Wow! what great ideas, beth

3 years ago I bought 3 really cheap trees and a garden arch from a bargain store. The arch cost me $15 - it came with net lights and the trees cost about $10 each. Oh that's Australian dollars. I pulled the trees apart and wired the branches to the arch. I would have used discarded trees if I had found any but was really pleased with what my intial $45 outlay gave me. The arch goes in the opening between my dining and family rooms. This is the third year it has gone up and everyone who sees it loves it, they tell me it feels magical walking through it, like walking from the everyday world into Christmas.
I only used the lower part of the tree, the top sections are still intact - the kids used them as mini trees, each child got their own and even the cat had her own tree.

In Atlanta, GA (Stone Mtn. area) the Home Depot will take your christmas tree and give you 2 or three sizeable dogwood trees for planting. I received mine today.