Trimming The Tree, Stress-Free

Fri., Dec. 8, 2000

By Kandis Carper kandisc@spokesman.com

Want to ensure this year’s Christmas tree set-up experience is more efficient? Here are some practical tips from the current issue of The Family Handyman:

Don’t cut off the netting prematurely. When you bring your tree home, carry it into the house and set it up in the stand before removing the netting. It will slip right through the doors, hallways and stairways without making a mess. You’ll find it easier to get at the tree-stand screws and easier to tell if the tree is standing straight.

Buy a tree bag when you get your tree. Slip a tree disposal bag over the base of the tree before putting it in the stand. (Tear a slit for the trunk so the tree can get water.) The bag hides under the tree skirt until you’re ready to haul the tree out the door (without leaving a trail of needles through the house). Just remove the ornaments and lights from the tree, pull the bag up like a sock and you’re on your way.

Lighting tips: Test your lights before you go to the effort of stringing them on the tree. When the season is over, coil them into a 5-gallon pail to keep them tangle-free for next year.

Knee-saving watering technique: To make tree-watering easier, hang a funnel from a tree branch with a loop of clothes hanger. Then slip a plastic tube over the end of the funnel and run the tube along the trunk and into the water reservoir.

Outdoor lighting 101

Whether you are the neighborhood Clark Griswold or you just want to hang a few lights over the shrubs in your front yard, Better Homes and Gardens offers the following tips:

If you use floodlights to show off outdoor evergreens, use white, blue or green lamps. Red, yellow, amber and pink lamps will make the trees look a muddy brown.

Don’t try to hang strings of lights from the eaves with cup hooks — in a strong wind, the wires may swing loose. Instead, use plastic gutter clips that hook onto the gutter and hold the wire tightly in place. Gutter clips are available where Christmas lights are sold.

Be sure you have outdoor electrical sockets to plug into when you use outdoor lights. And don’t worry about hiding the electrical cords — just keep them organized neatly, and no one will notice them.

Christmas tree facts

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, there are approximately 35 million real Christmas trees sold in North America every year. The top Christmas tree producing states are Oregon, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Washington and Wisconsin. The top selling Christmas trees are: balsam fir, Douglas fir, Fraser fir, noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine and white pine.

Tree stylist to the stars

Looking for unique tree decorating ideas? Visit Dr. Christmas at GoCollect.com. Celebrating the holiday in the spirit of the season, GoCollect.com will offer some very special celebrity-signed ornaments, with the proceeds going to charity. This Web site also offers a variety of holiday collectibles, with everything from Boyd’s Bears to Swarovski Crystal.

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