Decorating your Christmas tree like a professional

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Decorating your Christmas tree can be a pretty daunting task. You have to get everything down from the attic, pick your tree, and select what Christmas tunes you’re going to listen to whilst pretending not to get annoyed that the people “helping” you decorate are putting the decorations in the wrong places. Let’s not even get started on detangling the lights…

Despite all this, I actually love it when it comes to that time of year to get into the festive spirit and put up the Christmas decorations. I like to make my home cosy for Christmas, and a big part of that is decorating the Christmas tree. Here’s how I make it that little less stressful and decorate my tree like a professional.

This article contains gifted items. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Picking your tree – real vs artificial debate

The first thing you need to consider is the type of tree you’ll have. Do you choose a real tree or an artificial one? Both have pros and cons.

There’s a lot of joy to be had in going to the Christmas tree farm and picking and cutting your personally selected Nordic fir tree. However, a real tree does require more maintenance. It needs to be watered and trimmed, and depending on what type, there could be a lot of needle drop, all in an effort to avoid it wilting and dying before the big day. Then, what do you do with it after Christmas is done?

A real Christmas tree brings with it a level of authenticity, it has that beautiful pine scent which permeates the air of the room and has a natural bushiness which doesn’t require fluffy to enhance the look of the tree. However, artificial trees are easy to put up and put away, they are very low maintenance and you benefit from having something that can be kept year after year.

I have had both real and artificial, but in the last few years have had an artificial tree as I personally feel that after the initial investment, you get a good few years out of it. My last artificial tree was a 6ft glitter-tipped tree, which finally had its last outing last Christmas after serving me well for almost 13 years (minus a handful of years when I had a real tree).

I was recently gifted a 7ft pre-lit emerald spruce Christmas tree from We R Christmas which was so simple to put up. It came in 3 pieces (with a stand) and after about an hour of fluffing the branches, it was ready to decorate. There was a little bit of needle drop from loose needles and I need to invest in a nice tree skirt to hide the stand at the bottom, but overall this is a really lovely tree and I can see will be beautiful for years to come.

Choose your colour theme

Now you’ve got your Christmas tree, you want to choose your colour theme. I have always been a fan of modern colours over traditional and have in the past few years leaned towards a “peacock colour” theme which has included blues, teals, purples and pinks with the traditional gold thrown in for that extra sparkle.

This year, I’m going traditional with reds and golds, big bold decorations and ribbons, it feels so luxurious. Thanks again to We R Christmas for sending me a selection of decorations to fill my tree. I’ll be using these alongside my existing decorations this year to really fill out my tree – I love a maximalist look!

I will also include my sentimental ornaments, these are ornaments I’ve made or been gifted over the years and they will always have a place on my tree. My favourite part is saving my sentimental ornaments until last and popping them in pride of place – even if they don’t match the theme. That’s the beauty of decorating your Christmas tree, there are no rules! It’s up to you how you decorate it.

If you want to go for all the colours do it, if you want to do it all in one colour – knock yourself out (not literally!), two colours have a classy feel, or choose colours that match the decor of the room.

Let there be lights!

You want to test your lights before putting them on the tree (the lights should go on first!) the last thing you want is to get them untangled and on the tree only to discover one of them isn’t working (we’ve all been there right?). Many of the modern fairy lights are LED bulbs which are longer lasting and resistant to damage. Gone are the days of finding and replacing the one broken bulb!

Top tip: When putting your tree away, neatly wrap your lights and add a date to the card when they were last working – I wrap mine around a stiff board of card and secure using the plug. This will save you lots of time the following year!

You also want to consider your light colour, do you want a warm light, a bright light or multi-coloured? Many lights come with different settings from static light, a slow dimmer, blinking or flashing. I like mine to stay on a solid soft light.

When adding the lights to your tree, start from the bottom and work your way up, circling the tree. Intertwine the lights between the branches and to add depth, push the lights further back into your branches rather than keeping to the tips.

Generally speaking, you want to allow around 5 metres of lights per 2ft of tree – depending how full or minimal you want the lighting.

The benefit of the pre-lit tree is that this is all ready to go, the lights are nicely placed within the tree and you simply connect each of the 3 sections together using the connectors. Hey presto – no untangling, no tramping around the Christmas tree to perfectly place your lights.

Decorate your Christmas tree

Now you’ve got your colour theme and you’ve put on the lights, you’re ready to dress your tree.

To keep it balanced, voice having too many of a similar type of ornament next to one another, use different sizes and styles which complement one another to make your tree really stand out.

A large red glitter poinsettia decoration

If you use ribbon, tinsel or beads, put these on after you’ve done the lights and before adding any baubles or other decorations. If you have a hero colour such as gold or silver, or statement ornaments, these go next, then fill in the gaps with smaller ornaments and your sentimental pieces.

How many baubles do I need?

The number of baubles/decorations you put on your tree depends on the size of the tree as well as the size of the decorations. We R Christmas says that as a guide you want to aim for:

6ft – light coverage 70 baubles, heavy coverage 110
7ft – light coverage 100 and for heavy coverage 130
8ft – light coverage 130 decorations and 160 for heavy coverage
9-10ft tree you want 170 for light coverage and for heavy 220.

Adjust these to taste whether you prefer a minimal or a nice full maximalist decorated tree.

Selecting your Christmas tree topper

Everyone knows that the topper to your tree is the pièce de résistance – its that last finishing touch and the part that every member of the family wants to place.

Traditionally, we use angels or stars – I’ve always been a star person. But remember the weight of that last ornament and that it blends in well with the rest of your decorations. Too many times have I ended up with a limp tree topper because its been too heavy for the tree!

The finishing touches

Now you’ve got your tree decorated, stand back and admire its marvel. You may want to add some finishing touches, whether a nice tree skirt to hide unsightly stands and wires. You may want to add some “faux” presents to the bottom of your tree for that final finishing touch.