Hayley’s Christmas tree decorating hacks will have your whole house smelling deliciously festive

Decorating the Christmas tree has got to be one of my favourite holiday traditions, but instead of tinsel and plastic baubles, I like to put a special twist on it.

Every year our pine Christmas tree is decorated with fresh red chilli, gingerbread spiced cookies and bunches of cinnamon. The chilli naturally dries hanging up in the branches and the whole house smells like fresh pine, cinnamon and spice.  

We also make gingerbread houses which I wouldn't recommend for the faint-hearted when young kids are involved haha.  

Where did the idea come from? Well, it started 7 years ago from necessity.

We didn't have any storage in our apartment at the time. So, I wanted everything to be reusable on the tree purely, so I didn't have to store anything. The chilli idea came when I saw the beautiful red chilli at the veggie market one year. The scent and how pretty it looked then meant that the tradition stuck when we moved into our home. 

The best part is that all the decorations get used up in their own unique way.

The cookie decorations obviously get eaten! The kids get one a day and I triple the ginger in them to make it slightly spicy to slow them down mwahahaha. 

The cinnamon bundles get thrown into mulled wine or reused the next year (Mine still smell great after 3 years) and the fresh chilli dry naturally on the tree and get made into a chilli sauce at the end of summer. The pop of red looks great! 

If you’re not feeling bold enough for chillis there are so many other cute Christmas decorating ideas. 

Home-painted pinecone Christmas tree decorations are always so sweet and dried oranges look and smell amazing on the tree too. Or try a classic popcorn garland. 

Merry Christmas everyone!  

- Hayley