How to prepare your Christmas tree like a professional 2022

With less than a month to go, the festive Christmas period is in full flow. There is no question that the act of selecting a living Christmas tree is one of the most predominant holiday traditions, and here are our must-know tips for taking care of a live Christmas tree so that it will look merry and bright from the moment you bring it home until your ornaments are tucked away until next year.

What does a Christmas tree symbolize?

Decorating your home for the Christmas season isn't a simple task - and throughout this blog, we are going to explain why.

There are two ways to find the perfect Christmas tree. Either by wrapping up warmly and making the trek to source that perfect Christmas tree yourself,or ordering one online. You might be wondering if there is any significance to a Christmas tree and where this tradition originated.

History of the Christmas Tree.

It is possible that the tradition of the Christmas tree predates the celebration of Christmas itself. Throughout history, different cultures have practiced tree decorating ceremonies and the evergreen tree has long been recognized as a symbol of fertility and eternal life. In analogy with the life cycle of a deciduous tree, which drops its leaves in the fall and winter, the life cycle of a human is mirrored in its leaves. Historically, people associated evergreen trees with vitality and magic because they retain its needles all year long.

How to decorate your Christmas tree:

How to select the perfect Christmas tree?

Check the trunk of the fresh Christmas tree. The trunk should have a slight stickiness to it.

Bend a needle in half with your fingers; fresh firs should snap, while fresh pines should bend but not break.

Tap the tree trunk on the floor and see how many needles fall off; if a few fall off, it should be just fine. If a lot of needles fall off, keep searching for a different tree.

If you are buying an artificial tree, you just need to make sure it's beautiful and fits the area you are wanting to place it in.

Fluffing and shaping the branches

Separate the main branches to make sure they're not interconnected. Once the separation process is complete and the tree is taking a bit of shape, begin fluffing the tree from the bottom and work your way up. This is a matter of personal preference, as you can start fro m top to bottom. Start by prying the branches apart, separating the smaller branch tips from the larger branches. This is done by pulling two branch tips outwards to the side and one branch upwards, then two branches’ outwards and one branch downwards.



Light it up

Before you start, plug in the lights to check if all the bulbs are working. Leave them on while you work so you can see how they look on the tree, and so you can easily address dark spots. Horizontal is the most traditional way to install your Christmas tree lights-travelling around and around the tree to wind in the lights. To give your Christmas tree a professional look, string them randomly to give your lights a more organic, natural feel. As you work, place some lights deeper into the branches and others closer to the front to create depth.

Add baubles

Why baubles?

Baubles are added to trees to reflect the flickering of candle flames from the advent candles.

Choose a colour scheme, these will be your core baubles. Typically, these are the baubles that come in large sets, helping you easily create the base of the colour scheme for your Christmas tree. They are often plain baubles in polished, matte or even glitter finishes. Once the base color baubles are set in place, it is now your chance to layer your other festive colours throughout your tree. Make sure to layer these colors evenly throughout the branches so you don’t have too many of the same shade in one area.

Ornaments

Each Christmas ornament tells a story and allows the family to celebrate milestones, and reflect on vacations, pastimes, hobbies, and interests. Traditional ornament collections are passed down from generation to generation.

The next time you walk into a friend’s house, ask about the story behind their ornaments.

In this year’s Christmas Blessings Subscription Box, we have partnered with George Shatra, an Israeli artisan who can provide you with an interesting story to tell behind the ornaments he creates. Shatra is a descendant of an olive woodcarver who creates meaningful olive wood masterpieces, derived from the historical olive tree that is over 400 years old. Through George's carpentry skills he is able to create stunning intricate carvings that portray meaningful stories from the Bible and the Holy Land. Shatra's masterful carpentry skills are the perfect conversation starter and ornament to have on your Christmas tree this year.

Our Christmas Blessings Subscription Box is packed with eight stunning gifts this Christmas season. They have been handpicked to provide the WOW factor. Each of the items within the Artza box is unique and locally sourced, bringing the stories, scriptures, and history of the Holy Land to you this Christmas season.