Five tips for creating a beautiful Christmas tree.
These decorating tips will make this year’s Christmas tree the most gorgeous
yet! Some make the tree decorating process a little easier and all will
make it look amazing!
After all these years of assembling and decorating many (many!) trees, I’ve
learned a few tricks! I’m breaking them down so you can put them to use this
holiday season.
1. FLUFF it.
If you decorate a fake Christmas tree, you must take a little extra
time to fluff the branches. This makes all the difference, it’s so worth the
time!
Our old basement tree basically snapped in half (more on that later), so we
were looking for a new one this year. We lucked out when we found the “viral”
Grand Duchess Christmas tree at Home Depot. Since we got it I think I’ve seen
it 862 times on Instagram. 😉
It is really, really beautiful. It has a remote with settings for the
Christmas tree lights — the twinkling lights are my favorite!
I kept seeing everyone say that it doesn’t need to be fluffed, and I will say
I was impressed at how full it was right out of the box:
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But you definitely still need to fluff. 🙂
When I fluff, I spread the branches off to the sides and up and down as much
as possible.
I always wear gloves of some kind while fluffing the branches. Gardening or
rubber gloves are usually my go-to.
They prevent scratches during the process and keep my hands from drying
out:
If you decorate a real Christmas tree, wait a few hours after putting it
in the tree stand so the branches can settle and drop.
Here’s a look at this gorgeous tree after about 20 minutes of
fluffing:
Every artificial Christmas tree will look better with a good fluffing!
2. Hang garland with ornament hooks.
I always add garland and/or ribbon to the tree first, but I found it
difficult to get the garland to “drape” just right on the branches. A reader
told me about this trick last year when I shared our living room Christmas
tree.
This tip is a game changer! Using an ornament hook allows you to hang the
garland from the branches instead of balancing them on top:
This method gives the wood beads or garland a more natural, drapey look. It
was also much easier to adjust the strands as I went:
Such a great tip!
3. Pinch ribbon with tree branches.
I love the look of wide ribbon draped through a tree, but I used to struggle
with getting it to look good.
Typically I would just wrap it around like so:
And that looks fine!
But I prefer the ribbon to have a bit more of an organic flow to it, so I
started tucking the ribbon into the tree here and there, and that helped a
bunch.
Now I also use the wire branches to “pinch” the ribbon here and there. Just
twist the end of the branch around the ribbon like so:
Make sure to add some give between each pinch so you can fluff up the ribbon
a bit. Using wired ribbon allows you to shape it easily.
This trick gives it a more billowy look that I prefer. You don’t even notice
that the branch is wrapped around it, and can still use the branch to hang
ornaments.
I love how this looks!
If you have a real tree, you can get the same look using hooks or floral
wire.
4. Fill in empty spaces with filler or ornaments.
I’ve never had a fake tree that didn’t have some open spots we can see right
through, no matter how much fluffing I do.
It’s not a big deal, but my goal is always to make the tree as full and
beautiful as possible! For these empty parts of the tree, I like to add
filler pieces or large ornaments deep in the tree.
These berry sprays from Hobby Lobby add the perfect pop of color and fill in
the tree beautifully:
You’ll want to fluff these up too! They come with the branches all tight —
but spreading them out gives you more bang for your buck.
I love adding berries to our trees! They go a long way to create a fuller
look:
I use larger ornaments deep in the tree too. They fill in those empty spots
nicely!:
5. Add something different!
I like to finish off my trees with something unique! There’s no rules really
— break up the baubles a bit with different textures or colors.
Over the years I’ve used everything from large faux flowers like this
poinsettia blooms:
To holiday decor like pine cones, pieces of ribbon, bells, bows, or berry
sprays like I shared above…you can use almost any festive decor as
Christmas tree decorations.
They add a vintage touch that I just love! They operate with a remote and
are so pretty, I sometimes turn just these on and leave the tree lights
off:
These extras add layers to your tree that will make it more lovely than
ever!
Honorable mention: You don’t need a Christmas tree skirt!
There’s no need to buy expensive tree skirts! If I’m using a skirt, I prefer
to use plain fabric like a fluffy tulle or taffeta:
Blankets work nicely as well. Those faux fur blankets you can find at
HomeGoods and TJ Maxx are perfect!
If you hoard throw blankets like me, you probably have one you can spare for
under the tree. 🙂
I also like using tree collars for a cleaner look (and if you have cats
they kind of help prevent them from climbing the tree). The
collars come in fabric, wicker and metal options.
Here’s a look at a couple of the trees in our home using the tips I shared
here!:
amazing fake Christmas tree here! We LOVE it! I’ve been told so many times that it doesn’t look like an
artificial tree, even in person.
As you can see, I rarely add a tree topper to our trees anymore. On this one
it’s because it’s too tall and I’m risking my life enough as it is, thank you
very much.
But over the years I find that anything at the top of the tree is either too
wimpy or just takes away from the beauty of the tree.
Remember…it’s your tree. You get to do what you want! 😀
And here’s our basement family room tree:
I like a more classic look down there. This one makes me smile so big!
I hope these little tips give you some ideas as you decorate for this holiday
season. If you have any tricks you use, please share!
