Garden writer Sally Cunningham offers some helpful tips on selecting and caring for a Christmas tree in her column today. Now what about decorating it? Anyone who has admired a professionally decorated tree knows there are tricks to be learned. We asked experts to share a few.
Whether your tree is fresh or faux, think deep, said one.
“It’s best to get your lights in and out (on the branches), not just on the surface so that you have some depth to your lighting,” said Mike Monnat, one of the floral designers at Woyshner’s Flower Shop and Christmas Shoppe on Ridge Road, Lackawanna.
“The same thing with ornaments. You want to get some in deep, and then you want to get some on the surface. So when you look into the tree, it’s exciting – not just one dimensional,” he said.
Another tip: If you’re working with an artificial tree, it’s important to prep it for decorating.
“The biggest thing is that people don’t fluff the branches open,” Monnat said.
Elaine Schmitt, of Dave’s Christmas Wonderland on Union Road in Cheektowaga and Transit Road in Amherst, agreed, and elaborated on what they tell customers about today’s pre-lit artificial trees: “When you put your artificial tree together, you need to spend time shaping it properly. Put the base in the stand, plug it in and shape your branches. If you pull out a light, you’ll know where you pulled it out. You carefully add one section at a time and shape your branches. If you shape the base of the tree well, no matter what you hang on it will look really good, ” she said.
Next step: “You’re going to run a separate tree cord – if it’s a pre-lit tree you can’t plug into that line anyway – and add your topper, your angel, anything lighted or animated and plug into that so you don’t overload the main line. Then you put your garlands on – either tinsel or beaded – and your ribbons. The last things to go on are your precious collectible pieces – your ornaments – and your tree will be done. But you need to take your time,” she said.
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