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Mum makes a Grinch-inspired magical Christmas tree – all for under £100
A thrifty mom spent two years gathering supplies to build a Grinch-inspired, budget-friendly magic Christmas tree – all for under £100.
Christmas-obsessed 42-year-old Cleo Bailey built the impressive 2.5-metre tree after finding discounted items from shops on the main street.
Mother of four started preparing in January 2020 and bought decorations at a discount for this year.
He found Grinch-themed decorations at stores like B&M and Home Bargains and spent as little as 20p per item.
The tree was purchased from Wilko and cost £50 – reduced from £150 in January sales.
Like the Christmas trees in Whoville, where the grin comes from, he used chicken wire to create the bend at the top of the tree.
Cleo’s husband, 38, Darren, posted the tree on Facebook in the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group, and it garnered a staggering 8,000 likes.
Cleo, a stay-at-home mom from Loughborough, Leicestershire, said: “I’m obsessed with Christmas – it’s my favorite time of the year.
“My dream job is a Christmas decoration designer.
“I get a lot of inspiration from social media and I’m always trying to recreate something.
“I try to do it myself every year and this year has been the best ever.
“It took two years to build and I am really happy with the result.”
Cleo was inspired to create the tree after seeing a similar design on Instagram.
But the one online would outpace thousands, so he started creating a budget-friendly version.
Cleo scoured stores like B&M, Wilko, and Home Bargains to find discounted decorations in their January sales in 2020.
He spent between 20p and £2 on various ornaments and grinch. themed decorations.
The Christmas tree was the most stolen thing at Wilko at £50 versus £150.
“It took me two years to find everything for the tree,” he continues.
“I had a vision for the tree, so I didn’t want to build it until I got everything right.”
To give the tree the iconic Whoville curl at the top, Cleo made a curl of chicken wire to match the others and covered it with faux fir.
Cleo lives in the home with her sons Ty (16), Zak (15) and Darren’s children Blake (11) and Piper (7), all of whom are huge fans of her work.
< p>The tree is in the kitchen and has more plans for the rest of the house.
He said: “I’m really going out for Christmas.
“I do Christmas scenes by windows and I love doing DIY things like making wreaths.
“Christmas is such a magical time of the year that I’m really looking forward to it.
“I loved making the tree and I hope I can inspire others to stick with it and give it a try.”