GIFSL*: 21. Tree

Taking a break from the break, I wanted to let you know about this idea, since some of you may want to pootle out and invest yourself.  But I'm really on holidays.  Except when TL-brain kicks in with an idea.
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I'm sure you're familiar with Christmas trees.  We have a library Christmas tree (see some pictures here).
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The Tree is something that homewares shops and decorating magazines have been, I've been noticing, extending to other seasonal celebrations.  Halloween, for example.  Black tabletop trees can be found.  Easter decorating isn't something I've seen in a lot of homes, but the shops are working on us... Maybe it's a tad more difficult in our southern hemisphere, where Easter doesn't arrive with spring and relief from winter, but instead finds us grateful for the relief from summer heat, and the arrival of autumn (fall) (not everyone agrees with me, but spring and autumn are my favourte seasons).  Nevertheless, the iconography of bunnies and chicks and eggs is still around, and some shops sell Easter decorations.
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Including this tree.
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Which I thought very promising. 

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I'm all for multiple-use decorating.  If you've read this blog for a little while, you'll notice that the dark brown bookcase in the foyer lends itself to multiple-uses.  Likewise, although this tree may be sold as being for Easter decorating, it's not specifically Easterish, in its native state.  Is it?  So it could be used for all sorts of things, couldn't it?  I've seen these around at Christmas time too, but not one this size.  It's approximately  100cm/38in tall by 70cm/26in wide. Big enough to have some impact in a school library, where small decorations can look dwarfed by the scale of the space.  And it's flat, so it can fit on the table behind the borrowing desk.

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Right now, I haven't done anything but buy one, because they're 50% off at Bed Bath 'N' Table, now $50 (they were $99.95).  Before you faint, consider the price of a laminated poster (often $25).  And think how you could use this tree in a multitude of ways throughout the year; and how you could decorate it in ways that involve imagination and available resources rather than money.  Lots of possibilities.

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So this is your heads-up.  The BBNT chain doesn't have a web site or online ordering; I don't know how long their 50% off Easter decorations will last; in fact, I know nuffin more.  But I'm sure this tree will feature on this blog, and wanted to show it now in case anyone else might like to buy one (and no, I have no shares in BBNT!).  If you want to find a store near you, try http://www.whitepages.com.au/.

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Cheers, Ruth

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*GIFSL = Good Ideas For School Libraries
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