Popular trends for Christmas trees
Cash stuffing – a new trend which goes back to traditional methods of using physical money to budget
WHEN it comes to creating a pictureperfect Christmas tree, there are several factors to consider, such as fresh trees, size, durability and coloured decorations.
We look at some of the most popular trends and ways of incorporating them into your home in the lead up to Christmas.
Black tree
There is no special or dark meaning behind a black Christmas tree, but it is becoming ever more popular, with research suggesting that apart from the common colours of green or white, black is the most prevalent colour to choose from.
Contrary to popular belief of it being just a colour for mourning, some people are dreaming of a black Christmas this year due to its versatility of being able to showcase all kinds of different light-coloured ornaments, garlands and decorations. Just imagine the pure luxe and sophistication that it will bring to your home.
Renting a real tree
With an estimated eight million being sold in the UK each year, a greener Christmas is guaranteed when you rent a tree, the ecofriendly trend that is doing wonders each celebratory season.
Thankfully, several clever Christmas tree farms are offering a contemporary service where you can rent a fir for the festivities and then replant it to prevent a tremendous waste of resources when most if bought, will just be dumped into a landfill a few weeks later, along with the substantial impact of pollution, harmful greenhouse gases, damage done from cutting them down and transportation.
Bottle brush Christmas trees
Expect to see vintage Christmas decorations widely available this year, and nothing says retro quite like a bottle brush Christmas tree.
Becoming more and more common, they come in every size and colour imaginable. Some with tiny baubles, some without.
Mounted on slices of wood, or perhaps on the tops of canisters ready to position on your
Christmas cake if you opt for a smaller one, there is bound to be a bottle brush tree perfect for your display.
They are simply a great way of providing that lust of life with snow affects and pre lit decorations.
Blue and gold colour tree
Deep rich blues paired with luxurious warm gold looks set to be another one of the big trends for enhancing your tree this Christmas.
If you are fancying a change and are a little bored of classic and traditional, this timeless elegant colour palette aligns perfectly with increased popular celestial designs, accessories and presents.
If you have a real or an artificial tree, be sure to embrace the maximalist trend with a ‘more is more approach’, as there is no need to hold back as it’s time to paint the town blue and gold.
Alternative Christmas trees
Space-saving and pet-friendly trees have grown in popularity in recent years, along with increasing awareness of the environmental cost of seasonal Christmas trees which is bringing more creative ideas to the fore.
From foraged bare branches adorned with baubles to yearround home plants covered in tiny fairylights, anything and everything flora-related has the potential to replace or add to the Christmas décor in your home this year.
Finally, just because the tree isn’t real, it doesn’t mean the home still can’t smell like Christmas.
Try diffusing silver fir essential oils throughout the season to recreate that classic pine tree scent.
SWIPING a card at the till can be very convenient, but when we are not dealing with physical cash, it can sometimes be harder to keep track of exactly how much we’re spending, writes Vicky Shaw.
Cards may be the norm these days, but recently, it’s been suggested that some people are turning back to banknotes and coins to help them balance their budgets.
The Post Office, which handled a record £3.45 billion in cash in August, suggested people may be increasingly turning to cash to manage their budget on a weekly or even daily basis.
One trend which has been popular on social media is ‘cash stuffing’ – which goes back to traditional methods of using physical money to budget.
People using this method label envelopes with different budget categories, such as money for bills, socialising, birthdays or new clothes, and these can be kept separate in a folder or wallet.
If you are handling physical cash, it may make you more aware of how much you are spending, and how much you need to keep back to get you through to next pay-day.
At the end of each week or month, you’ll be able to see in each envelope exactly how much you’ve spent, which could help with setting budgets in the future.
It could also help you not to go over budget in a particular spending category for nonessentials, if there’s nothing left in the envelope, so you’re not dipping into money needed for essential bills.
However, there are potential downsides and risks to handling piles of cash too.
If the money is being kept in envelopes, it’s not earning interest as it could be if kept in a bank account, where it may have at least a chance of partly offsetting the current high rate of inflation. Many providers have ramped up savings rates recently.
There is also the danger of money being lost or stolen, and if you are keeping significant sums of money at home, this may not necessarily be covered by your insurance, so you may need to check your individual policy.
For insurance giant Aviva, for example, the cash sum under standard home contents cover is £750 for cash in the home (this also includes travel tickets and gift vouchers).
For cash to be covered outside the home, people would usually need a personal belongings add-on to their home insurance policy, and there may be a limit for cash outside the home.
There may be other ways you can use cash to build up savings, however.
For example, there is the penny savings challenge, where people save 1p on the first day of the month, 2p on the second day, 3p on the third day, and so on, which could be done in cash or within your banking app.
If cash isn’t for you, it could pay to make the most of savings and budgeting tools in banking apps.
You could try ‘round ups’, to deposit small amounts of change into your savings account each time you spend, or have several savings accounts for specific savings goals, such as holidays.