Tips On Decorating Your Christmas Trees
Every Christmas, you take out from the storeroom your artificial Christmas tree and several bags of ornaments you have had for what seems like forever. Some of the dangling strings on the ornaments have come off and even the paint is fading away.
Here’s how you can add panache to your Christmas tree and have your visitors spellbound by it. It’s about time you added panache to your Christmas tree and learnt how to decorate a Christmas tree.
Did you know that when you are decorating the tree you have to start from inside out? You start with the lights, then garlands before moving on to the ornaments.
Lighting the tree
Start arranging Christmas tree lights on the branches near the base of the tree. Weave strings of lights along the branches “inside”, then move to the outer edges of the branches. Continue this process until you have covered the entire tree.
Don’t skimp on the quality or quantity of the lights you purchase. The more lights you have, the more spectacular your holiday tree will be.
Look for decorative lights that are spaced seven inches apart as they are easier to wrap around the limbs of a tree.
After you’ve hung the lights on the tree, it’s time to decorate.
Decorating
Visually balance your tree by using small ornaments near the top, medium in the center and large at the base. Begin decorating with solid colour ornaments that have similar shapes.
If you want a modern feel to your tree, have a coordinated colour scheme. Play around with shades of gold, silver and white or a combination of copper, tan and silver to add style and sophistication to your holiday tree. Use an oversized topper and ornaments.
Hang the small balls on the inside of branches near the trunk, then move to the middle of the limb and alternate the ornaments on the branches. You can add dimension by placing the decorations near the trunk of the tree, then halfway out the branch. Work your way down the tree using progressively larger ornaments.
As the limbs get longer, add larger ornaments and more of them. Continue to place decorations on alternating branches. When you’ve hung all your glass balls, take a break and walk away for a few minutes.
When you return, take a fresh look at the tree. Stand back and view your work from all angles. If the decorations look awkward to you, they will appear imbalanced to others. Adjust ornaments that look too close together or too far apart.
Next, add the decorative or theme ornaments. Leave six to seven inches undecorated at the top of your tree for your favourite star or angel. Here the same rule is applied: small ornaments near the crown, medium ornaments in the centre and large ones near the base.
Drape your tree with garlands of ribbons, beads or pearls and connect the clusters. Don’t be afraid to twist two or more ribbons together. Be bold and mix unexpected patterns and colours or twist plaid and check ribbons or gold and silver beads together.
The finishing touch is the addition of an angel, bow or star to the top of your tree. Then stand back and admire your work!
Toppers
Traditional Christmas trees normally have a star or angel as the topper. Toppers can be accented with long feathers, stars on wire, glitter sticks or netting and ribbon.
Money-saving tips
The cost of purchasing a tree, decorative lights and ornaments may be more than your budget can handle. Here are some money-saving tips that will help:
1. Shop at flea markets for unique items that you can use for ornaments. Create your own ornaments – stuff lace or kid gloves with holiday potpourri, make decorations from Styrofoam balls or tin.
2. Request ornaments as gifts from family and friends.
3. Make your own ornaments.
