Flock Your Christmas Christmas Tree Yourself

Yes, you'll thank us after we tell you how to go flock yourself! Flocking means adding a mixture to the tree that makes it look like snow has just fallen on the tree. Here it is in simple steps!

Materials

• Homemade mix: The homemade flocking is typically made from a foam of either soap or shaving cream. See this page for how to make the soap shaving type. The shaving cream type is a mixture of shaving cream and glue... which is messy, so we'll skip that.
• Purchased mix: There are two types of commercial home flocking materiasl: an aerosol spray or a powder. Some of the pwders require a professional spray machine, but the one show at right from AMazon does not.It is hand applied, as we describe below. It gets very good reviews on Amazon, so if you don't want to make your oiwn flocking material, this one is the way to go. Commercial flocking is usually made from cellulous (a paper pulp), an adhesive (like cornstarch), colour (like Borax), and added water (You can see a video that shows how they flock a Christmas tree commercially here) This video shows how Pike Nurseries flocks a tree.
• Step ladder
• Drop cloth or tarp
• Latex (or nitrile or similar) gloves

Directions

1. Choose a work site - Typically best outside or in a garage (empty of any cars!). If you are working outside, you want it to be on a still day, without gusts of wind!

2. Work fromk the top down. On a ladder, start at the top of the tree to flock the top down. The flocking that falls through will help cover the branches below. You can use a scoop, spatula or paint brush to apply the flocking to the needles, but you want to drop the mixture on the needles, don't smear it on; that will flatten it out and make it look fake. You want to primarily drop the flocking in small clusters, just like a heavy, wet snow falls.

3. Check your work. Stand back every few minutes and check your work!

4. Dry completely. Once completed, the tree will take up to 24 hours to dry completely.

 

Related farm Fun and Resources

• Farmshops, farmers markets and roadside stands
• Local Honey Sources
• Pick Your Own Farms
• Pumpkin patches and related Halloween farms
• Festivals: Local fruit and vegetable festivals
• Local Meat, Milk and Eggs
• Venues: Farms, Wineries, Orchards for your event, wedding or party
• Easter egg hunts
• Environmental resources
• Consumer fraud and scam protection resources
• Horse rides, stables, lessons, trails
• Maple Syrup farms and sugarworks (in Canada and the U.S.)
• Maize mazes
• Zombie Paintball venues
• Wholesale food sources
• Resources for Farmers