How to care for your Christmas tree

Whether you chopped it down yourself or you bought it at a lot, the N.C. Department of Agriculture shared some tips for consumers on how to care for that real Christmas tree:

▪ If you can’t set up your tree immediately, put it in a bucket of water in a cool, shady place.

▪ Cut off a half inch from the base of the tree before placing it in a stand.

▪ Use a stand that will hold at least a gallon of water.

▪ Check the water levels often. A tree may take up to a gallon of water in the first 24 hours, and a quart per day after that.

▪ Place tree away from heat sources, such as heating vents, fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators and sunny windows.

▪ Check lights and cords for broken bulbs and frayed wiring.

▪ Turn off lights before leaving home or going to bed.

▪ Remove tree from your home promptly after Christmas and recycle it.

Holiday crafts event at Duke Gardens

From noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 19, the Sarah P. Duke Gardens will offer a holiday craft event for families to learn about cultural celebrations.

Parents and children can make peanut butter bird feeders, Chinese New Year lanterns, paper snowflakes, menorahs for Hanukkah, Diwali rangoli patterns for the Hindu festival of lights and a Lakota winter count.

The event is free and the public can drop in at any time during those four hours. Parking fees apply.

The gardens are at 420 Anderson St., Durham.

Info: gardens.duke.edu/events/

Win a Kinfolk book

Enter to win a copy of “The Kinfolk Home: Interiors for Slow Living” by Nathan Williams, on the N&O’s Lifestyles Facebook page.

This could be the perfect gift for a fan of The Kinfolk magazine.

To enter, you must go to the N&O Lifestyles Facebook page, “like” the page and leave a comment on the post before midnight Dec. 14.

We’ll choose a winner at random. Good luck.

This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 2:51 PM with the headline "How to care for your Christmas tree."