Picking and Decorating Your Christmas Tree

Picking the tree

Since Neopia is so festive, you should be able to find a Christmas tree almost anywhere in the major cities, especially Terror Mountain, where they probably sell the trees in Happy Valley, the Ice Caves and obviously Terror Mountain itself. I recommend going to Terror Mountain to pick your tree.

When you get to the Mountain, head to the nearest Christmas tree store you can see. The store should be fairly easy to recognise: lots of Christmas fanatics swarming around. A wooden sign will be hammered next to the large tent where the trees are kept. Both tent and sign will be a blue colour. It's the same every year in every country in Neopia.

When you've found this special tent, push past all the Neopets trying to grab a good tree and go to the bit at the back where not so many people are. You might not know this but there is a gap in the tent where the new trees are taken into the tent secretly to avoid the Christmas freaks! Brand new trees are freshly cut from the Haunted Woods and Neopia Central (well, basically anywhere that has trees) and rushed as fast as Neopia will allow them to every tent that needs a new supply of trees. Once you get a glimpse of one of these great trees being snuck in, wander over (you don't want people to think you've seen a great tree, and they'll think that if you rush over, so always walk) and grab it as soon as the Neopet that's holding it has took his paws/claws of it and rush to the counter to pay.

You may think that is all there is to picking your tree. Nope. That's not all! You have to scan your tree for problems. Now, you guys must know that I'm no tree-doctor, but I found someone who is! Her name is Miss Janet Uni, who we will be interviewing later in this article. Unfortunately, I have to wait till 8 pm NST to interview her because she has such a busy schedule, checking trees and all. So, whilst we wait, I'll move onto the next section, which is to decorate your tree!

Decorating your tree

Now, you should have a big, sturdy pot ready for when you get your Christmas tree. If you don't have a pot, then just buy a Christmas tree holder; they're much better than pots! Next, go sit yourself down where you can see the tree: yes, it's looking a little plain, isn't it? You'd better have some decorations ready! If not, you must go buy some straight away, or your tree will stay boring! Tinsel, baubles, candy canes, home made decorations, a faerie on top of the tree... Anything that looks good and that can hang on a branch. You probably will be able to get these from the Gift Shop in the Neopian Bazaar, but they might go a bit fast!

When you've collected a range of decorations, you'll need a theme. Before I give you some themes, let me just tell you this: Always put your tree lights on first and put tinsel on last! Okay, on with the themes!

Ice theme: This theme is always very popular, since there's so many decorations for it. The colours for this theme are light blue and silver, because they symbolise ice in a very sophisticated way. You could even get some white lights, so then the finishing colours would be light blue, silver and white. To properly finish the whole effect, you could buy a fake tree that has been coloured white, or if you insist on a real tree, then you could buy one and then spray paint it white (or silver). Words to describe this theme would be: classy, cool and white.

Red and Gold: This is another theme that is very fashionable. The colours red and gold symbolises (for me, anyway) presents because of red wrapping paper and a delicate gold bow that could be wrapped round the present. To you, it could mean something entirely different. It also makes me think of warmth, like the dancing flames in the grate of the fire in a Neohome on Christmas Day. Words to describe this theme would be: warm, classic and luxurious.

Un-themed tree: Yes, for those people who can't be bothered doing a theme, I've brought together a little part of this article just for you. Some people would call an unthemed-tree unoriginal, since quite a few people use this! This tree has different coloured fairy lights and decorations on it. The lights flash different colours instead of just white, the decorations could be old, new, hand-me-down or borrowed and the tinsel could be either frayed or pristine. Maybe you won't even have any of these decorations, so you could just leave the tree plain. But no one in the right mind would do that... Words to describe this theme: boring, plain and different.

Chocolate theme: Basically, all you need for this theme is a lot of chocolate and some string. Firstly, take a trip down to the Chocolate Factory (which is located in the Neopian Bazaar, by the way) and buy whatever there is, except the Fudge because that won't hold. Also, don't buy anything Jelly for the same reasons! ;) Pfft, well. Use your common sense! You'll know what to get, trust me! When you've bought everything, put a hole in the chocolate, thread the string through and hang it up. There, you're done! It's so simple! You could also use candy canes for decoration, because the hook acts as a string. Make sure you put the decoration on to a strong branch so it doesn't slip off! Words to describe this theme: unusual, tasty and original.

Interview with Janet the Uni

I'm now trudging up the snowy ground to the small house near the Igloo Garage Sale, which is crowed, as usual. I push past the restockers and find that I'm faced with a green door with a snowflake shaped knocker that shines through the dull winter gloom. I grab it with numb hands and rap on the door. I hear the sound of hooves getting nearer, and then the door opens and there stands a Christmas Uni, who welcomes me in and sits me down. Then, we begin the interview.

Me: Hi there, Janet! Thanks for letting me interview you!

Janet: No problem. So, what's the first question?

Me: Okay, so what do you look for in a good Christmas tree?

Janet: Well, make sure the branches on the tree aren't bent, and see if the needles come off easily. You wouldn't want loads of pine needles on your floor, now would you?

Me: No way! Next question, any Christmas Tree Care tips?

Janet: You know I mentioned needles earlier? You should make sure they are bendy and flexible! Make sure your tree stand (or pot) is clean, and keep the tree away from your Neohome's fire!

Me: One last question, sorry this interview is a bit short... What should you do when the tree dries out?

Janet: It's no problem that it's short, and if the tree dries out, just take it outside! With the decorations removed, of course.

So, there you have it! All you need to know about picking and decorating your tree! Comments about this article? Just send a neomail!