Should your turn your Xmas tree UPSIDE DOWN
Don’t scoff, it’s a (crackers) trend!
From the roast turkey dinner to the stockings by the fire, the mince pies and egg-nog, and the obligatory cries of ‘did you keep the receipt, dear?’, Christmas can get a little samey.
Nowhere is this more true than in the decorating of the perennial Christmas tree.
Whether you favour lights- only, single- colour decorations, or a not-insel policy, chances are your foliage doesn’t look much different from the millions of others springing up in homes across Britain this weekend.
But if you want to turn yuletide tradition on its head, you could start by flipping your tree upside down.
Improbable as it may sound, topsyturvy trees are all the rage for 2017.
The curious practice dates back to 12th- century Central and Eastern Europe, when the inverted triangular shape was believed to signify the Holy Trinity.
Devout people argue that the tip of the tree ought to point towards heaven, but the fashion has gradually taken hold and last year made its way to the UK, when London’s Tate Britain gallery copied the style for its seasonal centrepiece. NOW shopping centres and department stores have leaped nimbly on the bandwagon as a way of creating a new look from an old custom — and freeing up more floor space for their shoppers.
Last week, Claridge’s Hotel in London became the latest devotee when it unveiled a giant spruce suspended upside down in its foyer and decorated by Chanel fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, no less, with a glitzy array of baubles, lights and snowy, white-painted roots. ‘At Claridge’s we love and respect our history and tradition, but we also believe in looking forward to the future and staying relevant to today,’ says spokesperson Paula Fitzherbert.
‘This year’s inverted Christmas tree is Lagerfeld’s playful fashionable take on this festive ritual.’
While there is no denying the topheavy topiary is an eye-catching new twist, can you really do it at home, and — more to the point — why would you even want to? Here, the mail’s Christmas fairy
ALICE SMELLIE grabs a string of twinkly lights and suspends her disbelief . . . along with her tree.