According to tradition when should you put up the Christmas decorations

A.� The tradition of yesteryear was to wait until Christmas Eve, but try telling that to the kids. Unless you really can't wait it is best to wait until at least a fortnight before the main event.

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If you put the decorations up too early they can become boring or a frayed by the time you really want them. Trees will start shedding needles, cut foliage will droop, there's more time for lights to blow and baubles to be knocked off and chances are all the chocolate decorations will be long gone.

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A.� Judging from last year, the style gurus are busy sounding the death knell for the Christmas tree. The perennial problem of needle drop, what to do with it after the festivities are over and the dubious environmental practice of growing and then digging up trees for one month's service have led many people to come up with alternatives.

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A.� Cut down the clutter and concentrate your creative energies on a number of large focal points, like over fireplaces, doors and on large tables.

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Keeping things simple is the current fashion, so come up with a colour scheme and stick to it. Silvers, blues and purple work well together for more restrained, subtle displays whereas combinations of reds, copper and gold are more cheery.

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A.� With the move towards more naturalistic decorations plants, particularly those with strong evergreen foliage and berries, are increasingly popular.

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Holly, ivy and mistletoe are old standards but merit their place, but other excellent alternatives are Skimmia japonica with its clusters of red berries or the pure white fruits of the Snowberry (Symphoricarpos). To make fresh cut foliage last as long as possible soak it in a mixture of water and gelatine.

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It is increasingly fashionable to combine the greenery with cones (which can be sprayed) or an interesting feature such as a piece of driftwood or a handful of interestingly shaped branches.

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