Christmas tree collars are the new skirts and they're selling out this season
Alison Buck, trimming the Christmas tree and finishing it off with a silver Christmas tree collar at Bellport Inn. Credit: Howard Simmons
A lot of well-dressed Christmas trees are going for a new look this year. They’re shedding their traditional skirts for a hot trend: a collar.
These dressings fasten with hooks around the bottom of the tree to hide what can be an unsightly stand, and there are a large variety of colors and patterns to choose from. They’re available in red, green, silver, white, gold, copper, plaid and more, and the materials they come in range from mesh and polyester to metal and faux fur. Some even light up.
And stores on Long Island, large and small, are selling out of these collars, with just a sampling of chain stores offering them including Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Crate & Barrel, West Elm, Bed Bath & Beyond, JCPenney, Target, Michaels, Big Lots, Jo-Ann Stores and Hobby Lobby. Prices range from under $10 to over $100.
Alison Buck adds a silver collar to the Christmas tree at Bellport Inn. Credit: Howard Simmons
"A hundred percent it’s a trend this year," says Derrek Turchin, manager of Christmas Tree Shops and That!, which has Long Island locations in Deer Park and Riverhead. "We’re selling tons of them — we have a lot of different types and they’re flying off the shelves." He says the designs the store offers include Santa belts. "You can take a tree you’ve had for 15 or 20 years and give it a new look and feel."
Melissa Donley, a designer for Laura’s Christmas Store in East Northport, says the shop had sold out of the collars the first few days into December.
"They're very popular," Donley says. "We had a red metal and a wicker-looking one … people are doing these instead of the skirts." She adds, "It’s less traditional and formal looking - the collars give the tree a rustic, casual or simple look."
Jennifer DeVito of Bellport has two Christmas trees in her home and she bought collars for each this year. The tree in the living room has a white burlap collar and the one in her den is red plaid. She originally thought of them as a solution to a problem but she now really likes the look.
Left: Jennifer DeVito, of Bellport, dressed one Christmas tree in her home with a red plaid collar and another with a white burlap collar. Credit: Jennifer DeVito. Right: A light-up Christmas tree collar made of white wire mesh fabric sells for $34.99 at the Bay Gardens nursery and garden center in East Moriches. Credit: Bay Gardens
"I bought them because the cat kept messing up the tree skirt, but the collar makes them look pretty," DeVito says.
Alison Buck, owner of the Temperance Hall Inn in Bellport, chose a silver hammered metal collar for a white tree she put up there this year.
"The collar gives the entire tree an elevated look," Buck says.
Les Gould, owner of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Orman wholesale supply company which provides seasonal merchandise to independent stores and garden centers, says that by Dec. 2 he only had four left when called by one of his clients wanting some of the collars. That client was Howie Frank, owner of the Everything Christmas pop-up stores on Long Island.
Left: This red plaid Christmas tree collar that's an exclusive from Lowe's costs under $20 ($18.74) and was used on one of the two trees in Jennifer DeVito's Bellport home. Credit: Lowe's Right: Michaels Natural Seagrass collar, $35.99. Credit: Michaels
Everything Christmas has locations in New Hyde Park, Lake Grove, Freeport, Plainview and West Babylon.
The Bay Gardens nursery and garden center in East Moriches is another local store that sells the collars. One of the owners, Debbie Cannarelli, says they’re for people who want something new and different for their tree.
"They are very different from anything else I’ve sold and I will definitely be looking into getting new styles for next year," Frank says.
