all the best Christmas tree decorating ideas for the season

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I know many of you wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas, and for that, I commend you! I love the nostalgia of that, but practically we could not do that in our house… From Thanksgiving on, our schedules are packed with holiday parties both hosted and attended, and I like having our house all ready to go.

I normally start with the biggest pieces first, which means I need to get my trees up! We do save one tradition for post-Thanksgiving, and that’s putting up our one real tree in the house. I’ve noticed that things sell out more quickly year after year, and there’s no worse feeling than scanning the empty bins at Target that once held overflowing ornaments, ribbons, and garlands! So, I try to encourage everyone to buy early, even if you’re not ready to put it up yet.

*A silver tree overflowing with tinsel and disco balls is a fun alternative if you like nontraditional decor — or, like me, you can swap your Christmas decor on NYE for a New Years tree!*

As far as my favorites, when it comes to holiday decorating, I tend to lean more traditional in my choices — I really think simple is better… but a lot of simple is best. By bringing garland, velvet bows, twinkle lights and nostalgic pieces, I can capture the spirit of the season without my house looking like a Christmas Village Exposition exploded. This approach enables me to fill space without being overwhelming or kitsch-y. I love to find the balance between something feeling complete and cozy, without overdoing it.

traditional christmas tree decorating with large velvet ornaments

I’ve pulled together a list of my favorite simple yet classic Christmas tree decorating ideas, along with the hacks that have helped along the years! I have to admit that every year I feel like I change things up a little bit, and I know that my style is consistently evolving. I think that’s the beauty of Christmas. It tells your story a little at a time over the seasons. The ornaments I had when I was in college, some collected from my childhood home, pieces of my husband’s childhood (all a bit mismatched), ornaments from our first Christmas together, and the list goes on. I can look at my trees and see the story of us, and that’s priceless!

Decorating the Tree

There is no easy way to condense all the ways you can trim a Christmas tree, so I thought I would share what we are doing in our house this year! I hope you can find some inspiration here.

light it up

After your tree is good and fluffed, it’s time to light it up! Most faux trees comes with lights already, but they are never enough to me. I always, always, always, look for lights that are warm white lights. I don’t like the cool lights because I think they change the tone of my entire space. I also am not a big fan of colored lights (personal preference). To give my tree variety, I add strands with different shape and sized bulbs. This adds dimension while still staying uniform. I also use these remote control plugs to turn my lights on and off. They can be controlled through any smart phone! Here are my go-to lighting strands:

take it from the top

I am going to shake things up a bit and throw something out there. Start with your tree topper and work your way down. Before you scoff (I know putting on the star is a big tradition), think about this: your tree topper can set the whole tone for the style of your tree. I tend to have one super traditional tree in my house, and that gets a star, but the others are a bit more curated. You can use a big velvet ribbon, angel, or floral design to top your tree.

TIP: Hold off from placing the topper at the very end point of the tree. You should place your topper about a hand’s distance from the top of your tree, and secure it with floral wire or zip ties. You also will want to bury it in the branches a bit instead of placing it on the edge. I suggest combining a few elements, like a ribbon and a star or angel. This gives the tree a fuller effect. This helps the topper be more secure, and gives you a bit more versatility when choosing a tree topper.

the trimming comes next

Do you ever wonder why adding decorations to a tree is called trimming a tree? You would think trimming a tree actually means cutting it down, not adding! Fun fact: trimming comes from the old English word trimmen which means to put things in order.

After the lights are on and the topper is up, I go ahead and add my garland. If my tree is looking a little sparse, or I am seeing some center support pole, I will add garland to the inside of my tree before moving to the outer branches. I like to choose garland for the inside that matches the types of branches on my tree. I simply twist it up around the pole! You can twist the branches together using zip ties, floral wire or these awesome pine stem garland ties. You will want to run the garland about 3 - 4 times around a nine foot tree. This is also a great way to add other elements, by attaching to the garland itself and not the actual tree. You can twist artificial pinecones, smaller branches, or other natural elements. If you’re into tinsel, go ahead and add that too! This year, I am wanting to try the oven dried oranges as an extra layer of garland.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT ornaments

When choosing ornaments, I have one hard and fast rule: use varying sizes. This is so important to adding dimension to your tree! I like to mix up both the size and the finish of the ornaments. I tend to use a lot of shatter proof ornaments because of my kids, but I like to integrate matte, shiny, glass, and metallic ornaments to add interest. I also add different shapes in using fabric ornaments. I stick to a color family of 3 -5 tones with at least two of those being a neutral (silver, gold, white, all count as neutrals during the holiday season). Adding red of any kind always gives your tree a traditional feel. Don’t be afraid to add a couple childhood nostalgic pieces or pieces from your child’s school. The tree should ultimately feel like you! A good rule of thumb is to place your largest ornaments and bigger pieces toward the bottom of the tree.

If you want some filler, then the small glass ornaments that are plain and round can be tucked deeper inside the tree. They will help reflect the lights and fill up any gaps inside the tree.

Hack: I tend to exchange the ornament hooks that come in the box for ribbon or pipe cleaners. One, I like the look of it more, but I also feel like they are a lot more secure when tied directly to the tree branch! Here are some other ornament hooks I have been seeing this year that I may get to also have on hadn. Below are some ornaments that I am loving this year!