Real Outdoor Christmas trees
For many years now, families have liked to decorate the outside of their homes over the festive season, in addition to the inside. You can take a walk down any street and see moving Santas and snowmen waving from several houses, colourful blinking rope lights wrapped around drainpipes and guttering and icicle lights hanging from the roof. All this enforces the yuletide spirit, but the outdoor decorations would not be complete without the outdoor Christmas tree.
Real Outdoor Christmas Tree
An outdoor Christmas tree, in addition to looking beautiful, allows families to share the spirit of Christmas with friends and relatives, neighbours, and even passers-by. If you have a large enough conifer in your front or back garden, then you can simply decorate this with Christmas ornaments and outdoor lights. If not, then you will have to buy a fresh or artificial outdoor Christmas tree.
The fresh outdoor Christmas tree comes in a range of sizes to suit, and, like the indoor tree, these need to be taken care of if they are to thrive. Keep the tree in an appropriate stand in water and check the water levels every day to ensure that the tree has enough – a real Christmas tree should thrive better outdoors than indoors, as heat dries a tree out. Obviously, if it rains, then the tree will not need to be watered as often as if it doesn’t rain. The key is to check water levels at least once a day.
Christmas tree farms and other retailers also sell fresh commercial Christmas trees in larger sizes, from 15 up to 50 feet. These premium standard trees are specially grown and have a perfectly uniform shape, making them ideal for use in market squares, shopping centres, municipal buildings, etc. Many come pre-lit, saving the buyer a lot of hard work!
Artificial outdoor Christmas trees are also available, and these come in all types, sizes and designs. Simply dress and add the lights, and….hey presto! If you find the prospect of decorating two Chrismas trees daunting, why not buy a pre-lit and/or pre-decorated one for the outside? With these, you simply plug in and the work is done! Convenient outdoor fibre optic Christmas trees are available, and the bright spectrum of colours these emit looks stunning against the backdrop of the dark night sky.
Edward Johnson, an assistant of the American inventor Thomas Edison, developed the idea of having outdoor Christmas tree lights that ran on electricity in 1882. The idea soon became reality, and by the early twentieth century, outdoor illuminated Christmas trees became popular in America and Canada, before reaching Europe. Today, there are almost as many outdoor Christmas trees as there are indoors.
If you decide to decorate your outdoor tree yourself, it is imperative that you use Christmas lights and any electrical extensions specifically intended for outdoor use. Follow manufacturer’s instructions closely; keep connections away from water and inspect used lights each year to check that there are no worn wires. If there are, repair or replace the lights immediately.
Most importantly, do not fear; all UK outdoor Christmas tree ranges are designed with the dismal British weather in mind!
