Before starting with these Christmas tree decorating ideas, you’ll want to cut the stump of your tree (a fresh cut), and immediately set it in water. A tree that is freshly cut will absorb into it large amounts of water from the beginning. For the first week, make sure to refill the level of water a few times a day.
You can also cause your tree to live longer when adding a small mix to the reservoir of water it is in. The special mix consists of a quart of water with one teaspoon of liquid bleach and half a cup of light corn syrup. You can also apply a Wilt-resistant spray to keep the needles fresh (do this before bringing the tree indoors).
First thing you might want to do before deciding which Christmas tree decorating ideas to use, is to decide if you want to use formal or informal christmas tree decorating ideas. Maybe you want your tree to look more natural using natural materials, or you might want it to look very sharp and elegant – fitting a more formal occasion.
For your Christmas tree decorating ideas, you might want to choose a theme to go by. A western theme, snowflake theme, a certain color theme, an angel theme, even an arrival of a new baby can be a theme for your tree, etc. This will help you narrow down to the mood you want to set, and what ornaments to put on the tree.
It’s best to start your Christmas tree decorating ideas by putting christmas lights, then garlands, and lastly hanging the ornaments. When starting off with lights – check to see if they work first – very important!!
Start off with two sets of lights, one that is shorter, and the other longer (you can, of course, have more if you have a larger tree or if you want your tree to have lots of lights on it).
Take the short string of lights and wind it around the trunk of the Christmas tree. Start from the top of the trunk, all the way to the bottom – ending close to a plug.
With the longer string of lights, start from the top of the Christmas tree – attaching them to the tip of a branch, and wind down the tree in a spiral so that the lights rest on the tips of the branches. If you are considering on having more lights as part of your Christmas tree decorating ideas, remember to arrange them from top to bottom, and from the innermost to the outermost (if you are planning on having lights in the innermost part of the tree – to add depth).
Later, when you want to store your lights (and tangle-free!!), cut a scrap of heavy duty cardboard or a fourth of an inch piece of plywood into the shape of a capital “I”; then wrap the lights round the long part of the I.
Tinsel is great in dispersing your light source. Beads are nice for decoration (but are not light reflectors). Loop the beads, as if you’re weaving, over tips of alternate branches (over a branch, then under the next branch, etc.). As candles are great for decoration, never use lighted candles on a tree or near other evergreens.
When putting ornaments on your tree, it’s best to have small, medium, and large ornaments, all around the tree, as varying the size of the ornaments gives a much more interesting and non-monotonous look. Try not to place ornaments only on the tips of the Christmas tree branches; place them also inside your tree to create more depth. Keep in mind that you don’t need to decorate the back of your tree.
Put all kinds of ornaments, from simple to more special, one-of-a-kind-type ornaments. Putting only special ornaments lowers their value, but if you put all kinds of usual and ordinary glass balls, and simple ornaments, and then only a certain amount of one-of-a-kind ornaments, they will stand out. Also, try using shiny, as well as matte glass ornaments. You can embellish ordinary colored glass balls by painting on them with glitter paints, jewels, attaching ribbons, frosty coatings, etc.
More Christmas tree decorating ideas can include silk flowers, preserved leaves, pinecones (which you can embellish with metallic spray paint or glitter spray), bird nests, costume jewelry, painted fruits, ribbons, tiny teddy bears, doll clothes, seedpods, music notes, candies, trinkets, berries, and so many other things that you like or that fits your theme.
You’ll need to avoid any decorations that tend to break easily or have sharp edges. If you have small children, make sure you don’t have ornaments that they can reach and hurt themselves or that have any pieces that may be swallowed.
Here are a few Christmas tree decorating ideas for different themes you can go for when decorating your Christmas tree (best to get you kids involved!!):
Origami Christmas tree decorating ideas: Learn to fold origami shapes and hang them with colored threads. You can also choose all kinds of colored papers that can fit to your color choices. Also, try folding with different sizes of papers, to make smaller and larger constructions.
Snowflake Christmas tree decorating ideas: Make all kinds of snowflakes. Cut out a circular or squarish white piece of paper, fold in half, and better yet—fold twice in half, and then cut out little pieces from the fold and around. Then open up and you have a snowflake! You can embellish them with glue and glitter or any thing that suites you.
Country/Western Christmas tree decorating ideas: Raffia, popcorn, cranberry garlands, cactus shapes, backyard twigs, wooden toys, jute rope, little tine lassos, little boot shapes, cowboy hat shapes, etc., would all be great for this theme. If you have a wooden toy train and train tracks, it’s always nice to see a toy train around your Christmas tree.
Christmas Card theme: If you’re the type that hates to throw away old Christmas cards from past years, you can save them and use them as Christmas tree decorations. Start off by gluing the front part and the back part to make it sturdier, punch a hole or two at the top and tie to your tree with ribbon or colored thread. You can also laminate them, or cut out parts of them to glue onto plastic lids or wooden shapes.
Christmas Cookie Christmas tree decorating ideas: You can bake cookies and use them for decorating your tree. Cut a hole in the top of the cookie and attach to ribbon or thread. You can also bake regular cookies, put them in clear or colored cellophane paper or bags, attach the top with ribbon and add to your tree for decoration.
Christmas Words theme: You can make your Christmas tree write out different things with your decorations. Create worded ornaments with rubber stamps on card stock or use stencils, calligraphy markers, cut out letters from the newspaper, print out words from the computer, etc. to spell out all kinds of Christmas words or phrases, “Angels”, “Santa”, “Peace”, “Noel”, “Jingle Bells”, etc.
Toy Christmas tree decorating ideas: You can decorate your tree with lots of small children’s toys. You can decorate with all kinds of toys, or stick to a certain theme (teddy bears, dolls, cars, etc.). Use wire to hang heavier toys onto branches and colorful ribbons to hang the more lightweight toys.
The final touch for your Christmas tree is at the top! This is usually something that symbolizes the spirit of Christmas. Angels, stars, Santas are pretty popular choices. Choose anything that is special and that fits your theme and color choices.
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