A Cuban grandfather from Matanzas has taken social media by storm with his creativity and ingenuity after making a Christmas tree out of cardboard and recycled materials. His granddaughter, content creator Lauren Lotti, shared the outcome on TikTok and showcased how the whole family came together to decorate the house without spending a fortune.
"Buying a little tree in Cuba nowadays is crazy. Given the salaries here, very few can afford to spend between twenty-five and even seventy dollars," explained Lauren in the video posted on her TikTok account, which has garnered nearly 286,000 views, over 34,000 "likes," and thousands of comments.
But her grandfather, a retired welder who does not let difficulties get him down, decided to roll up his sleeves and build his own Christmas tree. With six cut-out and assembled cardboard pieces, he managed to give it shape, while a bucket of paint served as the base.
To disguise the makeshift base, Lauren's aunt contributed an old dress that ended up becoming part of the decoration. "Just like every tree needs a good base. Here’s my aunt with a bucket of paint and an old dress, and look how elegant it turned out," the young woman shared with laughter.
The grandmother didn’t lag behind either. She pulled out her "most treasured possession": a set of Christmas lights that she had been preserving for 16 years and, to everyone’s surprise, still worked perfectly.
With the collaboration of the entire family, the tree was finally decorated and illuminated, proving that it isn't always necessary to spend money to fill a home with joy.
"Look at this beautiful thing! Isn't my grandfather the best? We're selling little trees, interested parties can message me privately," joked Lauren, proud of her grandfather's work.
The story has also caught attention due to the contrast between the price of Christmas trees and the income of retired Cubans. As the young woman has previously shared, her grandfather receives a monthly pension of 3,727 Cuban pesos. Taking an informal exchange rate of 925 pesos per dollar into account, that amount is equivalent to about four dollars, while a commercial tree costing 70 dollars would represent more than 17 full monthly pensions.
The difference is even more striking when considering that the price of Christmas trees in Cuba can reach 70 dollars, an amount beyond the reach of many families.
This grandfather has already demonstrated on other occasions that he has a talent for finding solutions with limited resources. In April, he built a homemade 4G antenna using aluminum and beer cans, and in May he received a bench vise that his granddaughter was able to buy for him thanks to contributions from his supporters.
Furthermore, Lauren starred in another very special moment in July when she fulfilled her dream of buying a larger house for her grandparents in a flat area of Matanzas, a gesture that also touched thousands of people on social media.
This time, the protagonist has been his grandfather with a handmade Christmas tree that sparked numerous displays of affection among internet users.
"Let me know in the comments how this little tree turned out," said the man as he showed the final result. Among the responses, there were many who gave a perfect score to the creativity and effort of the grandfather.
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