[bc_video video_id="6284551562001" account_id="2226196965001" player_id="rkljM4WDEg"] It’s December 1^st! Have you put your Christmas tree up yet? Is it a fake one – or is your tradition a REAL Christmas tree? I love real Christmas trees but there are a few things you need to think about before purchasing a real Christmas tree. Before you run out to the tree lot think about going to a tree farm in your community to support local farmers. The other thing to think about is one very important tool you want to bring to a tree farm, a tape measure! A tape measure is really important to measure the height and width of the tree. To measure a tree you are going to go into the trunk of the tree and measure half of the tree out down to the outer branches. You can also make this tree work for your space by pruning your Christmas tree. When you are looking for your tree at the tree farm look in and make sure that your branches are healthy and green before you start cutting. When you prune cut on an angle, with the longest part of the branch on top and the shortest on the bottom so that you don't see the exposed edge when you hang ornaments on it. The good thing about real trees is that they can be composted by your municipal program and become fertilizer for future trees for your family to use down the road. A big trend for the 2021 Holidays is potted Living trees. Unfortunately, these are not as rosy as you might think! People forget that potted trees need more water, especially evergreens. To protect your floors don't be afraid to get a liner like this to protect your floor from water leaking out of the pot. Also, after the holiday people assume that the trees can be set outside until spring when they can be planted which is totally false. These trees need to be watered every 3 days because they do not have a lot of soil in the pot. The trees need to be kept indoors until spring…OR…you need to put them in a dormant state. If you put it outside in the cold after being inside it will freeze and die. To put it in a dormant state you need to have a transition period. The tree needs to be in a solid ice ball. What that means is you are going to put it outside for a little bit, cool it off, and put lots of water in there so that this whole area becomes frozen solid like an ice cube. After this then it can go outside! In the spring when the sun hits the tree it will have water access to the roots allowing it not to dry out and turn brown. It is a fairly easy process, however, you have to also pay attention to the type of tree you bought. Here are three types of trees popular for potted Christmas trees so you can figure out what type of tree is best for you. If you have a big space outdoors, the best choice tree is: Colorado Baby Blue Spruce

• Grow 40-60’ tall as adults and 30-40 wide.
•  NOT suited for a small backyard
• If you do put it outside put it in the back of the property not near the house because they grow to be massive

[caption id="attachment_247675" align="aligncenter" width="300"] A large Colorado Spruce[/caption] A tree that needs to be wrapped for the winter: Dwarf Alberta Spruce

• Will get to 6'-8' tall
• The fastest of the landscaping trees to get winter burn or desiccation
• Can't go outside after the holidays
• Transition it overtime to go outside and wrap in burlap

A tree for indoors only: Norfolk Pine

• Can grow 5' to 8' tall indoors
• Tropical tree from Australia's Norfolk Island
• Can't survive outside
• An indoor houseplant that more people are using as a Christmas tree
• The good news about Norfolk pine is they can handle cooler climates, do not need a ton of sunlight and only minimal watering.

The issue with potting Christmas trees is that they may not grow as much as you would like them to before Christmas. For this, we have to get creative and put them on a stand and put lots of presents around it to give it the illusion of being bigger. I love using wooden spindles to give my tree a lift. All of our product suggestions are independently researched and sourced by Cityline. However, if you purchase something through cityline.tv, we may earn commission. Thanks for visiting us!

This is a Sticky toffee Pudding with Lemon Caramel Sauce, nuts, toffee, and Marshmallows.

It's my Mom’s English Trifle. It's traditional and heartwarming and a great dessert. Make this for your parents and they will be thrilled.

[bc_video video_id="6284556440001" account_id="2226196965001" player_id="rkljM4WDEg"]   This Chocolate Brownie Jar is simple to create when you want to make something quick for your kids, nieces, and nephews.

[bc_video video_id="6284350719001" account_id="2226196965001" player_id="rkljM4WDEg"] The countdown to Christmas is around the corner. One of my favourite parts about the countdown to Christmas is advent calendars! I have four advent calendar DIYs that you can do with your family to make every day until Christmas extra special. The Ultimate Advent Calendar This is a Christian Dare DIY for the more advanced. I used an Ikea Kallax 5x5 unit with 25 matching doors, wrapping paper and vinyl numbers to create the ultimate holiday giveaway advent. Custom vinyl gives it a clean and simple look, but don’t forget to fill your shelves with magical surprises. I love that the large size means you can hide all sorts of goodies inside. For an advent calendar that won't take over the whole house, I have three advent creations for custom Christmas fun. Recycled cardboard house advent   You will need:

• Recycled Cardboard boxes
• hot glue gun
• a craft knife
• craft glue
• a house stencil (which you can print off the web)
• puffy paint (optional)
• faux snow
• vinyl numbers

Instructions:

1. First print out a simple house stencil, I found this one online. If you feel super talented, you could even try making your own stencil.
2. Transfer your stencil onto your recycled cardboard
3. Once you have all 5 pieces of your house ready to go (4 sides and 2 roof panels). We are going to hot glue them together.
4. Allow to dry. Now you can add trim if you like with white puffy paint.
5. Next, we are going to cover the roof in craft glue and light sprinkle on some snow.
6. Add in your numbers and you are ready to go.
7. But don’t forget to place a surprise under each house!

Envelope Advent: You will need:

• Wire hoop wreath form
• string or yarn
• wooden mini clothespins
• white square envelopes
• vinyl numbers or craft marker

Instructions:

1. First things first - fill your envelopes. I suggest picking experiences for inside these like ice skating with grandma or skipping school today and skiing instead… etc.
2. Once all your envelopes are filled, seal them up and either hand write numbers on each card or apply vinyl.
3. Now to hang them: I suggest pre-cutting 25 lengths of string or yarn and attaching them to the gold hoop wreath form and a miniature clothespin at the other end.
4. Now all you have to do is clip on the number envelopes. And don’t worry about the order, half the fun is hunting for the correct number.

Paper Tree Advent: You will need:

• Coloured paper
• Scissors
• Glue stick.
• Oh, and candy of course.

Instructions:

1. You can make all these trees out of one shade of green paper if that is all you have at home, but I would recommend you pick a variety of shades of green.
2. Draw and cut out these super simple patterns for 3D triangles…this takes me back to elementary school geometry glasses…. Quick quiz, is this an isosceles or equilateral triangle?
3. Now using your glue stick you are going to glue together the sides but leave the bottoms open.
4. Fill them up with candy and seal up the bottom.
5. Now I like mine super minimal so I didn’t even add numbers. This means you can pick any tree any day and as the forest slowly disappears, you know we are getting closer to the big day.
6. Of course, if you want to add numbers you can do that before you glue it up with either a craft marker or some ready-made number stickers.