5 easy steps to a gorgeous Christmas tree

There are a lot of different ways to decorate a tree, and today I’m sharing my tried and true method for decorating a beautiful tree. I have honed this method over the years to minimize mess and create a beautiful, magazine-worthy tree. This method will work for a real or faux tree of any size of tree. Grab a hot beverage, put your feet up (save your energy for the tree raising), and enjoy these 5 easy steps to a gorgeous Christmas tree.

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Inspiration

Every year, I decorate my tree a little differently. Two years ago, I decorated in shades of white, silver and mint green, and last year, it was white, blush pink, and champagne. I wanted to do something different this year, and for inspiration, I carefully considered our living room decor and searched Pinterest high and low for ideas. Last week I shared my 10 Gorgeous Neutral Christmas Trees post. In that blog post, I rounded up my favourite neutral trees. Before you start decorating your tree, determine the look you want to achieve. Check out my blog post, look through magazines, and search through Pinterest and Instagram for ideas.

Our tree and living room

Our tree is a 9 foot King flocked tree from King of Christmas. It is a very full tree with a generous amount of flocking. Our living room has a cathedral ceiling, which is why I chose such a tall tree a few years ago. When purchasing a tree, keep in mind your ceiling height and available space around the tree. And don’t neglect to think about where you will store your tree in the offseason and the strength required to set up a larger, heavier tree. A 9’ tree is the maximum size I would be able to assemble on my own. If you have help, you could perhaps go larger.

Our living is decorated in neutral shades of white, beige, and wood tones. We have a large carpet with gold accent tones in it, so I took a cue from the carpet and decided to go with gold-toned tree décor. Winter seemed to come early for us this year and to cope with our long winters, the idea of gold tones, candlelight, and glowing fireplaces seemed infinitely appealing. After deciding on gold tree décor, I searched Instagram and Pinterest to see if there were any trees in this colour palette that appealed to me. There were several, though there wasn’t an overabundance of gold tree goodness on the internet.

Gather your materials

Before we can start the 5 easy steps to a gorgeous Christmas tree, a little preparation is needed.

Get some help to bring your tree box out of storage. To minimize mess, especially if you have a flocked tree, place the box as close as possible to where you’ll be setting up the tree.

If you can have all your ornaments and decor on hand before you start, the process will go a lot quicker. I like to use a lot of mercury glass and white ornaments because they mix beautifully with all colours and can be used over and over again. They are my base colours. If you don’t have a base of neutral ornaments, you could start collecting them this year. If you already have an established ornament base, then bring everything into the tree room.

You will likely need to purchase or make some new ornaments if you are using a colour scheme you’ve never used before. I recommend buying a mix of deluxe ornaments and the more economical variety. I find it’s best to purchase more than you think you need. You can always return the extras if they aren’t needed (keep your receipts and note return deadlines). Also, purchase more of the same kind of ornament rather than tons of different kinds of ornaments. The look will be more cohesive this way. And stick to your colour palette and style! It’s easy to get off track when there are so many adorable ornaments to choose from.

See below for some of my favourite online sources. My favourite places to shop for ornaments in store are Homesense, Target, and Michaels.

5 easy steps to a gorgeous Christmas tree

(1) Set up and fluffing

If you can get some help with this it will be easier and quicker. Make sure the pieces are labelled- bottom, middle, top, etc. to save time. Have a vacuum cleaner and a small ladder (4 footer) at the ready. The set up is usually pretty quick (5 minutes). I find the fluffing takes a little more time (15 minutes for my 9’ tree). To do this, I first make sure that all the branches are descended from their packed up position. Then I straighten each branch (starting at the bottom), and point branches in all different directions, taking care to fill any gaps. I work my way around the tree and upwards, using the ladder for the upper branches. Once the tree is fluffed, I vacuum around the tree (I’ll do a final vacuum once the tree is fully decorated).

Our tree came with a stand, but if you are using a real tree, invest in the best stand you can find. The last thing you want is a toppled tree.

(2) Lights

I am eternally grateful that my tree is pre-lit. I used to get frustrated with stringing the lights evenly, and pre-lit trees are a huge time saver. If you are adding your lights, make sure you purchased the correct colour of wire to match your tree (green for a real tree, white for a flocked tree) and choose the right colour for the look you are trying to achieve. Do you want a cool white or a warm white? Our tree lights are on the warmer side of things, giving off a slightly golden glow.

My tree light tips from many years of doing them myself are: purchase more than you think you need, test lights before stringing them on the tree, start at the bottom, and distribute the lights evenly. Additionally, I like the look of lights that are tucked into the branches rather than draping from the branch tips.

(3) Garlands and ribbon

It’s easiest to hang garlands right after the lights are installed. I start at the bottom and evenly space the garland around the tree. This year I used a white feather boa garland. To get one long strand, I tied together numerous smaller garlands to create a single long one. I decided I wanted the garland to have a horizontal look rather than a vertical or diagonal look. I tucked the garland into the branches, but not too deeply.

Ribbon can be applied as a garland, but I wanted the look of ribbon loops. To do this, I cut 9” strips of a wired cut velvet ribbon (2.5” wide) and used a glue gun to adhere the cut ends together. Then I opened them slightly to from loops and tucked them into the tree between branches. This gives the look of ribbon that is wound in and out of the tree branches, but it is easier to manage and uses far less ribbon.

(4) Ornaments and stems

My advice is to place the largest ornaments first and to evenly space them around the tree. I didn’t use any stems or floral picks this year, but if you have large flower blooms, for example, start with these. My largest ornaments were some large gold balls, so I started with these, decorating the entire tree except the very top with them. I progressed with smaller and smaller ornaments. Near the top of the tree, I use more of the smaller ornaments as they were more in scale with the smaller branches up there.

Make sure to decorate all sides of the tree to avoid a front-heavy tree that could tip over.

(5) Finishing touches – tree topper, tree skirt and under-tree décor

Adding the star or angel to the top of the tree is such a satisfying part of decorating the tree. I added a pretty glass star to our treetop. I made a DIY tree skirt in shades of cream and champagne for under the tree and then I added some gift boxes, extra ornaments in glass jars, and lanterns under the tree.

The final reveal

So, what do you think of my 5 easy steps to a gorgeous Christmas tree? I hope I have helped make the process of decorating your tree a little bit quicker and easier. And the gold colour palette- I’m enjoying it as much as I hoped I would. And I had a lot of fun sourcing the gold ornaments I used. Now it’s time for me to grab a hot beverage, put my feet up, and enjoy the sight of this tree.

Would you like to see how I decorated the tree in our bedroom? If so, click the link to Farmhouse Bedroom Christmas Decor – An Indoor Glittery Winter Forest.