Joy to the Tree: Meet the Winners of our Photo Contest

Tree Classics Joy to the Tree Photo Contest

Celebrate once more the joy of decorating your Christmas tree and take inspiration from the winners of our Tree Classics Joy to the Tree Photo Contest.

Before you put away your Christmas décor and store your beloved tree back into the box this spring, take one more look back at the holiday’s most memorable trees from the winners of our Tree Classics Joy to the Tree Photo Contest.

On our Facebook page, Tree Classics proudly shared with everyone the Christmas tree masterpieces that showcased family tradition as well as cherished memories of the past season. The winners of the contest captured on camera the delight that only a Tree Classics Christmas tree can bring.

Love for Tree Classics

“The tree surpassed my expectations,” says Christine Young, this year’s top winner. The photo of her 12-foot fir garnered 39 votes from Facebook fans.

Christine was amazed at how her holiday centerpiece turned out. “I absolutely love our new tree this year.” The stunner was “the fullest, [most] beautiful, most lifelike tree” she had ever seen.

But Christine wasn’t the only one expressing love for her evergreen. Mindy Johnston, whose entry garnered 20 votes, shared her passion for decorating this classic work of art.

Mindy dedicated her Michigan Pine masterpiece to “Marine” who was home for Christmas for the first time in three years. A classic example of how a Tree Classics Christmas tree brings the family together.

A Different Kind of Ornament

Tree Classics Christmas trees have sturdy branches that can easily hold your Christmas tree decorations firmly in place. Diane Auger, whose entry bagged 13 votes, says her Scarlet Fir was “just the right size.”

Diane needed an evergreen that could house about 340 of her ornaments. Each detail added to the uniqueness of her Christmas tree, thus every ornament had to be tucked safely between the branches in order to bring out the vibrancy of the evergreen. Diane’s Tree Classics stunner delivered on its promise.

While traditional holiday trimmings may add character to a tree, a different kind of ornament took center stage in Lori Magelky’s entry.

“Just lights, no ornaments,” Lori says of Our Christmas tree, whose photo garnered eight votes. “We learned last year, after our cat climbed the tree, that we shouldn’t put ornaments,” Lori adds.

What makes this winning entry extra special?

The only ornament it did have: “The cat who likes to sleep in the branches.”

Each winner will receive a Sedona Fir Christmas Wreath. Tree Classics thanks everyone who participated in the Joy to the Tree Photo Contest.

Holiday Fun Facts for Kids

© Grant Cochrane / 123RF.COM

© Grant Cochrane / 123RF.COM

 

Do the corners of your rooms look bare without your artificial Christmas trees? Are you missing the aroma of freshly baked cookies and bayberry candles? If you miss the fun holiday spirit and just can’t wait for Christmas to roll around again, take advantage of all the fun holidays that roll around the rest of the year.

Whether you want to keep the kids entertained with timely tidbits or just brighten up your little corner in the office, these fun facts about our most popular holidays will put you in the mood to decorate and maybe even bake a batch of homemade cookies!

Valentine’s Day

Heart-shaped sugar cookies with white icing and pink sprinkles are edibles hugs—delicious!

Be careful if you eat an apple on Valentine’s Day. There’s an old myth that says if you eat an apple on Valentine’s Day, you will have as many children as the number of seeds you find inside. The average is about three, but some varieties have up to 12 seeds.

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Tree Classics’ Favorite Spring Holidays!

Celebrate Spring Holidays with these Festive Ideas

Tree Classics obviously loves Christmas! But we’re not holiday snobs. We appreciate celebration in any form.

When the snow melts and Santa puts his sleigh up for the season, we enjoy the traditions and festivities associated with our favorite spring holidays.

So put away those red and green decorations, and pack your artificial Christmas tree into the storage. It’s time to celebrate the coming of spring!

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Health Benefits of Having Pets

We feed them, clean them, play with them, and even talk to them. We love our pets and, in many ways, they love us back. Pets provide us companionship, comfort, and amusement. What we don’t realize is how beneficial these adorable animals can be to our physical and mental well-being. This May, celebrate National Pet Month by learning about the positive effects of caring for a furry friend.

graur razvan ionut
by graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1. Reduce Stress

After a difficult day, a pet can be just the thing to lift up your spirits. Research shows that people performing stressful tasks were more relaxed when accompanied by their pets. Spending time with a pet dog or cat induces physical changes in our bodies that enhance our mood. Cortisol levels are lowered and serotonin, a hormone associated with happiness, is increased.

2. Prevent Allergies

Studies reveal that children who grow up in a home with furry pets, such as cats and dogs, develop fewer allergies than those who don’t. Even kids who grow up on farms with large, domestic animals have less risk of allergies and asthma. This suggests that exposure to dirt and allergens at an early age strengthens a child’s immune system. This immunity boosting effect, however, only develops in children and does not affect adults with existing allergies.

Tina Phillips
by Tina Phillips / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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National Library Week: The Benefits of Reading

The public library is an amazing repository of knowledge that is free to anyone. Unfortunately, it seems that with the pervasiveness of digital media and the World Wide Web, poring over hardbound and paperback reads is fast becoming a vanishing practice. To celebrate National Library Week starting this April 14, we offer some great reasons to pick up the reading habit.

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1. Boost Brainpower

Like any muscle, the brain benefits from a good workout.  Reading is an active mental process that is intellectually more demanding than watching TV or listening to the radio. By keeping your brain active, reading helps make you smarter and keep your concentration sharp as you grow older.

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Terrific Tree Tuesday: National Lampoon’s Christmas Tree

If you thought you had the quirkiest seasonal decorations or the biggest decorating dilemmas, the Griswold family might just prove you wrong. One look at the Griswold family Christmas Tree, in the third installment of National Lampoon’s vacation series, makes our little Christmas tree quirks and seasonal issues seem like a walk in the park in comparison. Continue reading

Terrific Tree Tuesday: National Christmas Tree in Washington D.C.

Image published by Photoblog.NBCNews.com

Image published by Photoblog.NBCNews.com

This might be the most patriotic and historic of all the iconic trees we’ll cover. The National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C. has a long and bright history–from the Christmas Eve in 1923 when Calvin Coolidge first lit a 28-foot balsam tree on the White House lawn. Continue reading