Christmas Tree Skirt, Round Fleece Holiday Mat, Xmas Stand Cover, Collar Base Decor

Dolores has led the Old Quarry Ghost Walk every October for eleven years, and every November her business falls off a cliff. Nobody wants a spectral history lesson once the cocoa comes out. So this year she decided to bring the haunt home and make Christmas earn it. She laid this round fleece mat around the tree, a charcoal field crowded with grinning skulls in little red Santa hats, pale crescent moons, crossed candy canes, white ornaments and dark holly, and stepped back to admire her new best employee.

The first test was her sister Marlene, who arrived for dinner carrying a casserole and a deep belief that Christmas should be cheerful. She walked in, saw forty skulls wearing festive headwear, and stopped so fast the casserole kept going. "Are they," she began, and Dolores said, "Caroling," with the calm of a professional. Marlene looked closer and noticed the skulls were smiling, which was somehow worse and also better. By dessert she was asking about the moons, the candy canes and whether the hats were hand knitted, which they are not, because skulls do not knit.

By New Year's, three neighbors had asked where it came from, the mail carrier had taken a photo, and Dolores had added a December date called Ghosts of Christmas Present, which sold out in a day. That is the whole pitch. If your holiday taste runs a little darker, if you want a tree that looks cozy from the couch and slightly haunted from the hallway, this soft round mat does both without a single cobweb. Dolores says it is the best employee she has ever had. It never asks for days off, and it never once grumbled about the cold.

Fit it around the trunk, tuck the slit behind the tree, and the dark circle turns the base into a small stage. Silver and red ornaments throw their light onto the charcoal ground, the crescent moons pick up the glow of white lights, and the presents stacked on top look like offerings at a very polite séance. Kids lie on their stomachs counting the little hats. Adults pretend not to count them and count them anyway. Under a green tree it feels like a storybook with teeth. Under a black tree it looks like you meant it from the start. Either way the stand and the cords vanish, and all anyone sees is a grin wearing red felt.

Three recipients, three outcomes. Your brother, who still wears a band shirt to every family dinner, will say "finally" and mean it. Your mother-in-law will say "what an interesting choice" and spend the evening studying the candy canes. The neighbor who decorates for Halloween in August will hold it up, look you in the eye and ask whether it is too late to trade trees. Wrap it in brown paper, tie it with black ribbon and write "Merry" on the tag. Skip the second word. The skulls will finish the sentence.

• Material: 100% polyester fleece, soft and plush
• Print: One-sided print on a charcoal black base
• Edges: Hemmed for a clean, durable finish
• Size: One size, round with a center opening for the trunk; pre-constructed, size may vary by +/- 2.5 in
• Made: Pre-constructed and assembled in the USA from globally sourced parts
• Care: Spot clean only
• AKA: christmas tree skirt, round fleece holiday mat, xmas stand cover, collar base decor