SPOTLIGHT ON... Christmas trees

If you’re a traditionalist, there is only one type of Christmas tree, a Norway spruce. But these days you can improve on the original, which is the very devil for shedding needles.

Choose instead a Nordmann spruce, which looks almost the same but manages to hang on to its foliage far better in living room conditions. It costs a bit more but think of all the sweeping up you will save.

Alternatively you can pick up a potted ornamental conifer from the garden centre. Look for blue spruces which have sparkling blue-grey foliage.

Always pick a real live tree with a decent shape. Look for a good symmetrical framework and trim off any sticking-out bits to sharpen up the overall look. But do your trimming and tidying before you start decorating it.

And don’t forget your tree needs looking after. If yours is sold growing in a pot with a full quota of working roots, water it well and stand it in a drip tray. It will need watering every few days indoors.

Sawn-off Christmas trees need fitting into a proper stand with legs and a little “vase” to hold the base of the trunk.

Saw a couple of inches off the bottom of the trunk immediately before fitting a cut tree into its stand, then fill the vase with water and keep it topped up throughout the festive period.