by making a commemorative Christmas ornament.
What better way to represent 2020 than with a dumpster fire? The year started as a pile of garbage and ended in flames. At least it can’t get worse though, am I right?
Bruce
If we were to do a poll asking a group of men to tell us what their favorite Christmas movie is, most likely there would be at least a handful that mentions the movie Die Hard. While it may be up for debate whether or not it is a “real Christmas movie,” especially among more feminine circles, it’s clear what side of the Die Hard debate this office staff landed on.
Rather than displaying something more traditional, such as a Christmas tree, these employees decided to get a bit more creative with their decor by representing an iconic scene from the movie Die Hard.
Fun Fun Fun
Decorating for Christmas is a lot of fun, but it also consumes a lot of time and effort. Why not expedite the process? That’s what this person did. Instead of lugging a big, heavy tree that has to be fluffed and strung with lights, this person simply used a piece of garland attached to the wall to display all of their Christmas ornaments. Talk about taking the easy way out!
Even if you prefer the aesthetics of a traditional Christmas tree, you still have to admire the incredible amount of creativity and thought that was put into making this weird Christmas decoration.
Dads
This is what happens when dad helps with Christmas decorations! The Elf on the shelf is a magical part of Christmas for many children. The elf moves around throughout the house while the child is asleep and watches the child so that it can report to Santa Claus whether the child is naughty or nice. But what if the elf is the naughty one? Clearly, Santa didn’t teach this elf any manners.
The elf pictured is holding what looks like an innocent gift, but the inside is filled, not with toys, but with a candy cane elf penis. Hopefully, the kids didn’t open it!
Fabulous Halloween
What do you do when Christmas gets here, but you aren’t quite ready to take down your fabulous Halloween decorations yet? Just give your skeleton a little Christmas cheer! After all, a string of lights can make anything look Christmasy, right? This person thought so! This spooky skeleton looks a lot less spooky when it’s lit up like a Christmas tree, even with the freaky yellow eyes. Don’t you think so?
Putting up and taking down decorations for each new holiday is a lot of work, so why not make the process easier by repurposing your decorations, rather than replacing them.
Lego
Here’s a decoration that the kids will appreciate as much as the adults. After all, what kid doesn’t love legos. This weird Christmas decoration is a far cry from a traditional wreath, but it’s a lot more fun and the kids will enjoy helping you put it together. Legos are often a part of many kids’ Christmas wishlist, so why not make them a part of the decorating process too?
Christmas is fun for us as kids, but often once we grow up it is taken too seriously. A lego wreath could be a fun way to bring childlike joy back into Christmas.
Sweet Idea
"The Children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads…” or in this case, peppermints. There isn’t any guesswork in figuring out what this person’s favorite Christmas candy is. This entire tree is decorated with mint-flavored candy, even down to the gifts that are placed under the tree. I guess you could say that this Christmas tree theme was a very sweet idea.
While this tree may not be as weird as some of the weird Christmas decorations that we’ve looked at, it’s definitely unusual to display so much mint in one tree.
The Cat
This couple just couldn’t handle skipping the Christmas tree. For the first time in 52 years, they decided not to display one. Although it may not seem like such a big deal, they still had to put all of their Christmas gifts somewhere. After realizing that they had been unconsciously placing all of their gifts around the cat tree, they decided to decorate it. Clearly, they missed having a Christmas tree.
A festively decorated cat tree definitely falls into the category of weird Christmas decorations, but at least the cat most likely enjoyed being included as a part of the holiday festivity.
Make Tim Proud
Here is another weird Christmas decoration that can also double as Halloween decor. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is both a Christmas classic and a Halloween classic for many people. This display represents that classic movie in a creative way that can be appropriately displayed starting in October and can remain through the new year. As you can see, we love weird but multi-purpose holiday decor that cuts down on decorating time.
If you love Christmas so much that you want to start enjoying it a whole month early, a display like this is a creative way to enjoy Christmas before Halloween has even begun.
Expensive Traditions
Let’s face it, enjoying Christmas traditions can be expensive. While we like to think of Christmas as a time of giving, for many businesses it’s a time to make huge profits. Because of this, it’s easy to spend upwards of eighty dollars on a simple Christmas tree. This person decided to avoid all the commercialism and save a little bit of money by making their own tree out of branches.
It may not be traditional, but there is no denying that this weird Christmas decoration is also kind of cute. Next time your budget is tight, why not try out this money-saving idea?
Handy Dads
Many handy dads love using PVC pipe in their creations, but this dad took his PVC pipe game to the next level. Deciding that Conventional Christmas trees are “too boring,” he decided to create a tree that had a little more flair by attaching PVC pipes to a thin sheet of wood. He also poked colored lights into some of the circles to give the appearance of different colored glowing balls.
While most dads may not enjoy participating in the process of decorating for Christmas, it’s always more fun when they do! This dad created something truly unique that his kids will never forget.
Christmas Magic
This weird Christmas decoration may not look very festive at a glance, but it no doubt brought a little Christmas magic to this child. This child’s dad spent four months planning and building this tardis, a spacecraft disguised as a phone booth that appears in the Dr. Who series, to present it to the child as a Christmas gift. Surely this will be a Christmas his child will never forget!
This decoration isn’t just for Christmas. The magic will continue for this child into the following year as he now enters a magical spacecraft every time he opens the door to his room.
