Thinking of Christmas, Christmas tree decorations instantly comes to your mind. This is only natural, as a Christmas tree, Yule tree or holiday tree is one of the major traditions associated with the Christmas. A tree is an evergreen coniferous tree. This tree is brought to the house on Christmas and decorated with lights and colorful ornaments. Image of an angel or a star, often kept at the top of the tree, adds to the splendor of tree decorations.
Christmas Tree Ornaments:
A Christmas tree is generally decorated with tinsel and different types of garland or ribbon. Painted colored glass forms an important component of Christmas ornaments used to decorate the tree. Lighting of the tree is commonly done using candles or electric lights LED creating the charm of fairy lights. A tree topper gives the decoration a complete look. The tinsels simulate the icicles. Another common form of decoration is the baubles. These are hollow glass or plastic sphere coated with a thin metallic layer. The metallic layer makes the baubles reflective.Though glass is still the most popular style of ornament used to decorate the tree, plastic ornaments have gained a lot of popularity in the recent times. Its popularity is attributed to the facts that it is more durable and can resemble almost anything. Plastic ornaments include the cartoon character ornaments, moving or animated ornaments and those that light up.
Other popular ornament choices include wood and pewter. Wooden ornaments appear fine with trees with a country theme. Pewter ornaments give the tree a sophisticated look. The shades of the pewter ornaments can be matched with the color of the garland to give the tree an elegant look. Though primarily used on the Christmas tree, Christmas ornaments are gradually being used in a wider manner.
For example, a wreath of these ornaments can decorate the front door on a festive occasion. They can also form an attractive centerpiece when kept in a bowl. They can be used in combination with the garland for decoration.
Individual Christmas Tree Decoration:
Individual decoration of the tree is done based on personal taste and family traditions. Some people even decorate outdoor trees with food stuff. Popcorn, oranges, cranberries are used as decoration items to give a treat to the birds and the wildlife.
Creative ideas can give a personal touch to Christmas tree decoration. For example, Doves can be hung from the ceiling and placed on the tree to create the great effect that the doves are decorating the tree. A Christmas tree can be prepared out of sugar plum candy to make them both look and taste marvelous! trees can also be placed throughout the house, instead of keeping it in one place only, to spread the joy of Christmas all over the house.
Professional Christmas Tree Decoration:
Mats and Skirts for the Christmas Tree:
A mat or skirt was at times placed on the floor below the tree to catch the dripping candle wax and needles that may fall. This was more common until electric bulbs came into use. However, even after electric bulbs came about, tree mats and skirts continued to be used as a decorative feature. It has now become highly ornate and often has embroidery on it. The major purpose it serves now is hiding the tree stand, which though not pleasant to the sight, is yet an indispensable safety feature.
Flocking the Christmas Tree:
The tree is often sprayed with fluffy white flocking to simulate the snow. It is generally spread all over the tree from the sides either through a home flocking kit or by a professional sprayer. The flocks contain flame retardants. So, they can be safely used in public places in accordance with the local fire codes.
Christmas Trees:
Fir is the species most commonly used for decoration. They have good foliage color and scent. Moreover, they generally do not shed their needles when they dry out.The trees generally used in northern Europe include:
- Silver Fir
- Noble Fir
- Nordmann Fir
- Serbian Spruce
- Norway Spruce
- Stone Pine
- Scots Pine
- Swiss Pine
- Fraser Fir
- Balsam Fir
- Guatemalan Fir
- Grand Fir
- Red Fir
- Noble Fir
- Scots Pine
- Jeffrey Pine
- Norfolk Island Pine
- Stone Pine
Artificial Trees Used for Christmas Decoration:
The rising popularity of artificial trees can be attributed to their features of being convenient, tidy and cheaper than the real ones. These trees come in a number of colors and varieties. Some are also pre-decorated with lights. After the Christmas these trees can be disassembled and stored conveniently. Some other benefits of using these trees are they can protect from a fire danger that is more likely with a real tree and also help in reducing the cutting down of real trees.
Designer Trees Used for Christmas Decoration
Metallic trees were the first artificial trees which were not green. Made of aluminium attached to metal rods, these trees were supported on wooden or aluminium central poles. Some of these trees were made with inflammable aluminium-coated paper, which created a fire hazard. At present tinsel trees are used extensively. These are prepared with flame retardant materials. Some artificial trees are also made from glass, cardboard and plastic. These are generally used as tabletop decorations.Outdoor trees made of heavy white-enameled steel wires have become popular in the US in recent times. Another variety that has become popular is the spiral type that hangs from a central pole.
Some indoor trees are lit partly or fully by fibre optics. This includes a light in the base and a rotating color wheel causing various colors to shimmer across the tree.
