Make the star of the show shine a bit brighter during the holiday season
Part of the allure of holiday decorating is being able to bring the outdoors inside. But when transforming your house into a winter wonderland, you may notice that a real tree may not live up to the perfect-looking specimen in your imagination. Never fear though – these tricks can make your tree look like perfection.
Fresh is best First of all, where you get a tree sets the basis for how it holds up throughout the holiday season. The fresher the cut, the longer it will last. “That’s the biggest thing,” says Tim Gadreau, owner of Third Stone Farm in Barnstead, New Hampshire.
Buying your tree from a tree lot may be fine, says Gadreau, but it may have been cut down several weeks before. When a tree is cut that early, it’s already started to dry out and will have problems keeping its needles. A freshly cut tree that you pick out from a tree farm won’t dry out as quickly. It helps if there have been a couple of good frosts, too, because the tree is sure to be dormant and its need for water decreases dramatically, Gadreau adds.
Bringing it home When you buy a real tree, you won’t know how well it fits into your house until you get it indoors. If the tree is too tall, first prune the branches, then trim the trunk, says Rhonda Bullington, owner and head designer of Loess Hills Floral Studio in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Before pruning branches, make sure you know where they extend, to avoid accidentally creating holes in the tree. “Be judicious about pruning branches,” says Gadreau. “It’s easy to overdo it.”
As for placement, put it where the family will enjoy it, says Christine Haught of Christine Haught Design in Shaker Heights, Ohio. If it’s visible from the outside, you don’t have to put a lot of ornaments on the side facing the window – lights and large orbs will do. “People will know there’s a tree, it has lights and looks pretty, but the small details like your grandmother’s ornament she passed down to you will go unnoticed,” Haught says.
At home, be sure to keep your tree in a cool, dark place. “The sun is going to have a drying effect,” says Gadreau.
Water is important to needle retention.
To help feed your tree, also put a spoonful of sugar in the base every time you water, says Jennifir Huston, a floral designer at Louis Berry Florist in Boston.
Make it taller, make it fuller If the tree is too short, you can elevate it by covering an inexpensive table with a blanket and stacking presents around it, says Haught. You can also give the illusion of height by spraying branches with glitter, says Bullington.
After putting the tree in its base, examine the branches. If your tree is more “Charlie Brown Christmas Special” than Norman Rockwell Americana, you can add sprays of fake greenery from a craft store to achieve a fuller look. “I call it a department store tree,” says Bullington.
Place or wrap the sprays around the branches. Don’t be afraid to mix the types of greenery either. It doesn’t have to be the same type as your tree.
While it may sound odd to put fake greenery into a live tree, it’s better than using freshly cut branches. “You can do that, but you’ve got to remember that they’re fresh cut branches and will die without water,” says Bullington, noting that cut branches will die within a couple of days.
Brighten it up To have a brightly glowing tree, don’t wrap the lights around it. Instead start at the tip of a branch and work your way to the base. Then work the lights back out on the next branch. This gives a nice depth to the tree, says Huston.
Once lit, add the topper, then the ornaments. Start by putting on the large orbs first, putting them on the inside of the tree because they’re heavier. “If an ornament makes a branch too heavy, you can use wire to tie branches together to get that perfect tree look,” Huston adds.
If you have a collection of similarly themed ornaments, place those next, making sure to spread them around the tree so they don’t wind up on top of each other. “It’s just like making a piece of art,” says Haught.
Add your sentimental ornaments last, then take a step back to assess your work. If you see holes or areas with too many ornaments, spread them out more. Finally, add any garland or ribbons to finish off the look.
Step back and enjoy Don’t forget the most important part, says Haught. “Get yourself an eggnog and relax and enjoy your beautiful masterpiece. Especially in the evening, with maybe a fire going and the lights dimmed. A real tree adds the dimension of scent, which deepens the Christmas memories you are making in your home.”
