just watching nigella does anyone really have candles on their christmas tree.

[twinsetiscrapatflouncing]

I feel risque enough having lots on my mantle piece with my garland.

My friend does and it looks lovely - she's German and it's done a lot over there apparantly

I am sure it looks lovely but just seems so dangerous.

It looks great, but i am paranoid about house fires, i would end up stood next to the tree with a fire extinguisher for the entire festive period!

With one child always trying to rob the chocolates and two cats and a dog who are over curious it could never happen here.

AND the heat would melt the chocolates... thats never a good thing!

My Danish friend says they lite real candles on their trees on Xmas eve.

I have visions of a burnt out tree in the corner of the lounge- cartoon style!

Yup - real candles here. And, yes, ours is a Germanic tradition (from my great grandparents)

I am a big supporter of the great british fireman

yes I suppose so Isaw

You position the chocolate around the candles, obviously
Ditto any flamable tinsel etc

My Danish friend has real candles on her tree, and they have it in the middle of the room so they can dance around it and sing christmas songs

They dance round it, what if one of them trips and falls into the tree!

And on 6th Jan you have to burn all the candles down, until you're sitting in darkness. According to The Law.

How big is the room?!

You see - and I am aware that this marks me as an uptight and socially-anxious English prig - I would rather eat the Christmas tree than dance around it singing songs.

Unless you mean alone, with wine and my collection of power ballads?

We always had real candles at home (I am German) and nothing ever happened.

Saying that, have electric lights now because I would worry.

how about getting some of those safe tealights to use instead?

I had candles in the Eighties when I was very upwardly mobile vis a vis interior design.

It was.. tense.

warning: from past experience, trying out the real candle thing after one too many is NOT a good idea.

what are safe tealights expat?

like this (you can find them cheaper in some poundshops.

Do they look crap expat?

I was thinking for my classroom really as I use tealights a lot when doing stillings and touchy feely things but know that I shouldn;t really.

We used to have real candles but the are a bit of a faff, tbh. You have to keep an eye on them and they burn down pretty fast so you are replacing them all the time. Haven't done it since we had the DC.

Germans don't do tinsel. It is considered very tacky

LOL at solo dancing with power ballads.

Nigella had roundy holder things which seemed safe enough, as safe as naked flame near dried out pine needles can be. Anyway I bet she secretly has a pop-up pre-lit plastic one and drinks a cup of tea when she gets in off the bus, not a lychini.

Aha, MmeLindt, I've had it utterly ingrained into me that tinsel on trees is tacky (fine elsewhere in house)

I always assumed it was yet more of my mum's eccentricity, rather than genuine cultural issues , but stand corrected