Sami Laurence said she uses newspaper as a more eco-friendly substitute compared to store-bought wrapping paper for presenting gifts.

Live Christmas trees can be composted once their seasonal usefulness ends, and Sami Laurence, manager of the Macoskey Center at Slippery Rock University, said they can be safely returned to the earth at the end of their lifetimes.

“That tree comes from the woods and I typically just compost my tree along my treeline,” Laurence said. “It makes really good starter fire wood when it dries out.”

The wood from old Christmas trees is not the only useful component as it is composted, because Laurence said the pine needles can also act as mulch for other plants. After a few months of decomposing, the tree should mostly be gone, Laurence said.

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