Decorating a Christmas tree, top tips. Lavish or lean?
by David Gallacher @davidgallacher62
O
nce you’ve bought your Christmas tree, you can enjoy decorating it.
It’s best to put your Christmas lights on first, otherwise your decorations might get tangled up and damaged. If you only buy one thing for your tree, make it lights. They create the wonderful, magical effect of Christmas. Mix matt and shiny baubles to create a fuller effect. Place the shiny baubles closer to the trunk and matt baubles on the tips of the branches as they do not reflect the light as much. Choose your colours according to your room. If your tree is going to stand in a darker area choose lighter, brighter decorations such as golds, silver and white combinations, reds or pinks that will stand out against the colour of the branches. In a lighter, larger room you can afford to be bold with darker colours such as purples and blues.
The first Christmas tree They became popular here in the UK in 1841, when Prince Albert brought a fir tree home from Germany for Queen Victoria. It’s estimated that we now buy around seven million trees
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If you’re going for the look of luxury, pile on as many decorations as possible but keep them coordinated. Go for no more than two sizes of bauble and no more than two styles at once. If you’re going for a more contemporary tree, less is more but make it big. Use large glass decorations and less of them, rather than a mass of small glass baubles which will just get lost. One of the most effective decorations is ribbon, tied in big bows at the end of the branches. Fruit and spices are worth adding too
LED Using LED lights rather than older incandescent bulbs , help reduce the amount of energy needed and don’t heat up like the older lights.
Water In the first week or so, give your tree plenty of water while it adjusts. An average sized cut tree can drink up to two pints a day. You can boost your tree even more by mixing in a couple of spoonful’s of sugar with the water. You can also use cheap full fat lemonade to this effect. Keep a reservoir of water in the Christmas tree container and check daily to keep it topped up.
