Let’s talk holiday decor! Specifically, what are you decorating your Christmas Tree base or bottom with? Are you Team Christmas Tree Collar or Christmas Tree Skirt? What is a Tree Collar, you ask? Also called a Christmas Tree Ring, a tree collar is like a basket that’s open on the top and bottom – thus like a collar or a ring! It acts like a pot or holder for your Christmas tree. It is used as a decorative element to hide the tree base – so no ugly wire base is shown – including the light cords! Now who’s to know whether your tree is real or faux? Let me show you…
Here’s our Christmas tree without anything covering the wire/metal base.
I remember when I was a kid, that was how our Christmas tree base looked like. I guess we just covered it up with gifts. But once the gifts have been opened or given to family and friends, it comes back to that sad looking base. Thank goodness for the decorating gurus discovering ways to spruce it up!
Christmas Tree Skirt
First, the Christmas Tree skirts! They are a great way to cover the base and also another way to add more decor to your tree. Choose a material, print or color that ties in with your decoration to make your theme more prominent. In this case, I had gingham stockings, ribbons and reindeer! So I went with a gingham tree skirt as well.
For years, I’ve been doing tree skirts or sometimes faux snow or even a throw (sharing how the throw looks like in my latest IG Reels video). BUT – I’ve been wanting to DIY a tree box for years ever since I saw the Tiffany & Co. Christmas Tree displays outside their stores. I was even thinking of decorating them with bows! Last year, after remembering them the last minute, I even wanted to create them from cardboard boxes. Guess what? This girl didn’t have the time! I also thought about putting my smaller Christmas tree (in our Pittsburgh home) in one of my baskets. BUT ALAS, they didn’t fit and I didn’t want to spend on buying a bigger basket.
You see, while I like the tree skirt, it still shows the light cords (as seen in the pic below). And somehow, when the gifts are gone, it kinda feels bare and empty down there with the metal or “faux tree trunk” showing.
Christmas Tree Collar or Tree Rings
That’s where the “Tree Collar” or “Tree Rings” come in! When they started to become popular and more accessible, I was super happy to make the switch! This is how a tree ring or tree collar looks like. I got one from the Heart & Hand Magnolia Collection at Target!
Favorite Christmas Tree Collar Options
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I specifically chose this for our lake house because, in case you haven’t noticed, a lot of our furniture and decor there are made of “natural” elements. I chose a lot of woven elements, seagrass, wood, rattan, wicker, etc. This beautiful tree collar fit the bill!
The only problem is…
I thought this collar was the 29-inch one. It wasn’t! Because I was looking through a lot, didn’t realize what I ended up getting was the 26-inch size! AND SO, if you noticed, it didn’t quite fit my base!!! UGH! Yes there are options that open up on the side or are expandable. But this style that I fell in love with is just a fixed, closed one! So just remember make sure to measure your tree base and double check the tree collar or ring size before you buy anything!
It doesn’t bother me that much though. And I even tested out the collar over a skirt too…
It kinda hides the fact that the tree collar is a little smaller than the base. Haha.
Too much? Is it fine? Well, there were gifts here the other day and it completely covered everything! And so I totally forgot about it.
But I just realized, I’m probably going to ship all of our gifts this year. Because of the current pandemic, if gatherings are still going to be limited, and family and friends aren’t able to come visit and celebrate, then I’ll be shipping gifts well in advance. That means there really won’t be any gifts under the tree except for mine, the husband’s, and the dogs! So instead of an empty and naked Christmas tree bottom, I would very much like to see that beautiful Christmas tree collar on its own! I’m planning to use this tree collar in our Pittsburgh tree instead. And I ordered a similar one for this tree in our lake house.
How about you?
Are you Team Skirt or Team Collar? Or maybe both or nada? I know some of you might have a tight holiday budget this year because of the pandemic and its effects. So if you are still wanting to spruce up that tree but don’t wanna spend, go check my latest IG reels video to see how you can use any type of blanket or throw you have to decorate that tree base. I know we could all use some holiday cheer during this time. Praying for you and the whole world. Please stay safe! We’ll get through this together!
Other Favorite Tree Collars
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