Being a bit of an old Scrooge, I decided last year that spending double the price on a non-drop Christmas tree simply wasn’t worth it.  How wrong I was.  My non-drops of previous years may have lost the odd needle or two, but it was nothing compared to the mountain of needles that swamped my carpet every time someone even breathed near the tree.  Unfortunately, come Boxing Day my beautifully decorated tree was little more than a rather sad shadow of the glorious spruce it had once been.

To make sure your Christmas tree stays looking great until twelfth night, we’ve put together the following hints and tips on how to keep your Christmas tree looking great.

• When buying your tree, it’s worth considering whether you want a rooted or a cut tree.  If you want to plant your tree in the garden after Christmas, you will need to buy a rooted tree.  However it is worth bearing in mind that many of the important feeding roots can be lost when the tree is dug so there’s no guarantee that it will survive and the cost for a rooted tree is substantially more than for a cut tree.
• Once you get the tree home, if it is a cut tree saw off an inch from the base of the tree.  This will expose new wood and ensure the tree can take up water.  It’s a good idea to stand the tree outside in a bucket of water for a couple of hours before you bring it in to decorate to give it a really good drink.
• Give the tree a good shake before bringing it inside to get rid of any loose needles.
• Invest in a proper Christmas tree stand that has a pot in which to stand the trunk and can hold water.  A Christmas tree needs watering like any other house plant and will shed needles almost immediately without it.
• Avoid putting the tree near to heat sources such as a radiator.
• Water and feed the tree daily with a sugar/water solution (500g of sugar to 10 litres of water).  The sugar will help the tree to retain its needles.