Like a lot of people right now, I have a live (but cut) Christmas tree in my living room right now. It’s decorated and covered with lights and I have a nice little tree skirt and the whole things looks green and great for the moment, though I know that if I don’t water it for a day or two then I’ll quickly have a pile of brown needles around the base and the tree will start looking a little less green and little more like something from a Charlie Brown special.

I created a simple Christmas tree watering system with this simple pipe. I use a funnel to pour the water down the pipe.

I have the new common Christmas tree stand with the pegs around the side that screw in and lock the tree into place. These plastic stands are pretty good and they’re a lot more sturdy than the metal Christmas tree stands of twenty years ago, but they’re still a real pain in the neck to pour water into. My tree branches are usually right at the lip of the stand, leaving absolutely no room for me to fit or tip a little cup of water into the reservoir without spilling it.

A well-watered Christmas tree is more green, loses less needles and is actually a lot more fire-resistant than a dry tree that hasn’t been watered in a while. Now, don’t get me wrong: there are plenty of clever Christmas Tree watering systems out there than usually rely on using a reservoir of water and little piece of tubing that’s put into the tree stand. They usually are made up to look like little Christmas presents. They’re cute and they seem to work, though they can be rather expensive and I am always afraid of the tubing falling out of the stand. They’re basic siphon systems and you can actually make a simple Christmas tree siphon system out of old milk jugs. But I also have a toddler in the house, and I know a plastic present or bucket filled with water sitting on the floor, no matter how hidden away, would be too great a temptation for him.

So for the past two Christmases I’ve used a completely home-made Christmas tree watering system which isn’t really a “system” at all. Here’s what you’ll need:

• A 3 or 4 foot length of 1/2 to 2″ round PVC pipe
• A funnel (optional)
• Green paint (really optional)

You can probably see where I’m going with this. All I do is take my piece of PVC pipe and run it down inside the live Christmas tree, down between all the branches, until it rests firmly in the tree stand water reservoir right beside the trunk of the tree. So I end up with one end of the pipe in the tree stand and the other end of the pipe about 3 or 4 feet up the tree, slightly angled outward so the end is easy to get to. I usually angle my pipe so it comes out somewhere along the side of the tree where the end is still easy to get to.

Here’s the end of the pipe in my tree. It’s hidden from normal view.

I don’t even bother to secure the PVC in any way. Gravity keeps it the Christmas tree stand. The one caution is to be SURE the end of the pipe is firmly down in the tree stand reservoir (check it visually) before you move on to watering your tree.

When I need to water my tree I just find the end (it’s sometimes hard to see) and plop a cheap funnel on the end. I usually pour in one cup of water at a time, and then I get down and just check the height of the water with the tip of my finger. If I can’t feel the water in the stand, I add more. If I can, then I stop. Once I’m done putting in water I just remove the funnel and the pipe is hidden again. A Christmas tree will generally use a fair bit of water the first day or two it’s in the house and then the rate at which it needs additional water may drop significantly.

I personally don’t mind checking my water level with my finger, but I’ve been considering getting an inexpensive Christmas tree watering alarm just to see how well they work.

I use a white, unpainted piece of PVC pipe and it’s completely invisible in the tree, even before the tree has been decorated. I’ve actually left the white funnel sitting in the tree as well and even then it really couldn’t be seen. Feel free to paint your PVC tube green or brown or even red striped like a candy cane!

The total cost of making this Christmas tree watering system should be under $5 if you don’t have a piece of PVC pipe laying around. Yes, it really is pretty simply and yes it really does work.

So I hope you keep your Christmas tree well-watered and green and I hope you have a happy holiday!