Christmas Tree Reveal and Decorating Tips

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. When I was a kid, my parents would take my brother and I out to the local Christmas tree lot to pick out a tree. Then we would go home and decorate while singing Christmas carols. Those were such great memories, and now with having a family of my own, it's fun to create new memories and see the wonder of Christmas through my children's eyes.

I love decorating my Christmas tree. For those wondering how to create a festive and "full" tree, here are my top tips to achieve the look.

1 — ARTIFICIAL VS. REAL TREE

For my husband and I’s first Christmas back in 2009, he told me in lieu of a real tree, that it was best for us to get a faux tree from a local store, like Home Depot. I was hot lol. I wanted no parts of changing my childhood traditions. Somehow, he got me to agree to the faux tree, and I grew to love it! The rest is history, and I’ve had a faux tree for the past 11 years. Although artificial trees don't have the smell of Christmas, there are several advantages to using them when decorating. The most important reason is they are mess-free and easy to store after Christmas.

Artificial trees are a good investment over time. Real trees are around $45 - $100, and then thrown away after Christmas. However, a nice artificial tree, depending on when you purchase and the size, is around $100 - $300+ and can last 5+ years, if taken care of. When getting your artificial tree, be sure to consider the height of your ceilings, and whether to get a narrow or full tree depending on the size of the room the tree will go in. Also, getting a pre-lit tree is best.

2 — ORNAMENTS WILL MAKE OR BREAK THE TREE

Several years ago, I stocked up on a ton of ornaments the day after Christmas. It’s best to stock up then for the next year because all of those decorations are marked down, so capitalize on the savings. Plus, the nice and large decorations can sometimes be expensive at regular price, and having some large ornaments has been valuable to me in making my tree look festive and full. I did my huge haul from HomeGoods and Marshalls, which are great for unique ornaments and props. I also went to Target and The Christmas Tree Shoppe which are great for large and small plastic ornaments.

I would suggest going to the store with at least a color scheme in mind, so that you make the best use of your time and money. I found 2 huge red, green, gold and silver ornaments and those became the inspiration that built the whole concept for the tree. They were unique, bright and made a big statement, so I wanted the rest of the tree to compliment that concept. I ended up getting a variety of ornaments and things I turned into ornaments (like a reindeer, sleigh and frosty the snowman), from big to small, in different shapes, but all within complimenting color families. Also remember, the more decorations the merrier so that your tree looks nice and full.

3 — ENJOY AND TAKE YOUR TIME

The planner and designer in me loves a good design challenge, so tree decorating is naturally fun for me. My advice is to not get so caught up in making the tree perfect though, that you forget to have fun in the process. I’m guilty of that when the kids try to put the wrong ornament in the front of the tree lol, but I’m getting better at not being overbearing when it comes to the tree. I suggest turning on some Christmas music while you decorate. My best piece of advice is to take your time. This year I started before Thanksgiving and it took a little less than 2 weeks before finally finishing the tree. If I decorated straight through, it would probably take me 3 hours, so a plan like starting on a Friday and finishing on a Sunday would be ideal for most.

I hope these tips are helpful! How you do you like my tree? Share how you're enjoying the holiday season in the comments.

Have a glowing day!

Xo,

Shalyce