The Proper Way to String Popcorn for Your Christmas Tree

There are many fabulous Christmas traditions that are seen less and less as the years go by. Some scenes, like wrapping gifts and drinking hot chocolate, may never quite disappear, but other traditions have fallen by the way side. It doesn't have to be that way, though. Some Christmas traditions were once popular because they brought the family together on Christmas - an important holiday for most people. Get together this year and resurrect one of the old traditions: stringing popcorn.

Everyone has seen the images of a family, sitting down to string popcorn for the Christmas tree, while children and adults alike pop some of the corn in their mouths, and enjoy it while stringing the corn for the tree as well. Well, as lovely as these images are, they're not helping you to learn the proper way to string popcorn. To have the string turn out perfectly, and prevent the popcorn from breaking apart, pop the corn at least 24 hours in advance. On the night of the popcorn stringing, though, feel free to pop some more for the family. Allowing the popcorn to sit out makes it stale and much easier to string.

Never add salt, butter or any other substance to the popcorn which will be used for stringing. It's okay to cover the popcorn while it stales, but there's no need to wrap it up tightly. The popcorn needs some air for it to become stale. When the popcorn is ready simply thread an ordinary needle and thread.

The needle you choose is all important. Too large a needle and you'll likely crumble the popcorn as you try to pass the needle through. Too small a needle and you may have trouble passing it completely through the popcorn. A size 14 needle is ideal for most popcorn stringing crafts. Use a single strand of thread, rather than doubling it, to start the stringing process.

The thread you choose is just as important as the needle. Thick thread, obviously, will not pass through the popcorn as easily as thin thread, but really thin thread will break easier. Choose a nice dressmakers thread that's somewhere between, and make sure it's a new spool. Old thread that's been lying around awhile can be dry rotted and break many times while stringing the corn.