Do you have your lights and decorations up outside yet? If you plan on decorating your house and/or yard, now's the time to do it, before bad weather sets in. Setting up an outdoor Christmas tree may be something you want to consider when deciding how you want the finished product to look. It's probably unique to your neighbourhood, not many people have them, and they look really cool on a porch or patio. Heck, you could even set one up in your carport, if you want to.
If you go this route, it gives you an opportunity to be completely creative. Give your tree a theme and set up the surrounding area to match, if possible. Canadian House & Home has a nice example of that here. They show a picture of a decorated tree on a porch laid out with a Muskoka cottage feel.
Preparing your tree is the same outdoors as indoors, with a couple of exceptions - make sure that your lights are for outdoor use and your ornaments can take snow, rain, wind, etc. Find a level spot, set up your real or artificial tree and start decorating. The kids would probably love to help you, too. It might even be a nice way to show off ornaments that they can make out of weather-proof materials. Come to think of it, I'll see if I can't come up with some ideas for that.
A note about going the artificial route for your outdoor Christmas tree: some may hold up against the weather and weight of snow better than others. If your tree is not in a protective area, you may be taking a chance.
Whether you use the real thing or a faux tree, have fun with it. Think how nice it will look in gently falling snow at Christmastime.
Have Something to Share with Christmas Canada Readers?
Have an interesting Canadian Christmas story to share or an organization that could use a little exposure to help their cause at Christmas time? Maybe you'd like a shot at guest posting. Just send an email to iamannea@yahoo.ca to have your submission considered. All serious inquiries will receive a response.