Dino Deers
Now here’s a different take on Santa and his team of reindeer. This is a great way to make this Christmas season even more magical for all of those kids who are obsessed with dinosaurs. While it is not uncommon to see Christmas displays that involve the iconic scene of reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh, this prehistoric take on one of the most common outdoor Christmas decorations makes things a bit more interesting.
Although turning Santa Claus and his reindeer into dinosaurs might be a little strange, we think that even Santa himself would be impressed with this weird but creative holiday display.
Catty Style
In recent years, the clean, natural, and minimalist aesthetic has been all the rage in interior design thanks to many Instagram influencers. For those who are fully dedicated to this trend, why not make it a part of your holiday decor? By adding Christmas lights to a display of plants and natural wooden furniture, this person created a room that exudes Christmas cheer, while also looking like a relaxing Oasis.
This style of Christmas decorating may be a little different. It’s certainly not the festive display of bright red and green that we are accustomed to, but at least the cat approves!
Sci-Fi Tree
This tree looks like something out of a sci-fi film. If Jedi were to celebrate Christmas, their holiday decor would certainly look similar to this. The tree is completely metal with a light at the bottom that creates a dreamy shadow effect within the room. While this tree is certainly weird, it is not an anomaly. Websites such as Modern Christmas Tree sell similar trees so everyone can enjoy this weird Christmas decoration.
While metal and trees usually aren’t two things that go together, this person created a metal Christmas tree that encompasses the Christmas spirit just as well as any standard tree.
Weird Decoration
Again, we see another weird Christmas decoration that involves the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. Clearly, this classic Christmas movie has a large number of hardcore fans who want to commemorate it in their Christmas decorating. This weird Christmas decoration is a bit more impressive than the ones that we have looked at previously. This person didn’t just decorate a tree for Christmas, they created a beautiful stained glass window!
Because most of us don’t have the time, patience, or skill to create a complex piece of art as part of our holiday decorating, surely we can all appreciate this person’s dedication.
Tight Corners
Living in a small space is hard, especially when the holidays come around. Most decorations, especially Christmas trees, take up a lot of floor space, so it’s difficult to find a good spot to put them. Even more difficult than that is figuring out how to store them once the holiday is over. This person found a weird but cool solution to this problem that anyone living in an apartment will appreciate.
The Christmas tree that this person created is non-bulky and fits right into the corner of their wall. It may be weird, but it’s perfect for those who need the extra space.
Snobby
It’s not uncommon for a snobby family member to judge your Christmas decorations, but what about your pet? You know that your Christmas decorating is a little too weird when it even makes your cat freak out. This unsuspecting person tried to take a picture of the unique two-dimensional Christmas tree that they had created when all of the sudden the family cat jumped in front of it out of nowhere.
Although our pets may be our best friends, they have minds of their own. Clearly, this person and their cat were not on the same page when it came to the Christmas decor.
Louis
Families aren’t the only groups of people that have to decorate for the Christmas season. Christmas is an important time for business, so marketing teams in almost every retail category get busy during this season to make sure that their business gets a cut of the Christmas profits. Part of this is planning the best way to decorate to make sure that your business appears to exude the Christmas spirit.
One weird but cool example of this is the Louis Vuitton Christmas tree. This high-end purse company got into the Christmas spirit, while also creating something that represented their brand.
Devito
“Can I offer you a nice egg in this trying time?” This couple didn’t have room in their small apartment for a Christmas tree, so they came up with yet another creative solution for holiday decorating in small spaces that also incorporates their favorite TV show into the holiday fun. This weird Christmas decoration displays Danny Devito’s character, Frank Reynolds, from the popular TV show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
While Danny Devito may not seem like a Christmas icon, this couple showed us that anything can be made into a Christmas decoration if you just add lights and bows.
The Office
“How’s my favorite BRANCH doing?” For those of you who aren’t familiar with the hit TV series The Office, a comedy that is meant to represent the lives of office workers at the Scranton Pennsylvania branch of a paper company, this creative Christmas ornament is depicting the lazy intern on the show named Ryan Howard. While The Office themed Christmas ornaments are not uncommon, this one is unlike any that I have seen.
The Office is about finding humor in everyday life. Michael Scott himself would probably appreciate this ornament, which portrays the humorous nature of the series in a way that most store-bought ones do not.
Six Wings
When we think of angels, we usually think of majestic creatures that essentially look like people with wings. This however is not how angels are described in the Bible. The Biblical Book of Isaiah describes one type of angel as having six wings, four of which cover their heads and feet. While this version of the angel may not be as pretty, this person was going for accuracy over aesthetics.
This weird tree topper is meant to represent an accurate depiction of biblical angels with six wings and no visible appendages. It may look like a headless chicken, but at least it’s realistic!
Moon
The last weird Christmas decoration on our list is another excellent idea for astronomy lovers. This Christmas tree topper is meant to appear as the Orion spacecraft, a NASA spacecraft, orbiting the moon. While stars may be the more common choice for Christmas tree toppers, using a moon instead can be a great way to spice up any Christmas tree while also showing that you’re up to date with the latest in science.
With so many weird decorating ideas, you can go into this holiday season totally equipped to blast into decorating with the most unique holiday decor that your friends and family have ever seen.