MANY families no doubt spent hours over the weekend assembling their Christmas tree, complete with tinsel and baubles...but not Elizabeth Smith.

She has taken almost an entire year to get her tree together!

The mum-of-two’s tree is certainly no ordinary tree - it has been painstakingly (and lovingly) made entirely of green woollen pom poms. About 900 of them to be precise!

The craft fanatic, 36, was inspired to create an extraordinary tree after the Craft Club Yarnbombers, a group of five friends who work at Appleton School, Benfleet, made a 15-foot ‘Stitchmas’ tree last year.

The tree was made from nearly 200 crocheted squares, produced by contributors across the globe and including 60 made by Mrs Smith, who lives in Elderton Road, Westcliff. It was positioned on the patio of Oasis The Coffee House and Leigh Baptist Church, in Leigh, in December last year.

From then, bitten by the bug, Elizabeth began her master creation on December 22 last year - and only completed it this week.

She said: “Last year, the Craft Club Yarnbombers made a tree all in green squares and turned it into blankets for the homeless. I loved it. “I made about 60 squares for them and my mum did a lot of squares too. Afterwards, I thought I fancied a project like that. “I had lots of green wool lying around and began making pom poms. I started in December last year and have only just finished.”

Mrs Smith’s creation stands at 7ft tall and 90cm wide and is adorned with 900 pom poms. The pom poms are attached to a cardboard structure.

She said her children, Harry, six and Seren, five, who attend Westborough Primary School, love the tree - because of how nice it feels.

Mrs Smith added: “Now it is so big that I can’t even store it after Christmas. I was wondering if a charity wanted or if they wanted to auction it off for charity.”

Charities can get in touch with the Echo about using, or auctioning, the tree can call 01268 469303.