A 6' Doug fir with a B&B rootball is a BIG, heavy thing to move about. Is he up for that? Cuz a lot of moving is involved. First you need to acclimatize the tree - generally they suggest storing in an unheated but above freezing location (like a garage or covered porch) for 10-14 days. Make sure rootball is thoroughly watered before bringing inside (gonna increase the weight). Keep in the coolest possible location, well away from any heat vents and fireplace. Leave in the house NO LONGER than 7 days - 4-5 is preferred. If decorated, turn off lights as often as possible and if you can manage it without wrecking the ornaments, mist daily. Make sure the rootball never dries out - some growers recommend dumping a tray of ice cubes on top of the rootball daily. As they melt, they will soak into the burlap covering and keep the soil hydrated. Once the tree is ready to go back outdoors, you will need to reverse the acclimatization process before planting. The biggest mistake most folks make is attempting to enjoy their living Christmas tree indoors for too long. These plants cannot stand the heat and and low humidity for more than just a few days without drying out or breaking dormancy, both of which will compromise their future substantially. And DO NOT use any preservative or nutrient solution in your watering regime.

Have you seen the "mice" cookies made out of stemmed maraschino cherries dipped in chocolate with Hershey Kiss heads resting on half of an oreo cookie? They are soooo cute and everybody who sees them, raves about them. You take the top off of an Oreo cooke and save the white frosted part to use as the base. Dip a stemmed cherry in melted chocolate and lay on the white frosting with the stem facing backward like the tail of the mouse. Place a dab of chocolate on the base of the Hershey Kiss. Use 2 sliced almonds pressed into the chocolate as ears and press against the cherry. The base of the kiss goes against the cherry with the almonds in between as the ears. Use green frosting gel and place 2 dots on the Kiss as eyes. Place a red hot or cinnamon candy on the center of the white frosting by one side of the mouse and pipe green gel leaves on either side of the red hot. It is just a green squiggle on either side, but it gives the effect of holly. You could also use a dot of red piping gel on the tip of the Kiss as a nose, but it isn't really necessary. When done, the mouse faces sideways with the holly in front! They take some time, but aren't that expensive as the cherries usually come in a jar with a large number of cherries, and probably 3 bags of Oreos would give 100 bases. I always get people raving over them when I make them for my Christmas Open House. TTFN, Candy

Again not to scale, but close enough, showing my everyday furniture layout: The various colored elements represent a console, two secretaries, tables, chairs, etc.... the sofa and coffee table should be obvious. The first few years I put the tree in the upper right corner (moved out the rocker). It doesn't get noticed there! The last few years I've put it between the doorways so that it's viewable from the DR. It seems a little too prominent there, but to me is better than the far corner. Would you try putting the tree in front of the windows?!

Jannie, Exactly! I have kept an on-line house diary for years. Included is a file on notes from the menu for the annual Christmas Eve party that we host along with notes on what worked and what didn't. What is missing is things like you mention. I decided that 2009 would be different as I had DH and DD running all over getting last minute plates, cups, etc only to take inventory in a clearly labeled giant tub and find I had 11 packages of Christmas plates, 10 packages of canapes picks, 150 cups, napkins galore. Every year after Christmas I load up, pack them away then completely forget about it. You would think I would recognize my own patterns. Lesson Learned: Add a Christmas supply inventory to my house diary. As it stands now, I don't have to buy wrapping paper, tags, bows, or paper goods for the rest of my life.