After you buy your Christmas tree, slice a few centimetres from the bottom and give it a good drink in a bucket of water as soon as you get it home.

While choosing the tree you might want to look at the special tree holders available.

They enable you to drill a hole up the centre of the trunk, insert a special base which then sits in a holder in the bottom of a pot.

The pot will have supporting arms that grip the trunk and maintain it in an upright position.

This allows you easy access for watering, which you should do every day to keep the tree as healthy as possible.

Before placing in the holder it's worth taking a few centimetres off the bottom and giving it a good soaking in a bucket.

When deciding where to place the tree indoor, site it away from radiators or other heat sources, and away from draughts.

Needle drop sprays are a boon, because they can help the tree retain moisture, and as a result the needles are more likely to stay on the branch.

You're never going to halt needle drop altogether, but at least it keeps it down.

The importance of watering cannot be emphasised too much, so pop a Post-it note near the dishwasher or some other household appliance that goes on regularly, and that way you can get into the habit of watering the tree whenever you use the appliance.