Celebrate the season with your feathered friends by decorating a tree in your yard, or even one in a container, with special treats that they’ll love.
First, the Ornaments!
Make pinecone feeders to hang from the branches: Gather some pine or spruce cones. Tie a loop of twine around the top to use as a hanger. Fill the crevices with peanut butter, and then roll in birdseed.
Fill scooped out orange halves with a mixture of peanut butter, suet and seed. Poke a length of wire through the top to attach to the tree.
Make ‘bird cakes’ to set in the branches: Melt 2 cups of suet in a saucepan. Mix in 2 cups of peanut butter and 12 cups of cornmeal. Spoon mixture into muffin cups and decorate with black oil sunflower seed. Cool.
Now for the Garland!
String popcorn, peanuts, cranberries, grapes and/or raisins on lengths of heavy duty thread or fishing line. Weave your edible garland among the branches.
And lastly, the Tree Topper!
Make a grapefruit ‘Star’: Slice the ends off a grapefruit, leaving a 1″ slice in the middle (use the ends to fill with seed or peanut butter mixture). Wire 5 cranberries around the edge of the slice to form the points of a star. Then, wire the whole thing to the top of your tree.
Now stand back and watch as your feathered friends enjoy their holiday feast!
