Learning how to decorate a Christmas tree like a professional may be a bit easier than you think! And while it may seem like the influencers and others on social media have just the right eye for everything, we want you to be just as confident as they are — you can craft a gorgeous tree too!
Today, we’re reviewing Decorator’s Warehouse’s four-step process to get the best looks for the holiday season. Whether you use your vintage ornaments and family favorites or want to stock up on a few new Christmas tree looks or even an entire Christmas tree bundle, you can apply these simple steps to get the look you want to achieve.
How to Decorate a Christmas Tree
In this video, you can learn from Kristin how to walk through the layering technique that helps us craft every look in store!
We use four simple steps in crafting the tree, but today, we’re going to start at the very beginning and walk you through how to pull different patterns and looks together for a cohesive Christmas Tree decoration plan.
Pre-Decorating Prep
When you start planning your full room or Christmas tree decor, pick a favorite ribbon or ornament as inspiration — or you can check out our dynamic inspiration page for more ideas.
Our secret recipe card has helped thousands of people bring their visions to life with just the right amount of ribbon, florals, stems, and ornaments for their tree size.
Save these cards and pull them out whenever you’re ready to design a new look! We like our Christmas trees full of textures, so be aware that these ratios are set to achieve that full designer look.
Fluff and shape your Christmas tree.
A quality Christmas tree is a must-have to give you the best foundation for your setup. We love these options from Neumantree. You can select them pre-lit or choose to light them yourself. With a good quality tree, you can expect many years of delightful holiday tree designs.
Get the right Christmas tree lights.
At our store, you may see one of our employees encouraging a client to jump on a strand of lights. And while this may seem like a pretty odd thing to do, our favorite Cluster Lights are just that durable. They don’t tangle easily, can work for inside or outside decor, and bring delightful tones and patterns to any tree.
Whatever tree lighting you choose, get a good quality LED that will save you money and last longer. And a warm white light is a good go to option that can pair all Christmas decor options.
Decorate Your Christmas Tree
Now that we’ve got all the prep done, you can give a little shout for joy! It’s time to pull your looks together and see the Christmas tree come to life.
1. Craft your Christmas tree topper.
To achieve the full spray topper look that our store is known for, you simply choose coordinating picks in a variety of textures which can include flowers and sprays — look to vary the height, colors, and textures to bring in all the elements you’ll use throughout the tree.
We use five styles of picks in our Christmas tree toppers, with 6-7 pieces per style for a 7.5 ft. or 9 foot tree (12 pieces per style if you are decorating a 12 ft. tree). These are inserted one at a time by running the stem along the pole of the tree and bending the limbs out.
Designer Tip: Looking for a slightly less full look? Simply bring together a few floral clusters (what we call the pairing of two florals and two sprays - you’ll find out more in a section below!) and insert them along the stem of the tree. Simply use two clusters at the top for your 7.5 ft. tree, 3 for a 9 ft., or 5 for a 12 ft. tree.
2. How to decorate a Christmas tree With ribbon
Picking ribbon is often a favorite thing to do when shopping at our store. Bringing together 2-3 rolls that bring out the best in each other can change the entire look of your Christmas tree! Find complementary wired Christmas ribbons to weave through the body and choose an accent ribbon to place in specific focal points by creating loops or bows.
Designer Tip: Choose a solid, repeating pattern or textured ribbon for the base and a fun pattern for the top.
3. Bring Texture through Florals and Sprays
This is the step in the layering design process where everything really starts to take shape! Creating floral clusters does two things — it takes larger sections of the tree to bring visual interest, and it gives you an easy solution for future years of decor. Let’s dig into how.
Create a cluster by choosing 2 Christmas flowers and 2 Christmas sprays (we recommend one leafy spray and one berry).
Lay the sprays on bottom and florals on top, angling the heads up. Then, wrap one of the stems around the other three. Doing this gives you one “piece” to angle into the Christmas tree. You can simply remove the clusters and lay them into your storage solutions when the holidays are over.
4. Add your ornaments.
Finally, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel! As you’re looking at your Christmas tree vision, you’ll find that you have a select few places to insert the remaining ornaments.
We encourage you to have five to six ball ornament styles in varying sizes and textures. Larger ball ornaments are inserted deeper into the branches to help conceal any pole that may be visible. After inserting the ball ornaments, have a few specialty ornaments to hang.
Designer Tip: Hang your favorite ornaments closer to the outside branches, so they take center stage in your design.
We hope that you’ve gathered how to decorate a Christmas tree in a simple way! We’re always here to help inspire you and answer questions you have. But you can be confident in assembling a Christmas tree bundle or bringing your own tree design together! For more ideas and inspiration, sign up for our weekly emails and follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.