Christmas Tree Conundrum

[Mollumophead]

Hi all,

I do maths to try and keep my mind active following serious illness. I’m faced with this puzzle today and I can’t work it out. Wondering if anyone has any pointers as to approach and solve this please ?
im probably overthinking it or maybe I should just give up on maths as I can’t see the answer.
thank you !

 

[Dr.Peterson]

I do maths to try and keep my mind active following serious illness. I’m faced with this puzzle today and I can’t work it out. Wondering if anyone has any pointers as to approach and solve this please ?
im probably overthinking it or maybe I should just give up on maths as I can’t see the answer.

Here's what I did: First pick some numbers to go at the corners. Then figure out what the sum of each side has to be (and if it isn't a whole number, change the corners to something else!). Then see if you can get those sums without repeating a number.

I got it on the first try ...

 

[Mollumophead]

Can I have a Christmas clue please ?

 

[Dr.Peterson]

Show me an attempt (including why you chose what you did, though some choices may be random), and I can suggest things to do differently.

There are many solutions (which is why my first thoughtful attempt worked -- it only takes a little luck), and my suggestions will help you find one of them.

I started with 1, 2, 3 at the corners, and didn't need to try any others (though I later tried several others and had no trouble finding more solutions).