Carrie Brown, author of “The New Christmas Tree,” adjusts a Popcorn,Peanut, Pretzel and Pickle Tree featured in her book at the Jimtown Store near Healdsburg, Calif.

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree, how boring are thy branches?

If you're in a bit of a holiday rut when it comes to seasonal decorating, Carrie Brown's recently released “The New Christmas Tree” (Artisan Books) may be just what you need to get that creative sap flowing.

Brown, owner of the Jimtown Store near Healdsburg, Calif., a country store and café, has been re-inventing trees for years, from the “blue tree” she made one Christmas to reflect her mood (which magically improved the more she got into the project) to the “bonfire ready” trees she came up with one year — manzanita branches studded with plump marshmallows.

Her book presents 24 ideas for rethinking the tree, starting with the basics: picking the tree, what types work best with certain designs and caring for your festive foliage.

Some of the trees are simple, like a silver tree that's a skinny branch strung with silver jewelry and other found objects. Some are aimed at keen crafters, like the paperwhite tree decorated with all kinds of ornaments made from different weights of white paper.

A stunner of a tree — and the one that made the cover — is the bees' tree, made of rosemary branches arranged in a vase and decorated with felted bees, beeswax ornaments and tiny vials of wax-dipped honey, among other things.

The book is beautiful and also practical, containing detailed instructions on how to recreate the featured trees along with website references for downloading templates.

Brown would like it to serve as both blueprint and inspiration.

“I decided that it would be a wonderful thing to share, because there's a lot of commercialism for Christmas, a lot of the same-old, same-old,” said Brown. “I think young people particularly feel that some of the old commercial ways don't reflect them. I wanted to present something that could give people the opportunity to express themselves.”

Personalizing your tree is one of the trends of the season, said Ann Blevins, senior editor of Better Homes and Gardens' “Christmas Ideas.”

“People have become much more comfortable making their tree personalized, whether it's ornaments from your vacations or framed letters to Santa,” she said.

Although many people stick with traditional red and green in their tree décor, a new twist this year is faceted metallic ornaments, which go hand-in-hand with the home-decorating trend of faceted metal lamps, said Blevins.

New takes on lighting include Edison lights, which look like old-fashioned bulbs with a visible “filament,” as well as tiny fairy lights designed to be woven deep in the tree and used in abundance.

Getting your tree together can be one of the best parts of the season, and some of the ideas in Brown's book could be the basis for a trimming party.

Several trees are inspired by collections. For instance, Brown used her collection of decorative pin cushions in a tree that includes the cushions studded with decorative pins as well as homemade bugle and sequin balls.

Finding an alternative to old-fashioned skirts comes with a hidden bonus, noted Blevins. “We're wrapping the tree in a throw — a fur throw or a sweater throw — which is nice because when Christmas is over and it's January, you have a new afghan, and it's perfect.”