Santa Gives Advice About Christmas Trees 1According the Institute of Merriment Studies, the first week of December is traditionally the busiest week for selecting and decorating Christmas trees. Our tradition during this week is to accept the advice of a resident elf at the North Pole who has studied Christmasology and can give tips for enjoying your tree more.

Upon request, the jolly old elf himself, Santa Claus, has asked for the assignment this year. Here are Santa’s thoughts on taking care of your tree:

1. Give your tree a name. In fact, if you look at the tree long enough and give it plenty of water and love and attention, you will receive the inspiration to know what the actual name of the tree is. Avoid names such as Woody or Twiggy. Trees love festive names.

2. Trees love music and laughter. Be sure to sing around your tree as much as you can.

3. Use homemade or personal decorations. This makes the tree feel more of a part of the family.

4. Artificial trees are Christmas trees, too. Give them every bit as much love and attention as you would any other kind of tree. Not everyone can get a real tree, and that’s ok. Some parts of the world just can’t get real Christmas trees.

5. Trees love to be smelled.

6. Trees love and need water. Keep them away from sources of heat or flame.

Santa also mentions that he talks to the trees in each home he visits on Christmas Eve.

I talked to Santa for a while about Christmas trees. I asked him why they are so important. “A tree is a wonderful symbol for life,” Santa said. “Trees have roots, that dig deep into the ground. That suggests a loyalty to home and tradition, a reaching back in time to where the nurtrients of growth are stored. Trees also grow tall and point upward, suggesting that we should always be positive, aware of where blessings come from. Trees are strong, yet flexible. They provide shade in the summer and shelter from wind in the winter. They stay in their place, steadfast and immoveable. Oh, there are many things we can learn from trees. A tree wrapped in lights and decorations has symbolism too for the season. Every kid should spend time in front of their tree and really think about this.”

“It doesn’t matter if the tree is real or fake.” Santa said. “It doesn’t even have to be green. It can be red, pink, blue, silver, or any other color. It doesn’t even have to be an evergreen tree. There are places around the world that you can’t even get an artificial evergreen tree. What matters is that it’s decorated for Christmas.“

Wow. I’m going home now to talk to my tree. After listening to Santa, I’ve decided there are a lot of things we need to talk about.

— Elf Ernest