We Sparkling Winos have been putting up our Champagne Christmas Tree for a few years now and every year, we get tonnes of feedback from friends and family who want to know (a) how we could drink so much champagne over the course of the year that we have enough to bottles to trim our tree and (b) how on earth did we conceptualize and arrange such festive and fun tree.
So, for those of you interested, here’s a step by step guide to your own Champagne Christmas Tree (…or Hannukah Bush, Holiday Tree or New Year’s Greens).
Step 1: Save Your Bottles
The most crucial step is: save your champagne bottles over the course of the year! Make sure to rinse them out while storing, otherwise they’ll be funky by Christmas. Depending on the size of your tree, you’ll need 15 bottles + 1 more for the tree topper. For that festive, finishing touch, you’ll also want to save your corks and cages, which make for a nifty hook.
Step 2: Conceptualize Your Colour Scheme + Trimmings
Now that you’ve got 16 bottles, you’ll need 16 picks to give off the effect of a glorious, popping bottle of bubbly. Picks are a type of Christmas Tree decoration that can be found in many stores, like Michael’s. They basically look like springs and are held together by a single stem.
You slide the stem into the bottle and, voila, you’ve got a bottle that appears to be popping! We like gold and silver picks, and always get a special pick for the tree topper. Don’t let the colour scheme trip you up – you can be creative! We love to keep the colours in the Champagne theme, so we rotate between a mix of gold, silver, black and bronze. Using round ornaments gives the effect of bubbles – perfect for a Champagne tree, right?
Your champagne related ornaments can help bring added dimension to your tree. Like this black and gold ball!
Step 3: Hang the Bottles on Your Tree
Now for the tricky part. You’ll need to examine your tree for the sturdiest branches. Once you find those, test each one to see if it can hold the weight of the bottle – otherwise, you’ll be in for a messy surprise into the holiday season! After you’ve found your sturdy spots (which, if you have a fake tree, tend to be near the bottom of each section), it’s time to hang the bottles.
You’ll need zip ties (green or black works nicely) and some patience. Zip tie the neck of the bottle, making sure you tie it under the lip above the neck, to one or two nearby branches (making sure to get a good bit of it through the tie), while resting its weight on a sturdy branch.
Once the bottle is secure, slide in your pick. Repeat for the rest of the bottles.
Step 4: Hang the Topper
Our topper always changes. This year, we went to the Dom Perignon bottle that we saved after @omgclassic’s 30th birthday. Topping the tree can be tricky, so use a step ladder.
The topper should rest slightly below the actual top of the tree, to give it a secure footing. Once you’ve found your spot, make sure to secure the bottle in place with two to three zip ties. Fill with one or two picks, you have to make it seem more festive than the other bottles!
Step 5: Hang Your Ornaments
The last step is to hang the rest of your ornaments: the easiest way to fill your tree with festivities, is to start from largest to smallest. Once your done with your ornaments (a glass of bubbly helps), hang your corks for that additional festive touch. The cages make convenient ornament hooks.
Step 6: Enjoy!
Now that your done decorating, enjoy your tree! The good thing is with New Years around the corner is that your #SparklingWino tree will be dressed appropriately for 2017.