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- Before Christmas decorations
So you put up your tall, thin, pencil Christmas tree, and it looks nothing like the image in your head. That’s a simple fix. Placement is everything! Pencil Christmas trees are for small areas. That doesn’t mean you can’t use them in a large room, but they should be tucked in a corner. They don’t have the volume to stand alone in a large room. Therefore, placing a pencil tree in front of a large window, or midway a long wall, dwarfs the poor thing, and veils it’s beauty.
Visit Cracker Barrel, or a couple of hotel lobbys, and notice how they place their pencil trees. At Cracker Barrel, notice the placement only. They use their trees to sell ornaments, and are nothing more than hooks on which to hang as many ornaments as the tree can possibly hold. However, they use merchandise, and structure posts, to create corners for their trees.
First things first. Assemble the tree and plug it in. Make sure all the lights are working. Plug in the pre-lit garland also, to assure all the lights are working as well.
I used lush, heavy weight, pre-lit garland on my nine feet Christmas tree in the foyer, but that’s not the look I wanted to achieve with the pencil trees. They’re positioned in opposite corners of the den, which is just off the kitchen. I chose a light-weight garland with red and green apples, pinecones, and plaid bows. A big tree needs heavy garland, and a light tree (Pencil) needs light weight garland. Resist the temptation to over load the tree with ornamentation.
If you are doing two trees in the same room, as I’ve done, divide the garland, and wrap the same number of strands around each tree. When it’s finished, the trees look identical.
Not sure about the lighted gift boxes. They provide volume for the base of the tree, but I’m not sure I like them. However, when undecided, I live with my decision a few days before changing it. So after a few days, I decided to keep them. They aren”t nearly as bright as the photos portray them to be.
The garland on the fireplace is light weight too. The white crystal light garland (pre-lit of course) is entwined with a fall garland with leaves, fruit, and pinecones that compliment the trees without overpowering them.
Electronic equipment … Grrr … The tree at the end of the sofa is where all the ugly electronic equipment is, and can’t be moved. We placed the equipment on a black fringed footstool with elephant print upholstery, and tucked it underneath the tree as much as possible. We are pretending to think it looks good. Use your imagination here. (The reindeer didn’t make it
)
Lighting the candles in the fireplace creates a cozy feeling on those cold evenings. Perhaps Santa will hook up the gas logs this year. If so, goodbye candles!
Never … I say, never … buy a tree that isn’t pre-lit. The lights are professionally done, and why try to mimick that. Pencil Christmas trees are beautiful with nothing on them if you so please. However, I’m hooked on the Aggi method of decorating trees with garland, because it’s so easy. The smaller the tree, the easier it is.
Decorate according to your personality. However, if I see an idea at a friend’s house that I like, I have no problem stealing it, and using it myself. Imagine that!
This is totally not me, but I like it.
