Tips to Decorate Your Christmas Tree
Hello and Happy Holiday Season! It’s here folks, the big push to Christmas. In the spirit of the holidays I wanted share a little about our family traditions as well as some easy Christmas tree decorating tips.
A Tale of a Few Christmas Trees
I would like to start this Christmas tree post out by saying, I fancy myself someone who tends toward being a minimalist, in my design and in my own home and life. I’m a proud “less is more” and a “take one accessory off before you go out” type person, and most of all someone who DESPISES clutter. I mean ask anyone in my family, I secretly get rid of their stuff on the reg if they don’t watch close enough. And it’s because clutter creates visual chaos and stress and I love the calm of a clutter free home with some space to just be.
So that’s why this confession I’m about to make is so hard. Here goes… I currently have 4 Christmas trees standing in my home at this very moment (and I may even get one more for our new basement - shhhh don’t tell).
Now to be clear they are not all full size trees, the big tree is a doozy at 10 feet tall yes, but the others are smaller and fake, and 2 of them are small table top trees. And I get it, lots of people have more than one tree, but it’s just this whole tug of war with my inner minimalist and the fact that I have so much Christmas stuff which goes against all of my usually clutter free habits. However, I do have good reasons for it (my husband may not agree but that’s for another day).
First, I love Christmas.
Second I’m particular about the design of the tree. I like the main tree to feel more formal, with a pretty curated mix of ornaments, white lights and cohesive color palette of subtle mixed metallics, white and glass, and a couple little touches of red. My husband and I started a tradition back before we were married of getting a real tree and buying each other an ornament each year to fill it up. After being married for 12 years and being together for many years before that we have a lot of ornaments.
And sometimes an ornament will skew from this design, or we get an ornament as a gift, and if it’s not in the right palette and it throws the whole tree off. So, those non-gold/silver/white ornaments would get hidden in the back (which made me sad). And once you start having kids the ornaments really start to move away from the cohesive design and the handmade ones, that are so special to our family, start coming in and we can’t have those in the back!
Enter the KIDS CHRISTMAS TREE. Now I love a good tree design and this tree is no exception. The design for this tree is colorful, fun, free spirited and anything goes. It’s like the fun and cooler little sibling tree of the big formal tree. And best part is you can decorate it in a spider man costume if you want to.
We do the same thing with the ornaments, we get the kids one or two each year, they pick out and get some for each other, and turn on some fun Christmas music and have a great time decorating the Christmas tree and reminiscing about the story of each ornament - and all the awesome handmade ones have their place to shine!
So I told you about the first two trees, and there are still two trees lurking in the house, and these are also kids trees. They are small table top trees that each of the kids gets to have in their own rooms. They get to pick out the ornaments and decorations, and use their creativity for their own unique tree (they make great nightlights too). And they are so proud to have their very own tree that they don’t have to share.
And the last reason I think I have lots of trees is because in the winter, it feels good to cozy up and be surrounded by the holiday stuff that makes you feel happy and comfy and tells your family story and tradition. So, I’m all for it this time of year!
So, if you are still reading after all of that, Thank You because that was long, but I do have a few Christmas Tree Decorating Tips below and with some ideas on how you can create a suite of trees or just one cohesively designed Christmas tree, you know… if that’s your thing.
Tips for Decorating a Christmas Tree
Pick a cohesive design element: This could be a color palette like a monochromatic, or a rainbow like the kids tree or somewhere in between. You can also use the types of ornaments as your cohesive glue (maybe you really love cats and want all the ornaments to be cats, or maybe you just want your cat to have his own tree, that’s fine too. Sky’s the limit folks)
Buy a few new special ornaments every year: At first fill the tree with inexpensive Christmas balls and add in new keepsake ornaments every year so that over the years you have less and less generic balls and more and more of the pretty sentimental ornaments. Keep your theme in mind when purchasing ornaments and watch how it the tree design evolves and changes over the years. This is also an easy way to keep the budget in check.
Add fun and interesting details: Add ribbon tied to the end of the branches, or add bigger cafe style lights to create some texture with the light and brighten it up, bring in feathers, grasses or other outdoor elements like pine cones. These fun extra details can be changed up every year if you would like.
Get Creative: create a tree design that makes you and your family happy. This is the most important one, have fun and enjoy the holidays!
Balance: Just like all good design is balanced, so should your tree. Step back often and make sure that the ornaments are spread throughout the tree in a balanced visually appealing way. Don’t forget the backs and sides of the tree.
Last but not least, here are some of the items on holiday decor wishlist this season.
This fresh magnolia garland is perfect draped up a stairwell, around a front door, or along the mantle at the holidays
This potted European Cypress tree can go anywhere to bring in some seasonal cheer.
A simple and neutral porcelain knot ornament is a great addition to any tree.
Use wood beads as garland on the tree, or on the mantel. Bonus, they look great placed into a large bowl or tray
These hand-painted warm toned ornaments have a classic silhouette, updated with a warm color palette.
Vintage gold and pearl oyster ornaments are just cool, and will be a serious conversation starter at your next holiday shindig.
This opal snowflake ornament is classic and so pretty.
A perfect little stocking in my color obsession du-jour.
I just love how trees change and grow each year with little updates and new ornaments. So here is to 2, 4 or many more Christmas trees because, hey Christmas comes but once a year and I have New Years to get back to being my usual clutter-phobe!
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Let me know what you think in the comments below, or if you have any questions feel free to reach out.
And, if you want to work with me on your next Christmas Project, remodel or design project, I would love to hear from you!
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