A Cuban grandfather builds a cardboard Christmas tree to save on costs

A retired welder in Matanzas, Cuba, built a handmade Christmas tree using cardboard and recycled materials to celebrate the holiday season.

The man constructed the tree by assembling six cut out cardboard pieces onto a base made from a bucket of paint. His granddaughter, Lauren Lotti, shared the project on TikTok, where it gained nearly 286,000 views.

The family worked together to decorate the tree, using an old dress provided by the man's niece to cover the base and a set of lights kept by the man's wife for 16 years. Lauren Lotti noted that many families in Cuba cannot afford commercial trees, which can cost up to 70 dollars. The man receives a monthly pension of 3,727 Cuban pesos, which equals about four dollars at an informal exchange rate of 925 pesos per dollar.

Because a commercial tree costs more than 17 monthly pensions, the handmade version provided a way for the family to decorate their home without high expenses. The grandfather has previously used his skills to solve problems with limited resources, such as building a 4G antenna from aluminum and beer cans. Following the viral success of the tree, social media users praised the man for his creativity and his ability to find solutions despite financial constraints.