When to put up your Christmas tree has become a big debate these days. Some people (like me) put their tree up early to savor every single bit of the holiday season. And on the other side of the fence there are people (like my brother) that wait until Thanksgiving to put up their tree. I can appreciate both viewpoints but the one thing I do know is that anyone that puts up a Christmas tree wants it to look great.
I’ve been decorating trees professionally for years, first at my home decor store and then as part of my design business for clients. Over the years I’ve learned a lot about the art of decorating Christmas trees. My latest Design Guide, Tips for Decorating Your Christmas Tree shares my tree decorating secrets so you can decorate your Christmas tree like a pro.
DEVELOP A THEME–Every great design project starts with a theme, even decorating a Christmas tree. Having a theme will ensure all the elements work together and that the tree has major impact. Your theme can be as simple as decorating with only red ornaments or as elaborate as creating a rustic yet elegant lodge themed tree. Even if your tree is decorated with treasured ornaments collected over the years, that too can serve as your theme! Whatever your theme is, it will create the foundation for your overall holiday decorating plan.
tip: Use Pinterest or a photo design program to build a story board with image and products that represent your theme.
LIGHTS FIRST–Putting lights on a tree is time-consuming but doing it right makes all the difference in how your tree will look in the end.
- Start at the top of your tree and wrap the lights from the inside trunk towards the outer tips of a branch. Once one branch is covered, create two or three big loops on that same branch going back towards the trunk. Move to the next branch and repeat the process. Continue working your way around the tree, covering all the branches. Don’t forget to plug your lights in periodically to make sure all the branches are covered well.
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You can adjust the density of the lights by wrapping the lights closer together or further apart.
ADD RIBBON OR FABRIC–While most people add ribbon to their tree but fabric is another great alternative. Ribbon, bows or fabric pieces will provide a backdrop for our ornaments and can be added to your tree in several different ways. One method is to drape the ribbon from top to bottom, tucking it into the tree at intervals. This will create peaks and valleys and added dimension to your tree decor. Another great trick is to layer several different ribbons together and creating big loops with cascading tails.
tip: If you are using bows on your tree, make sure the size and scale of the bow is in keeping with the overall size of the tree. Eight to ten medium size bows on a 9 ft. tree is enough!
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ADD DIMENSIONAL PICS OR SPARYS–This one element will do more for your tree than anything else will. Take glitter pics, feather stems or floral stems and place them randomly throughout the tree. You’ll be creating layers as well as adding texture and dimension. On large trees, several styles of pic can be used together while smaller trees usually look best with a single pic style in mass.
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LAYER, LAYER, LAYER–Now it’s time to start adding ornaments. Don’t just place your ornaments on the surface of the tree, layer your ornaments within the tree branches. Bury solid colored ornaments into the tree and hang more colorful and ornate ornaments on the tips of the branches.
tip: a great way to monitor the placement of ornaments is to put one ornament style on the tree at a time. Doing this will ensure that each ornament style is distributed evenly throughout the tree.
And remember,
* Vary the shapes of sizes of your ornaments
* Vary the color tones, using shiny ornaments along with matt and textured finishes
* Adding solid color ornaments will help ground the tree and create an element of consistency within your theme
* Cluster small ball ornaments together with a wire and hang them in groupings for added impact
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THE TOPPER–The top of your tree should make a statement. Create a unique topper using pics and flower stems, several large bows put together or go with a traditional star. If you have a traditional topper, use pics at the base of the topper to frame it.
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More tips for decorating your Christmas Tree:
- Instead of a traditional tree skirt, consider placing your tree in a decorative container or basket. I love this gold & silver tree collar and this neutral tree collar is a great price.
- Coordinate your giftwrap and ribbon so that it ties into the colors and style of the tree decor. Paper Mart and May Arts are two of my favorite ribbon sources.
- For added dimension, add a string of large Christmas bulbs along with the smaller, traditional lights. I love these large bulb lights.
I hope these tips are helpful to you this holiday. ‘Tis the season and happy decorating.
