Finding your Family Tree

Every family has their own Christmas traditions. For us, our favorite festivity is the annual trek into the mountains to claim what will become that year’s Christmas tree. The type of tree we will be trimming is never known until the day is done, but it most certainly never looks like the perfectly pruned variety. That, we have given up for the happy memories of our kids on sleds, a few too many hot dogs and always some hysterical laughter enjoyed with our good friends.

Whether you hike into the mountains to find your family tree, you support your local boy scouts each year or you have an artificial tree, most of us do have a tree to light up our living room each year. So for this reason, here are a few tips for trimming the tree this holiday season.

Before the final selection, check for freshness. A fresh tree should be aromatic and sticky with sap. The tree branches should bend not snap and it shouldn’t be dropping many needles.
When you get the tree home, make a new cut four inches from the bottom and pop it into a bucket of water until you are ready to bring it inside. A solution of 1 litre of water, 125mls of light corn syrup and 25mls of bleach will keep your tree fresher for longer.
Decide on the final destination before bringing in the tree. Choose a spot away from drafts and heat sources such as fireplaces, heat vents and televisions. Make sure there is an electrical outlet handy and don’t forget to measure the height of the room.
When the decision is unanimous, sandwich a plastic sheet (a large garbage bag works) between two layers of cloth and place it in the center of the chosen spot. Place your stand in the center of the cloth and secure the tree within the stand as per the directions. Screw a hook into the ceiling or into the wall in two spots and tether the tree with fishing line to the hooks. Three years ago my tree toppled and all my new decorations smashed to smitherines…very sad. I tether my tree now.
Check your lights and then string them from the top down and from the trunk to the tips.
Time to decorate, so pull out the popcorn strings, coloured lights and homemade decorations if you are more traditional. If you like a tree that is somewhat more sophisticated, you will need to be disciplined in your approach. Only white lights will do and when it comes to the decorations, just one or two colours for the backdrop with your chosen decorations for style on the tips for impact. Decorations need room to breathe so make sure there is enough room between branches as the decorations shouldn’t touch the branches below. Remember to put decorations at all depths for interest.
If you have pets, keep chewable cords, tempting tinsel and dangerous chocolate morsels up off of the ground level. If you have a cat that likes to climb, don’t forget to tether the tree – all of this goes for toddlers too!
To finish things off, you can use a tree skirt, but your tree skirt doesn’t have to be of the bright red felt variety. It can be any beautiful fabric or blanket that you can find.

If you need a little help, how about a tree trimming party….a new tradition, perhaps?