With Thanksgiving barely past, we find ourselves breaking out the Christmas decorations.  And what stands front and center, but our Christmas trees!  Whether large or small, fresh cut or artificial, almost every home boasts a festive tree!

     Most of us have been decorating Christmas trees since we could get a fistful of tinsel, but there are a few tips that can be very helpful when you tackle your tree this year:

1. Lights always go on first.  And don't skimp on lights.  Figure a string of 100 lights for every foot of tree.  For a 6' tree, 600 lights, and so on.

2. Put your most prized ornaments, like the one your child brought home from school, at eye level, so it won't be missed.

3. Next, separate your ornaments into size groups, and evenly space all of your largest ornaments first.

4. Then, fill in with smaller items until all of your branches are nicely filled, but not crowded.

5. Place antique or extremely fragile ornaments up high and out of the reach of small children and pets.

6. Speaking of pets, keep tinsel away from cats and dogs, they will eat it!

7. If you use garlands, let them gracefully drape, don't squeeze your tree!

Enjoy your tree, decorate it as a family and make some Christmas memories!