9 Christmas Tree Hacks That Will Make the Holidays Less Stressful

Use these tips to make your holiday festivities easier

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Buying a Christmas tree at a garden store
Betsie Van der Meer/Getty Images

Christmas Tree Basics

You found it. After standing up and spinning around dozens of trees, you finally found the perfect Christmas tree. Now that you’ve got it home and unloaded it from the roof of the car, there are a few important things to do that will help get it in the house and make it easier to care for throughout the month.

First, measure the height of the tree before you bring it into the house. That helps ensure that it fits until the ceiling with enough room for Christmas decorations. If it’s too tall, you can shorten the trunk outside or in the garage where you don’t have to worry about a pile of sawdust all over the rug. Even if you don’t need to shorten it, it’s a good idea to cut an inch or so off the bottom of the trunk, or have that done where you buy it. Fresh wood will absorb more water, helping keep the tree fresher longer.

Next, test fit your Christmas tree with the stand. You may need a bigger stand if the tree trunk is too big. Or, you can whittle it down to fit with these whittling tips. Now’s the time to trim the lower branches too. That way there’s plenty of room between the floor and the lower reaches of the tree. Remember to use a lopper to trim branches.

Leave the net on it until you’ve got in the stand and set up in the house.

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Family Handyman

Tighten Bolts the Easy Way

Tightening the bolts on most stands is a pain, literally, and it takes forever. To save time and your hands, get a little help from your electric drill. Start by using a hacksaw to cut off the little ‘L’ at the end of the tree stand bolts. Chuck the ends of the bolts into your drill and tighten them. You’ll have your tree locked down in minutes. Get to know when you should take down a Christmas tree.

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Family Handyman

Secure the Tree

If you’re concerned about your Christmas tree standing firmly on your carpet, put the stand on a piece of 1/4-in. hardboard. You can get 4 x 8-ft. sheets, or smaller, at any home center. If you really want to lock it down, use 1/4-in. pan head machine screws to mount the tree stand to the wood. If you have wood or tile floors, just put some duct tape over the screwheads so they don’t scratch the floor.

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Christmas tree watering

Knee-Saving Watering Technique

You have to water your Christmas tree, so it doesn’t dry out and leave brown needles all over the floor and to keep the tree from becoming a fire hazard. But squeezing under a tree with a watering can is a little difficult, so to make watering it easier, hang a funnel with a plastic tube attached to the end of it from a tree branch. Then, run the tube along the trunk and into the water reservoir. Have someone keep an eye on the water reservoir to prevent overfilling.

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No-Spill Christmas Tree

Water leaking from the reservoir at the bottom of the tree stand can cause serious damage to your floors. One easy way to prevent that is by using a plastic snow saucer, the kind with the flat area in the center, underneath the tree stand. If you have wood floors, use a carpet remnant or an extra bath mat to put under the saucer to prevent scratches.

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Buy a Tree Bag When You Get Your Tree

Slip a tree disposal bag over the base of the tree before putting it in the stand. Don’t forge to tear a slit for the trunk so the tree can get water. The bag is hidden under the tree skirt until you’re ready to haul the tree out the door—without leaving a trail of needles through the house. Just remove the ornaments from the tree, pull the bag up and you’re on your way.

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All About Christmas Tree Safety

Fire Safety

Keep your Christmas tree fire-safe by keeping it watered. Buy it fresh, pull light plugs overnight, and keep it well away from candles and fireplaces.

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Hook for Tall Trees
Family Handyman

Hook for Tall Trees

Putting up and taking down holiday lights in a tall outdoor tree can be tricky. The easiest hack we've found is to use a paint roller extension pole with a hook on the end. You can use a wire coat hanger or other heavy-gauge wire. Just embed it in the pole threads, bend the wire up into a hook and secure it with duct tape to keep the hook from sliding around the pole.
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Soft Artificial Tree Binding
Family Handyman

Soft Artificial Tree Binding

When dismantling our artificial Christmas tree, we always used the ribbons it was originally packed with to tie up the boughs of each section. Last year, the ribbons finally wore out and we couldn't find a strong enough replacement. Instead, we came up with a terrific substitute—self-adhesive 'bandage' wrap. The wrap is strong and reusable, it won't damage the tree and it's not very expensive.

Ryan Van Bibber
Ryan Van Bibber, the executive editor for Family Handyman, is a career journalist with more than two decades of experience in the industry. He's been DIY'ing since he was a kid, learning from his father who was a carpenter and general contractor. Ryan has a natural curiousity to learn how things work and how to make them work better. That spirit has guided his career his own DIY journey as a homeowner. He specializes in the areas of painting, sustainability, and basic home maintenance. Through his career, Ryan covered the NFL for more than a decade, edited award-winning features, worked as a senior editor at Outside magazine as well as writing and editing buying guides and product reviews for national publications.