After 11 months it’s finally December and it’s time for Santa to come to town. On Christmas day you wake up to all your gifts under the tree, but your tree doesn’t look the best. Your tree doesn’t match anything in your home, and especially doesn’t look great above your presents. Here’s a guide on how to decorate your tree to impress everyone, even Santa, and he’s seen millions.
A Christmas tree is the centerpiece of the holiday. So automatically you want it to look good. First you need a theme for your Christmas tree, it needs an element that ties everything together. Choose a certain color pallet for your tree and an ornament collection. Of course that doesn’t mean special ornaments shouldn’t be placed on the tree. Alicia Rigamonti, our high school secretary, suggests getting a live tree.
“Get a live tree so that your house smells amazing,” she says.
You can also get inspiration from Pinterest or Christmas decoration blogs. Knowing how you want your tree to look in the end is helpful in terms of knowing what ornaments you need or want.
When trimming your tree, start with ornaments in a classic color, silver, gold, white, red and green. Fluffing and shaping your tree can take awhile, but they are an essential part of the decorating process. Fluffing your tree will help you achieve a lush and lifelike look for your tree. To make the fluffing process easier, ask family or a friend to help you shape your tree, wear gloves to protect your hands, if you are looking for a specific look refer to the product photo of the tree to easily recreate the look of the branches. When fluffing each branch, start from the inner branches and work your way outward, and finally shape the tree by section, starting from top to bottom. For fake taller trees, fluff the top section before attaching it to the tree to avoid using a ladder.
For lights, always check they are working before putting them on the tree. Once you know they work, begin at the bottom and circle your way up the tree, weaving in and out of the branches. View your Christmas tree in the sections, top, middle, and bottom. Style each section, starting from the top and working to the bottom. There’s really no fast and special way when hanging ornaments, but experts tend to begin with the larger ones. They tuck them deeper within the foliage to add depth. As a result, they achieve a beautiful layered look. For smaller ornaments they look best when hung on the tips of the branches. Designers do this to create a draping effect. For a more seamless look you can cluster the ornaments together.
You can also use ribbons as ornaments. Professionals suggest using wired ones because they are easier to shape and style. If you want to create a texture choose two ribbons with different styles and widths but make sure they complement each other. After choosing your ribbons, layer them on top of each other then, finish the ribbon with a creative twist at the ends. Rigamonti, who decorated the school’s office comments that fur bows, cedar greenery with white lights and sparkly ornaments tucked into it are her favorite. She says her childrens’ rooms also have a Christmas theme for each of them. Her son has nutcrackers, the middle daughter has pink, white, and red snowflakes, and her youngest has gingerbread men.
When it comes to filling in gaps there’s multiple ways to resolve that problem. Using Christmas tree picks and sprays is a creative way to fill in space. They also bring a different kind of texture to the whole look. If you’re wanting a more natural feel choose berries, flowers, and or pinecones. For a more sophisticated feel use crystals or pearls. If none of them fit the vision you want for your tree you can always just use clusters of ornaments, but it really comes down to what you want your tree to look and feel like.
Intricate accents are a great way to elevate the look of your tree. You have some prized heirloom ornaments with gorgeous details? Now’s your time to use them! Now here’s the part that brings the whole tree together, the tree topper. Tree toppers are easily found in stores during Christmas, so it’s easy to find one that fits your trees theme. But there’s always the choice to use a custom topper, using a custom topper can bring personality to your tree. There’s multiple ways to make your own custom topper. For decorating experts Dagmar Obert and Brad Schmidt, Dagmar likes to tie picks together in an elegant bouquet. Brad on the other hand ties ornaments together using floral wire, then adds picks for drama.
And finally, the last step is to find the perfect Christmas tree skirt for all your presents to sit on. For an ideal skirt it needs to match your tree’s theme, but if you’re looking for a unique base a decorative tree collar is a stylish alternative. These collars are crafted from various materials like, wicker, or Capiz shells, and many more that easily wrap around the tree. But of course, you can always stick to your trusty Christmas tree skirt that fits your theme. And remember to always make sure that your own personality is within the tree.
