Thrifty mom makes Grinch inspired Christmas tree for under $120

By Katie Person via SWNS

A thrifty mom spent two years gathering materials to make a magical budget-friendly Grinch inspired Christmas tree - all for under £100 ($120).

Christmas-obsessed Cleo Bailey, 42, crafted the impressive 7ft tree after finding bargain items from the high street shops.

The mom-of-four started preparing back in January 2020 - buying discount decorations ready for this year.

She found the grinch themed decorations in shops like B&M and Home Bargains – spending as little as 20p per item.

The tree was purchased from Wilko and set her back £50 ($60) - reduced from £150 ($180) in the January sales.

She used chicken wire to create the bend at the top of the tree – like the Christmas trees in Whoville – where the grinch is from.

Cleo’s husband Darren, 38, posted the tree on Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group on Facebook and received a staggering 8,000 likes.

Cleo, a stay-at-home mom, from Loughborough, Leicestershire said: "I am obsessed with Christmas – it’s my favorite time of year.

“My dream job is being a Christmas decoration designer.

"I get lots of inspiration from social media and always try and recreate things on a budget.

"Every year I try and out do myself and this year was the best one yet.

"It was two years in the making and I’m really pleased with the result.”

Cleo was inspired to create the tree after she spotted a similar design on Instagram.

But the online one would have set her back thousands, so she went about creating a budget-friendly version.

Cleo scanned through shops like B&M, Wilko, and Home Bargains to find discount decorations in the January sales in 2020.

She spent between 20p and £2 on the various baubles and grinch themed decorations.

“It took me two years to find everything for the tree,” she said.

“I had a vision for the tree, so I didn’t want to make it until I had everything right.”

To give the tree the iconic Whoville bend at the top, Cleo fashioned a bend in piece of chicken wire, and covered in fake fir, to match the rest.

Cleo, lives at home her boys Ty, 16, Zak, 15, and Darren's children Blake, 11, and Piper, seven, and they're all big fans of her creation.

The tree is in the kitchen and she has more plans for the rest of the house.

She said: "I really go all out at Christmas.

"I create Christmas scenes in the windowsills and love doing DIY things, like making wreaths.

"Christmas is such a magical time of year, I really look forward to it.

"I've loved making the tree and I hope I can inspire others to get stuck in and give it a go."