You do not have to be the design guru to create a Christmas tree worthy of a display window. Just follow these general guidelines to give your tree maximum impact this year.

A complete tree traditionally is composed of lights, garland, trim, and ornaments, arranged in that order. Add a tree skirt for a finishing touch. It is customary to add the topper last, although this is mostly for ceremonial purposes.

Lights

Thread lights from the base of the tree to the tip, and the inside branches to the outward ones. For trees taller than 4 feet, use up to 100 small twinkling lights per foot. Trees 2-3 feet tall need 35-80 lights. If you prefer to use the larger C-7 or C-9 bulbs, multiply the height of your tree by its dimension. For trees up to 7 feet divide this number in half. Divide by 3 for trees over 7 feet. Check the packaging of C-7 and C-9 bulbs, since not all brands have been approved to use with artificial trees.

Exercise caution when using strings of lights end-to-end. As a general rule, do not hook more than 3 sets of lights together, as doing so can overload the circuits and blow the fuses. Some commercial grade sets are safe to hook up to six sets. Hook together only strings of the same lights; for example, never hook a string miniature twinkling lights to a line of C-7 bulbs. This is also true when hooking your tree topper to the light sets. Use a 3 outlet cord instead. Discard any damaged light sets or decorations and turn everything off when you go to bed for the night!

Garland

Garlands can be made of tinsel or beads, and some ambitious revelers still make their own garlands out of popcorn, cranberries, and/or linked paper. Ribbons of various widths, styles, and colors also make fabulous garlands. Hung in large loops, garland adds drama to your tree, although how you drape your garland is a matter of taste and sometimes depends on the size of your tree. (Large loops can look silly on a smaller tree.) Nowadays you can also string garland vertically, by securing it at the top and looping downward. Experiment to see what looks best. Garlands may slip, particularly if the tree is delicate or droopy. To keep them in place, wind the garlands around the branches or secure with ribbons or wire.

You will probably need about 10 feet of garland per foot of tree. Any extra garland can be used to decorate around the house, and is particularly lovely used on the mantle or in wreaths. You may use up to three different types of garland, but make sure these coordinate with each other.

Ornaments

Whether you have hundreds of one-of-a-kind collectibles, or a box of shabby hand-me-downs, your tree can look fabulous if you hang your ornaments well. First, create depth and interest by hanging some ornaments on the inside branches. Use plain or inexpensive ornaments for this, using the outside branches to showcase collectibles, if you have them. If you are still building up your collection, shoot for 10 special themed ornaments per every 2 feet of tree. Hang similar ornaments in a group, taking care not to crowd them, but keep them together for maximum impact. You really can’t have too many ornaments, the key is in the spacing.

A word about metal hooks: save them for fishing! Instead, use loops of ribbon, raffia, or cord to hang ornaments. These can be a unifying factor if your ornaments don’t all match, and are much lovelier and easier to handle than metal hooks.

Skirt, Trim and Toppers

This would include tinsel, bows, or whatever else you want to throw on your tree. Trim can be used to tie together different types of ornaments, but it’s completely optional. Whatever you do, don’t spoil your tree by drowning it in trim. Use a little for enhancement. As far as the skirt goes, it should be big enough to cover the stand, but not bigger than the average branches. Add some wrapped presents and you are ready to go!

The most common toppers are stars, angels, and finials, but these days you can use almost anything to top your tree. A big bow that matches the garland would be a fine example of a tree topper. Your tree topper is a significant piece, so choose wisely!

About the Author:

About the Author:
Emma Snow is a creator at for Ornament Shop http://www.ornament-shop.net and Craft Kits http://www.craft-kits.net leading portals for crafts and ornaments.

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Tree Skirt

How do I keep my cat from drinking the Christmas tree water?

I always keep fresh water available to my cats, and one of them always drinks from her bowl. But my other cat seems to have this fascination with drinking the water from the xmass tree stand. I have read that this can be bad for cats. In previous years I have tried putting a tree skirt around the base of the tree and over the part where the water is, and piling packages up to make it hard to get to the base of the tree, but nothing seems to keep him away. Is there something I can add to the water to make it taste bad but that won't make the tree die faster? Any other tips?

Don't taint the water, just cover it. Use aluminum foil or even colored Saran Wrap - that's what I use. During the holidays they come in lovely festive colors. As a bonus, it will prevent evaporation, too.

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If you are in the advertise for a wonderful evergreen to be added to your landscape, Christmas is an ideal time to create shopping. While most Christmas shoppers obtain a Christmas ranking that has already been chopped at the underside, there are numerous nurseries that counsel live Christmas grass with the roots still intact.

This means you can charge a space in your landscape with the Christmas hierarchy that you enjoyed all flavor long. This is also a great way to recycle your Christmas hierarchy instead of merely throwing away one of natures precious means.

The most important reason in verdict a Christmas hierarchy to replant is to find a ranking that will transplant well after the holidays. Of course, the triumph of replanting a Christmas hierarchy justly mendacity in the hands of the playgroup where you collect the evergreen ranking, as it is crucial that they take extremist heed of the roots by immediately insertion them in burlap once the Christmas hierarchy is detached from the ground.

A good playgroup will also meaning you in the command of a healthful Christmas ranking and will point out which evergreens do best in replant situations. Most nurseries will suggest a pout, natty or fir, all resilient varieties of the evergreen.

Keep in thoughts that when you are purchasing a replant Christmas hierarchy, it will be more exclusive than a ranking that you will grip just for the feast flavor. While trees can detriment somewhere from $30-$100 to purchase already chopped, a ranking with roots intact may rate between $50-$200.

Although you might want to recover money, it actually is better to exhaust a little specially money and get a healthful, strapping hierarchy with long brushwood and a large cause sphere so that you will have transplant success.

Another important section of counsel about the replanting of your Christmas hierarchy is to give the hierarchy a 3-4 day transitional stage between the outside and inside. This goes for both bringing the Christmas hierarchy home as well as habitual it to the outdoors. Otherwise your hierarchy may bear from shock because of the dire difference in temperature.

It is important whether the hierarchy is indoors or outdoors to keep it enclosed with more than the burlap sack for dampness and protection. You may want to try straw, a blanket, saw dust, or even old towels or newspaper. Of course while the ranking is inside the home, the roots and the layer can be concealed by a striking decorative ranking skirt.

Whether the tree is inside or out, it will must to be watered evenly to stop it from drying up or closing. This will most likely mean insertion the rummage sphere inside a large tub or bucket so that the roots can suck up the required nutrients. Again, this might be a tricky mission while the tree is inside the home.

Horticulturists recommend that in order for your Christmas tree replanting to go well, do not authority the tree in the home for any longer than two weeks. If possible, try to regulate the time the tree is inside to a week or vaguely longer. Once your minor transition interval of 3-4 days is over, it time to lodge the tree in the ground.

While your climate zone does not experience freezing early in the iciness time, you should have no problem planting the tree right after the Christmas holiday. If you think your climate zone may experience early freezing, then you may want to pre-dig the flaw for your core globe, although this may mean guessing the magnitude of the root ball.

Once you have replaced the soil, it is vital to water the tree and mulch it to keep in the sincerity of your newly transplanted Christmas tree.

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