TABLETOP TREES

TABLETOP TREES
Some tips
Rich Hoffman, co-owner of Christopher Filley Antiques in Kansas City, offers the following guidelines for displaying a tabletop tree:
Use a tabletop tree to display your best ornaments. Vintage or antique ornaments get lost in big trees.
Place a tabletop tree in a predominant spot where you will see it constantly, for example, on a demilune table in an entranceway.
Treat the tree as an accessory. During the 1910s and '20s, people used decorative fences around the base of Christmas trees. Inside the fence they would display celluloid animals or small toys. The fences were made of carved wood and stood 3 to 4 inches high. Most are painted green or white.
Artificial trees are an environmentally friendly choice for small trees. "Most people aren't inclined to chop a small tree down to enjoy it for just a couple of weeks," Hoffman says.
Some new artificial trees are so attractive they don't even need ornaments to create drama. For example, trees frosted with "ice" (a sprayed-on clear polymer that beads up), can hold their own with just a few pine cones.