A Guide to Decorating an Outdoor Christmas Tree

Just about everyone loves a vibrantly lit, well-decorated tree for the Christmas season. Most of us have one in our homes over the holidays, but what about doing something extra special for your front yard this year? An outdoor Christmas tree can create the perfect accentuation for a festive garden. One of the funnest things about it, is that it's a whole other tree you get to decorate! You can decorate it much in the same way as an indoor tree, but being outside there are a few different things you need to think of. Listed below are several tips when it comes to decorating and outdoor Christmas tree.

- First, you need to choose what tree to decorate. If you have a tree naturally growing in your yard, or even several of them, you may just want to stick to decorating these. If you do not want to have a tree in your yard, or want a tree that resembles a pine or fir, more stores are offering artificial trees to buy. Many of them even come with lights already attached, so you won't need to worry about this part of the decorating process.

- If you're providing lights for the tree yourself, make absolutely sure they are made for the outdoors. They need to be waterproof and manufactured solely for this purpose, as well as any extension cords you'll be using to plug them in. When hanging the lights, you should also hang them so the bulbs are pointing down - this will help ensure water or moisture won't get inside the sockets during rain or snowfall. Also, remember to unplug the lights before you change or replace any of the bulbs.

- Remember that all decorations you put out on the tree need to be waterproof, also, otherwise they risk getting ruined. But, inside this limitation, there are many different decorations you can come up with. A lot of stores these days sell decorations made for outdoor use, and items like waterproof garlands and ribbons.

- A nice touch for an outdoor tree are fake presents! To create them, just gather some old boxes (shoe boxes are great for this) or even buy some gift boxes from the store. Putting a smaller box on top of a larger box - or even making a stack of three of them - and then wrapping the whole thing in colored cellophane creates a great effect. Plus, the cellophane keeps the items weather resistant.

- Outdoor light-up decorations come in many different sizes in shapes - such as stars, candy canes, angels, etc. - and may look great on your tree. If you can't find any small enough, it's also a good idea to place some around the tree. Making a border of lit candy canes around a tree that has its own contrasting lights, for instance, makes a very beautiful display.

- If you can, a small outdoor lit ornament in the form of a star or angel also makes a great Christmas tree topper. If you can't find one small enough, then opt for one that doesn't light up. Many will do find in the weather, just make sure it is attached securely.

- Add some food on your tree for the birds. If you wish, you can even decorate your whole tree in a winter-bird theme. Collect bird-like ornaments such as turtle doves for decoration, and place different birdfeeders and such around the tree. You can also add slices of dried fruit - birds love this stuff, and not only will the whole thing look wonderful in your yard, but you'll also be doing a friendly service to the little creatures.

- If you live in an area that doesn't get any snow around Christmas, you can make your outdoor tree look more "wintery" by covering it and underneath it with fake snow, or just spray fake snow all over it. If you want an artificial tree as your outdoor tree, you can probably find one that already has a frozen look to it.