Christmas Pallet

Alecia Walker from Goulburn Baptist Church in Goulburn, NSW, Australia brings us this Christmas pallet centerpiece.
From Alecia:

For Christmas last year, our theme was Mr. Tinsel Stole Christmas & we were contrasting Christmas traditions & how we as Christians hear the Christmas story every year (decorations) but for the unsaved (the presents) this might be the first time they have heard the Christmas story. And how do we share the Story of Christmas for the unsaved, but make the story come alive again & fresh for Christians and not just another tradition that happens every year. The actors & musicians were either Christmas decorations or presents, so we made a massive Christmas tree out of pallets to make it look like the presents were under the Christmas Tree & somewhat in scale compared to the tree. To make the Christmas Tree, we screwed together 8 pallets & used some additional timber planks stripped of another pallet & screwed them onto the sides for added structural support. We then painted the Christmas Tree Shape with left over ceiling white paint & added the tinsel, fairy lights & decorations to the top half of the Christmas Tree while it was laying flat on the ground. We lifted the tree into position (see photo) with a guide rope over the ceiling supports & someone holding the rope and the rest of the crew “walked” the tree up into position. We then screw fixed it to the base of our stage & side supports. Once the tree was up we finished setting up the decorations, tinsel & lights. Part of the program required Mr. Tinsel to kick the tree & the Star to fall to the ground & then later in the program to reattach the star & it being raised to the top of the Christmas tree. This required us to create a pulley system at the top of the tree with a latch hook that allowed the star to be attached really quickly on & off the rope. There isn’t any photos with the fairy lights turned on, but at the end of the program the tree & the star are lit up. Mr. Tinsel returns the star & doesn’t wreck Christmas. Budget : Pallets = free, Screws = $10, Paint = Free (left over from another project), Decorations,Star & Lights = Free (used previous years) Tinsel = $10, Pulley System = Free (in someone’s shed) Rope = $10