How to select and decorate the perfect Christmas Tree
Posted: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
by lorien1973
Online Discount Mart Home & Garden Decor
While some folks pull their Christmas tree out of a box in pieces to assemble before decorating, many still prefer real trees for their incomparable beauty and evocative scent that fills the house, helping to spread the holiday cheer.
Whether you opt for an artificial tree, a cut evergreen, or a tree with roots to be replanted in the spring, take the guess work out of making the perfect selection that will suit your purposes. Gain ideas for decorating that will make your tree extra lovely this year. Read on.
If storage space isn’t a problem and you prefer the convenience, an artificial tree might be best. You can still create the aroma of a real evergreen with the use of scented candles, potpourri, and special scented sprays made specifically for artificial trees.
A quality traditional artificial tree can be bent into a perfect shape, with the added bonus of being less messy than a real tree as no needles are dropped. To give your artificial tree a more “found in the country" look, put it in a small wooden half barrel, stand and all.
Some people prefer less traditional models of artificial trees. A twig tree, for instance, makes a bold, earthy statement. They can be especially beautiful decorated with small twinkle lights all one color. They require no assembly, and are easy to decorate. When left unpainted, homemade quilted fabric, or crocheted snowflake decorations are extra lovely.
Some people spray paint their twig tree with white or metallic gold or silver. Others spray a dusting of artificial snow on the limbs.
For a more modern, sophisticated look, a metal tree with decorative curled branches can be very elegant. These type trees are best decorated with simple but well thought out decorations. Some people leave their metal tree up all year round as part of the room furnishing, decorating it only at Christmas time. Lights are not necessary for metal trees.
If you prefer a real cut tree, decide before shopping for one what size and variety you prefer. A blue spruce might be prickly, but it has a lovely blue tinge that looks great with red and gold decorations. The scent is heavenly, and it retains its needles quite well.
A Norwegian spruce is full and bushy. Needles are prickly and sparse, showing the bronze of its branches underneath. A Scots pine is quite popular and usually retains its needles throughout the Christmas season. The ends of its branches are soft, so care must be taken when hanging glass baubles that could otherwise slip off and break.
The Nordman is a soft, bushy fir that tends to retain its glossy green needles well. It too is an ideal tree for Christmas its layered branches are easy to decorate, its dark green color makes an especially lovely backdrop when decorated.
Real cut trees can be placed, stand and all, in a large pretty container – whether cane, wicker, a steel bucket with a big red bow, a decorated terracotta pot, or a copper bucket. Select a container that will compliment your room décor and tree decoration theme.
Real potted trees with roots intact can make a unique and lovely Christmas tree. Opting for a living tree instead of a cut tree helps to conserve our resources. It also provides a fun springtime family activity when transplanting, and lives on to beautify the yard.
A Norfolk pine is one popular choice, as are smaller specimens of any of the traditional varieties of evergreen. Depending upon where you live, however, you might enjoy a more exotic variety of tree. A bay tree, for instance, makes an unusual but charming Christmas tree. This small glossy leafed tree has a neat round shape, and is ideal for a small room. If you prefer, some garden centers offer varieties that have been clipped in the classic evergreen tree shape.
A Holly tree is another delightful choice. Its tall graceful trunk meets a tightly leafed canopy top. Some varieties have glossy green leaves and red berries others have variegated leaves that add additional color to the tree. Whatever variety of living tree you select, remember to water it regularly and to place it near a window where it will receive appropriate sunlight.
When it comes to decorating, small potted trees look best with scaled-down decorations. Lights strung around the pot or container and/or trunk of the tree might create an interesting effect.
After selecting just the right tree and tree stand or container, you are ready to decorate. If lights are used, string the lights before, not after, hanging ornaments. Position larger more elegant decorations where they will catch the most light fill in gaps using glossy glass baubles, smaller decorations, or pieces of cellophane-wrapped candy. You might want to add garlands of beads, cranberries, mini marshmallows, or popcorn.
This holiday season why not try something new? Stick to just one decorating theme: country, religious, 12 days of Christmas, modern, traditional, elegant, international, etc. Or, keep decorations all one color-scheme.
You could also decorate using just one type of decoration fabric, glass baubles, velvety bows, or edible decorations - homemade cookies, gingerbread men and ladies, candy canes, wrapped chocolates or gold “coins" (chocolate disks wrapped in embossed gold foil). Small red, green, or white bows and garlands of strung edibles such as dried fruit, nuts, or cranberries and miniature marshmallows, etc. could also be added.
SPECIAL DECORATING TIP: A twig tree that has been spray painted with metallic gold or silver looks especially lovely with same color sequined-covered globes and sparkly baubles. Decorations can also be made using shells such as spiral-shaped and limpet shells that have been polished until the underlying mother-of-pearl shows through. Glue on strings of pearls wrapped around the spirals. A larger pearl can be glued to the tip of the shell to cover the end of the strung pearls. Metallic cord (silver or gold) formed into a loop with ends glued inside the shell provides a hanger.
By selecting just the right tree, and making decorating decisions beforehand, you’re sure to enjoy the loveliest, most cherished, Christmas tree ever. And a merry Christmas it will be!
For more tips on how to decorate a Christmas tree, please visit our website.
This Article has been viewed 5,658 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.