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Saturday, December 4th, 2010
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Posts Tagged ‘trees’
Effortless Christmas Tree Decoration
Friday, July 30th, 2010The decoration of Christmas trees has evolved and undergone many changes, much like many of the early traditions of the Christmas season. Christmas tree lighting that started out with real candles underwent probably the biggest change when electric light became commercially available and special Christmas tree lights were manufactured. It is therefore not surprising that today you can set up Christmas trees that are expertly decorated with little or no effort.
While many people choose a fresh Christmas tree for its scent, many others simply want a beautifully decorated Christmas tree and will choose an artificial or man-made tree. Artificial trees have been available in America since the start of the 20th century. Many artificial trees are made to have a similar appearance like real Christmas trees, but changes have been made to them to make them decorative and different from regular Christmas trees.
As an example, in the 1950s some artificial Christmas trees had branches made of aluminum-coated paper to give them a shiny metallic look. For those who like to have a Christmas tree with a unique look, trees with a similar shiny, metallic appearance are available today. They are however made with a different material because the older trees were a fire hazard.
For the those people who are very busy and don’t have the time to spend carefully placing Christmas lights on trees, there are several pre-lit models of Christmas trees on the market today. A standard type of these Christmas trees look like their real counterparts except multi-colored fiber-optic lights can be found scattered throughout the limbs and branches of these trees. This arrangement saves time and effort of having to undo or untangle strings of Christmas tree lights.
Another type of pre-lit artificial Christmas tree are those that are made completely of fiber optics so that the tree appears to be shaped out of strands of light that are wispy. Some of these brightly-lit fiber-optic trees also come equipped with pre-recorded Christmas songs and carols and speakers to give the added pleasure of music.
Many pre-lit Christmas trees have electric Christmas tree lights however which need to be plugged into a real electrical outlet. The advantage of these trees is that the lights are already strung on them from the factory and you need only to follow the instructions about how to assemble the tree and plug in the different parts for it to appear lighted. Once this is done correctly, the tree will look as if it was decorated with lights manually or professionally.
Another ready-made decorative feature of artificial Christmas trees is to have the appearance of snow-covered branches. That trend is an evolution of faux snow that is often sprinkled in garlands and wreaths to add a Christmas quality to those decorations. Icicle ornaments are also used to decorate real and artificial trees and icicle lights are commonly used along rooflines and outdoor areas for additional lighting decoration. These decorations, along with the ready-made snow-covered branches of artificial trees, all convey the frosty, icy and cold feel of the winter season when Christmas occurs.
Christmas trees that arrive from the factory with lights also have decorations such as apples and minute red berries to provide additional color, and real pinecones that may or may not be frosted or sprinkled with faux snow. They may also be pre-decorated with red or gold bows, round ornaments, flower-
like patterns, dried bow and twigs and gold frosted branch tips. to give an appealing, sparkling appearance. The trees also have varying hues of green similar to real Christmas trees.
Pre-lit and pre-decorated Christmas trees are therefore an excellent way to brighten the holiday in your home and enable you to gain more time to enjoy the festivities of the season.
Selection of Christmas Trees
Thursday, July 29th, 2010Given the many types of Christmas trees available and the various ways inwhich they can be bought, it’s important to know certain qualities that aChristmas tree should have so that it will be suitable for decorating and willalso last through the season.
One of the most important qualities a Christmas tree should have isfreshness. This makes buying a tree from a Christmas Tree Farm the best optionbecause you will observe the tree being cut at the time it is purchased. If atree is bought elsewhere, such as from a retail lot, it is important to find outwhere the tree came from and when it was cut.
To determine the freshness of a tree, observe whether it looks green andhealthy, has a fragrant scent and has needles that are moist and flexible. Ifthe needles appear dry or show browning, then that is a sign the tree isn’t veryfresh. If a large amount of green needles fall when a few branches of the treeare shaken, that’s also a sign that the tree isn’t the best one to buy to lastfor the entire season.
The needles of fir trees should break crisply when theyare bent. If a fir tree needle is bent and doesn’t break readily with pressure,it might mean that the tree isn’t absorbing water and that will affect itslongevity.Another reason a Christmas tree farm can be a better option for purchasing aChristmas tree is that it will be more likely to offer more species of trees andtherefore a wider variety of shapes and sizes.
For those Christmas trees that are located on retail or other commercial lots,freshness can be determined by looking at the conditions in which the trees arekept. Observe whether the trees are kept in stands that hold water, if baledtrees are protected from the wind and sun, if a fresh cut is put on trees and ifthe trees are tied down correctly.
Another quality to consider in selecting the right Christmas tree is its size.Before buying a tree, its important to decide where it will be placed so thatthe space can be measured. You will need to do a floor to ceiling measurementand then subtract at least 10-12 inches to get the maximum height for theChristmas tree.
It is recommended that at least 10-12 inches of space should bebetween the top of the Christmas tree and the ceiling.The bottom of the Christmas tree also needs to be checked to make sure there isadequate space between the end of it and the lowest branches. A small diagonalfresh cut, such as an inch, is made in that area to enhance absorption of water,which will make the tree last longer. This cut should be made just before thetree is placed in water.
If a fresh cut is done and the tree is exposed to theair too long, the vessels can become blocked.Along with freshness and size, a tree should be selected based on the shape thatyou like, the smell of the needles and bark and on how dense and sturdy thebranches are. For the density and sturdiness of the tree, you need to have anidea how the tree will be decorated – how many heavy ornaments, Christmas lightsor bows will be used. As an example, a fir tree that has sturdy branches will bebetter for holding heavy ornaments and a pine tree is good for Christmas treesthat have light decorations such as bows and a string of Christmas lights.
The texture of the branches and how durable or long-lasting the tree willbe are also worth considering in choosing a perfect Christmas tree.