Home hints

Georgina Bitcon has a Christmas idea for everything, from sprucing up a pine to keeping wrapping in order, plus a prize-winning tip.

QMy artificial Christmas tree is starting to look sparse but I can’t afford a new one. Do you have any ideas for sprucing it up?

H. Crawley, NSW.

Buy some faux pine garland or pine-coloured tinsel and wrap it around the trunk and branches for extra fullness. You’ll be amazed at how much better it looks, especially with decorations.

Wrap and roll

A hanging garment bag is a great place to store rolls of giftwrap – it keeps the tubes neat, can be hung in a cupboard and the pockets will hold tags and tape.

Bubbles on ice

If you’ve forgotten to put the champagne in the fridge, wrap the bottle tightly in a tea towel wrung out in salty water, then pop it into the freezer – it should be ready to pour in 20 minutes.

A better baster

For a moist turkey, saturate a large piece of muslin or cheesecloth in melted butter and wine or stock and double-drape it over the breast and top of the legs before roasting. Remove about 30–45 minutes before cooking is finished. SHARE YOUR DOMESTIC SECRETS Send your handy hints or questions to: Home Hints, The Australian Women’s Weekly, GPO Box 4178, Sydney, NSW 2001, or email openline@ bauer-media.com.au. We pay $75 for the reader’s prize hint each month. While every effort is made to ensure the efficacy of each hint, we cannot take responsibility for individual results.

To hang a wreath or Christmas cards on a door without drawing pins, attach a tape-back hook upsidedown on the inside of the door, then attach a ribbon and take it over the top of the door to the outside.