Christmas Tree Stands Should Be Safe as Well as Functional

Christmas Tree Stands - Think safety

Are you one of those Canadians who prefers to still have a real Christmas tree? Perhaps you're a true die-hard, trudging through waist-deep snow in the wilds or at a tree farm to find the 'perfect' tree and chop it down with your own, bare hands.

Anybody besides me thinking about Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation?

There's no question, the smell of a real tree is wonderful but there are different things to consider when setting it up that don't pertain to artificial trees. Like Christmas tree stands. Sure, they're necessary for holding up the tree but they should be safe as well as functional.

When trying to chose from the available selection of Christmas tree stands, there are a few things to watch for, from a safety stand point:

• Think about a big bottom. For the stand, I mean. The wider the bottom, the more stable it will be. This is particularly important if you have a cat or two that likes to climb the tree.

• How easy is it to see the water level and refill? We all know that when a tree gets too dry, bad things happen, like the needles fall off, getting hopelessly stuck in the shag carpeting and your beautiful Christmas tree becomes a fire hazard. By the way, your stand should have a 4 litre capacity.

• If you have my mother's old Christmas tree stand then it will have metal legs. Mom's had 3 and was quite tippy, it's a wonder that we didn't continuously knock it over. When thinking about using a stand with legs, make sure it is very sturdy to avoid accidents, such as an anxious child falling into it and spilling water all over the gifts beneath. It wasn't me.

• Speaking of old Christmas tree stands with 3 legs...mom's had three or four metal screws to hold the tree in place. Invariably, we would spend about an hour trying to get the thing to stand up straight, we always managed to get it crooked initially. We'd tighten the screw on the left, the tree went too far; tighten the right one, it leaned too far the other way. We'd fool around like that forever until we either got it or gave up. If your stand has screws, it's really important that they be made of metal. You need them strong enough to take the weight and pressure of holding that trunk up until you take your tree down. One broken plastic screw could cause you a big problem when your tree falls over and spills water all over the gifts. I've heard that can happen. :-)

If you are sticking with the wonderful tradition of going with the real thing this year, I wish you much luck in finding the one that's perfect you and your family. It will make the holiday extra special for all.

Just please remember: Christmas tree stands should be safe as well as functional.