Decorating your Christmas tree is an essential part of Christmas holiday activities. Many people have different traditions surrounding the trimming of the tree. Some people wait until Christmas Eve to trim the tree. Others go out the day after Thanksgiving to choose and decorate a tree. But regardless of when you decide to decorate your tree, here are a few decorating tips to make your Christmas tree festive and fun.
When decorating your Christmas tree, you should probably start with the lights. You can choose anything from small, white bulbs to large colored, flashing lights. It’s really just a matter of personal preference. White lights tend to look more sophisticated while colored lights can be fun. Either way, be sure to put the lights on first, then the garlands, then ornaments. Begin arranging the Christmas tree lights on the branches either near the base or near the top of the tree (this is up to you and depends on whether you have a star that lights up at the top or something else, like an angel). Weave the string of lights along the branches inside the tree, and then move to the outer edges of the branches. Do the garland in a similar manner.
When you are ready to put your ornaments on your tree, be sure that you’re not hanging all your ornaments on the tips of the branches. Place ornaments and other types of decorations inside the tree branches to add depth and interest to your tree. Start by arranging the “filler” ornaments evenly spaced on the tree. This might include your basic solid color balls that everyone has used on their trees for decades. These balls can coordinate and enhance your decorating scheme. You’ll need somewhere around twenty filler ornaments for every two feet of your Christmas tree. Once you’ve placed the “filler” ornaments around the tree, mix in the one of a kind, special ornaments that are unique to you and your family. You should use about ten special themed ornaments for every two feet of your Christmas tree. And as you gain a larger collection, put the special ornaments closer together.
Now, you may be going for something a bit different for your tree this year. Maybe you don’t have a solid collection of ornaments yet, or maybe you’re just sick of the collection you have and want to try something new this year. If that’s the case, here are some ideas you can try out that will make your Christmas tree festive.
•Colored Glass or Plastic Balls: Buy inexpensive glass or plastic colored balls. Then make them beautiful by using glitter paints or aerosol flocking (which is fake snow) to change their appearance. Or you can also use glue on glitter or craft store jewels and attach braids or ribbons on a cheap ball and turn it into something that looks expensive and unique.
•Cookies: Decorating your tree with cookies is as old a tradition as trimming a tree. Make gingerbread or shortbread cookies and decorate them with icing. Make sure to leave a small hole in the top so you can hang it up.
•Glitter Decorations: Almost any small, shiny object can be dipped or painted with glue and then rolled in glitter. This is a great way to transform “junk” into Christmas decorations that can be hung from the tree.
•Origami: This is the fine art of paper folding. You can find instructions for making origami creations on the Internet or at a craft store. There are many sites that specialize in origami Christmas tree decorating ideas.
•Ribbons and Lace: One of the simplest and prettiest Christmas tree decorating ideas is to simply tie bows made out of scraps of ribbons and bits of lace and tying them to the branches of the tree.