Tips For Trimmimg; Balance Is the Key To a Terrific Tree

BY GARY KRINO
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Decorating a Christmas tree is not a matter of simply slapping up the pine or fir and helter-skelter covering it with all the lights and ornaments you've collected over the years. Do it this way and -- voila. A mess.

There is a science to decorating a Christmas tree. Now, we don't want to get so involved with getting it just-so that all the fun suddenly disappears. But do it right and the results will be all the much better.

According to Christmas types at Kurt S. Adler Inc., a major supplier of holiday decorative accessories and collectibles, the place to start is with the lights.
For a tree covered with all sorts of ornaments, steady-burning miniature lights (available in strings of 35, 50 and 100) are the best choice. For the best results, use 300 lights for a 4 1/2-foot tree, 400-500 lights for a 6 1/2-foot tree, and 500-600 lights for a 7 1/2-foot tree.

Warning, warning: To help avoid the most shocking of circumstances, do not attach more than six 50-light sets back-to-back into any one outlet.
With an artificial tree, start applying lights on the bottom section first. Each section should be decorated with lights independently so that the tree can be stored from year to year with the lights attached. Saves time, you know.

No matter the tree, each branch should be decorated with lights working from the center of the tree to the tip of each branch.

Garlands come next. Hang the garland level by level from the base to the top of the tree. The thing to remember is that the garland should remain balanced from level to level for the best look.

Ah. Now for the ornaments -- the really fun part.

Open all the boxes first so that you can see all the oraments you have. Then, after you've looked everything over, select two or three of your favorites that you will use as focal points of interest on your tree.

Place the focal ornaments at eye level in the very front of the tree. Then follow up with the rest of your ornaments.

For ornaments, balance is the key. To help assure a balanced look (so that you don't get too many of a single style of ornament in one place), work with one group of similar ornaments at a time, spreading them in a balanced manner across the tree.

And don't decorate just the outside of the tree. To give a sense of depth, hang ornaments from the trunk out to the tips of the branches.

A problem with artificial trees is that in some cases they don't have enough space beneath them to tuck gifts. One way to solve the problem, once you have the tree in its holder, is to stand it on a sturdy box that will elevate it several more inches off the floor, creating the gift space you're after. Do this before you decorate the tree, or you could have a true calamity on your hands. Believe it. We know.