First take a simple artificial Christmas tree with removable branches out of your storage or pick up one from a thrift shop.  Other items that you will need for this project are the following: 
- flower pot or basket
- rocks (any color)
- burlap (1-2 yards)
- scissors
- twine
- sea shells
- string of lights (any color)

Now that you have your supplies ready.  Take the rod and just the top portion of the Christmas tree.  Take the very top branch and cut the greenery of of the wire.  This will be the part of the tree top that will now go into the rod.  The top of the rod should already have a hole in it for the Christmas tree purposes.  Now that the wire is securely in the rod, you want to shape the branches as similar to that of a palm tree.  They need to hang downward with a slight bend at the bottom.  If it looks to bushy, you can always cut some of the branches off (you may need strong wire cutters for that).  keep 4 small branches down along the rod.


Next you want to take your flower pot/basket, rocks, and rod.  We will now be anchoring the rod into the pot.  I used a few larger pieces of rock and then smaller white rocks to support the rod to stay upright.





Now that the rod is anchored and supported in the pot.  You want to take the burlap and scissors and cut strips of 6 inches wide .  These strips will be used to create the bark of the tree by wrapping around the rod in a spiral pattern.  When going from one strip to the next tuck the burlap into each other and use safety pins if necessary to secure the strips.