I have received so many emails from bloggers that are loving the questions and answers in this series. A few have questions regarding price, which I don't feel comfortable talking about on the blog. Every home is different. Let's just say this is a luxury service and not a necessity. But if you really want to know you can email me annah99@aol.com. It is not that it is a big secret, I just don't want my customers to have their business out in the blog world.
Ok,for more questions....and still feel free to leave more if there is something you need to know. Once I actually start working on trees I will post pictures that will actually show you what I am talking about. Maybe I can get a friend to help me and we can do a little video...I so understand that many of you have said that it is just too early for you to think about Christmas. I get that, but in my business, if I don't do this now, I will not be able to. As of this week, my tree schedule is almost full. Getting everyone scheduled is one of the hardest parts of my job.
Several bloggers have ask about garland for the banisters and the mantle. INVEST in good garland. There is nothing that makes a bigger difference. Skimpy garland is one of my pet peeves. If you already have "thin" garland and need to use it, then double or triple it. Full garland makes everything look better. Personally, I like fresh garland, but since we start decorating so early,that is not always possible. So we use a good fake garland (preferably pre lit) then we add more lights to it. If the customer wants some of the "real stuff", we go back and add it closer to Christmas or on the day they are having a party. It is easy to cut up and stick in and then if it becomes a fire hazard, just pull it out.
I am going to make a confession here.. I am normally so tired after the holidays that I do not take my stuff down until the end of Jan or Feb.....So our trees stay up from October until late January. Another confession, and this one will probably scare you, but unless we are going out of town, I rarely turn the lights off my inside trees. There is nothing more peaceful to me than all the trees on,(white non blinking lights of course)a fire in the fireplace,(and in our case sometimes the AC on at the same time) Christmas CD's playing,(that's another post), great candles burning and rocking one of my grandsons to sleep. That's it...I have never typed that before, but that's the ultimate peaceful night for me. And because my little ones live really close, that happens several nights a week. Thank you God!
I put a small tree right by Jack's crib, so if he wakes during the night,he sees his tree and hears his Christmas lullaby CD.
Another admission (which Amanda laughs about often),I have a CD player by the crib and I make sure that it plays all night...right now my favorite is Celine Dions Miracle lullaby CD. OK,I got off track....but a great tip if you have little ones.
Back to the garland...the best way to attach it is to use the garland itself and twist stems underneath it to keep it in place. I will try to do an entire post on banisters and mantles. I have a mirror behind my mantle, so the last few years I have used mega garland....then wedged "cheap" candlesticks of all different sizes and heights all through the garland and topped them with heavy large glass ornaments instead of candles. I use pre lit garland, then add fresh garland and add lots of pearl lights. Once I get them out, I will show you a picture, in case you are not familiar with them. I use the green and red balls that are heavy... the leaded glass look..At this point I realize things that I use all the time,I may not be very good at conveying to you.
Another tip...never throw out an old tree. Use it outside with lights and you have an instant outside decoration.
At my house and at many of the houses I work on, we use 3 and 4 ft trees, usually with a theme, throughout the house. It just adds so much to a bathroom, bedroom,kids rooms...to have a special little tree. I will give you some theme ideas in a separate post.
Another tip....if you find a great ornament at Walmart, Big Lots, etc, that is a great price and a great look, buy them all. Do not try to figure out how many you need to even the tree out (don't make the tree uniform) buy them all. They will not be there when you go back.
I cannot tell you how many trees I do in VERY expensive homes, that are full of 1.99 ornaments.
As soon as Walmart and Target put theirs out, I will show you some good buys in pictures. I was in Hobby Lobby today and if their ornaments are on half price next week, which they do at least once a month, I have my eye on about 10 different ones and I will buy everyone they have of each of those.
I feel like I am rambling tonight and that might be because I have been fooling with Christmas stuff all day....but I promised you one CHEAP, GREAT TIP to make your tree full. I wish I had one close by so I could show you..but I will in the next post...
Buy boxes of the cheap glass balls...in whatever colors you like....red, green, gold, silver all work well.....In several sizes.....let's just say buy enough to give you at least 100 balls. Stay with me...this is a good investment...Take the ends off them.....THROW them away,(where you would normally put a hook)!! When you start working on your tree, start at the center and work out...NOT the outside of the limbs where you will put your good ornaments but on every available branch, stick those ornaments in as far as you can on the limb... a few will break in your hand....a few thousand have broken in mine, but the light will bounce off these glass ornaments and make your tree look three times as FULL. I promise. I am not sure I explained that great, but will make a picture and show you. You can get these kind of ornaments in boxes at the dollar store.
One other thing, I have received multiple emails about colored lights. By all means use them if you like them. I just don't!. At a few houses that I do, we use them on smaller trees...
AND just so you can have a laugh tonight, this is my welcome home every night during tree season. After working more hours than I can count, aching in every part of my body, when I drive into my neighborhood at night, the first house I see is one covered in every color light you can imagine, very poorly hung, with the emphasis on blue lights(hate them) blinking like crazy. You get the picture. (Please don't write me if you use blue lights, just keep using them...Walmart needs to sell them.) I always just laugh and think what a sense of humor God must have.
That's it for tonight.....surprises coming this next week. Leaving you with a few pictures of my day and something else you MUST have.
This is a must have. I go through at least 200 rolls during the tree season.
I have been organizing ribbon, getting ready for the season.
This is the little guy that I rock the most right now. I wish there were words BIG enough to tell you how much I love him.
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