COFFEE TABLE TREE

To write about Christmas trees this late in the game is a bit pointless, but to be fair, I drove home last night behind an SUV with their freshly cut tree tied to the roof. This is for those late-comers and under-the-wire holiday decorators like myself.

334 days of the year your coffee table is the focal point in the entertainment areas of the home, and in December why should it be any different? If you're living in a small home like we are, or if you just don't want to rearrange the whole living room for a sticky hunk of pine, try what I've coined the "table tree."

A five foot six inch pine will fit nicely atop an eighteen inch table top leaving enough room for a sparking star beneath standard eight foot ceilings. Try this clever watering tip: Attach a funnel to 18-24 inches of flexible tubing from the hardware store. Hide the funnel within the branches and guide the tubing to the reservoir. This trick saves you from digging around in the tree skirt every few days and keeps gifts from Santa dry!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!