There’s no grand secret when it comes to knowing how to decorate a Christmas tree, but there are a few ways to make the whole process easier and guarantee a better end result.
With years of decorating Christmas trees under our belts, here’s Bents’ top five tips on how to decorate a Christmas tree that will look fantastic, without any of the usual stress or arguments.
1. Prepare in advance
This sounds obvious, but the more well prepared you are, the smoother it will go.
Check artificial Christmas trees are in good condition and make sure you know how to assemble them.
Give your Christmas tree decorations a careful dusting and make sure you have enough hooks to hang them all.
Think about where you will place any unique decorations, such as treasured family heirlooms.
Unpack Christmas tree lights and make sure they’re working. Modern LED Christmas tree lights can often work with a number of individual bulbs not lit, so look out for how many duds you’ve got and whether it’s time to buy a new string of LED tree lights.
2. Give yourself time
You can streamline Christmas tree decorating but you can’t really shortcut it, so leave plenty of time to complete the process from start to finish.
Put on some festive tunes or a favourite Christmas movie in the background and get into the spirit – if you have fun, it will go much faster.
There are a few ways to cut corners though. If you’re keen to reduce your decorating time, consider pre-lit Christmas trees which you can just plug in and turn on, so you only need to add the Christmas tree decorations.
3. Assemble your tree
Artificial Christmas trees usually need some assembly, while real Christmas trees also need securing into place with a sturdy tree base.
If using a real Christmas tree, consider adding a skirt to catch any fallen needles over the coming weeks – this can make the clean-up much easier in the new year.
4. Start in the centre
There are few things worse than hanging the last of your Christmas tree decorations and then spotting something that belongs right in the middle of the tree – and this is where your earlier preparation saves time.
Start from the centre of your tree, nearest the trunk. Hang some small baubles way back there to add depth. Add some tinsel if your tree’s innards need some bulking out.
Work your way outwards methodically and keep everything spaced out – you don’t want all your Christmas tree decorations bunched up near the top or bottom of your tree.
5. Lights and tinsel
Christmas tree lights and tinsel need to be wrapped around and draped from branch to branch before your outer layer of tree decorations go on the ends of the branches.
Again, keep them evenly spaced so your tree doesn’t look bunched up in any one spot. Use your tinsel to hide the wires running between individual LED tree lights.
Place your finishing touches – baubles, bows, bells and ribbons, whatever you prefer – and last but not least, add your star, angel or other tree topper to the very top branch for a perfectly professional-looking Christmas tree!