You have picked the perfect Real Christmas Tree (from us of course)……you found a creative way to get it home…
…And then you cant get the damn thing straight!!
Its the dilemma when we buy a live Christmas Tree. That beautiful smell and the beautiful memories it creates can sometimes be tainted by the experience setting it up.
We understand this better than everyone having set up 1000’s of trees of all shapes and sizes across Melbourne.
So i hope we can also help with a few instructions that ensure you get it straight almost every time. That way you can enjoy all the benefits without the hassle.
Pro Tip: Buy a CINCO Stand, you’ll thank me later!
I cringe when i arrive at a customer house and they pull out their old stand out of the cupboard. The plastic is weak, the water reservoir is small, and you need the perfectly cut tree to make it work (and no tree is perfect sorry). This will only end in grunts and groans, taking the fun out of buying a Real Christmas tree.
Cinco have done such an amazing job with their stands that almost every responsible tree farm in Melbourne has adopted their stands. They make setting up a breeze and they wont break the bank with the price ranging between $40-80 depending on the size you are after.
When your have you stand set up and have the bolts in the right places your ready for the main event!
Before we start, this will be hard on your own so i recommend getting a friend to help.
First step: Position the Christmas Tree stump in the middle of the stand
- Ensure you have the bolts screwed all the way out to make plenty of room to fit the trunk
- Most stands have spikes in the centre of the stand which hold the tree steady, these are your aiming point.
- With your stand flat on the ground, place the stump of your tree as close the to the middle of the stand as you can get…..this can be tricky with fatter trees, we will fix next.
- Now get someone to hold the tree while you get down and inspect how close you got!
- Important Step if you want to save pain later: If your live Christmas tree is not close to the centre, get one person to hold the stand and help centre the tree whilst you lift from the centre trunk and place the tree back down again.
- Hopefully the second time round you got it in the centre and your ready to move on! Avoid just having a crack if its not centred, because your tree may fall over.
Step two: Ensure your Real Christmas Tree is straight
- Now you have your Christmas tree in the middle, get a helper to hold the tree roughly straight
- You can now screw in the bolts from each side until they are about 1 cm away from touching the trunk
- Whilst your helper is holding the tree straight, inspect it from all visible angles to ensure it is perfectly straight and to your liking!
- Now don’t let them move!
Step three: Tighten the bolts all the way
- Its you apply even pressure to each side of the trunk to ensure the tree stays straight.
- To do so you can screw all the bolts in until the are touching the stump without applying too much pressure first.
- Then do a second round of tightening the bolts and your all done!
You should now have a perfectly straight live Christmas tree with a little extra care taken during set up and a lot less headaches!
By following these tips and instructions, you shouldn’t have to start all over again when you screw in the bolts only to find the tree crooked and not know where you went wrong!
We hope this saves some hassle this year when you buy your Real Christmas Tree. If that doesn’t sound easy enough then come purchase one of our Real Christmas Trees and we will help you install it.