How To Decorate A Christmas Tree With The Whole Family

With Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about the tree! A dazzling and well decorated tree will put anyone in the festive mood and really makes a house a home at Christmas.

In this article, we’ll discuss when to set up your Christmas tree, choosing the right tree for your home, decoration ideas and why we put up a tree at Christmas. Read on to start getting into the festive spirit!

When To Put Up The Christmas Tree

Every household has a different approach as to when they put up their tree. You may even spy some early birds who start in November!

For those who follow tradition, the start of Advent is the day that marks the countdown to Christmas. Advent falls on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and celebrates the birth of Jesus.

Many others choose the 01st of December as a starting date, to signify the start of this merry month, or the 12th of December is another popular day to start hanging up your decorations.

Ultimately, it’s up to you as a family when you’d like to bring a sprinkle of Christmas festivity into your home! It’s a fun activity for the whole family to join in on so might be best to save for a weekend or a cosy weekday evening!

Christmas Tree Decoration Tips

Make your tree a beautiful talking point of your home this December! There are so many ways to decorate Christmas trees, and it’s easy to put your own stamp on it.

Each family member can get involved and add something unique to the branches! It’s the perfect activity for some family fun.

Real Or Artificial – Which Christmas Tree Is Best?

Whether you choose a real or artificial tree, there will be positives and negatives of both. It’s a personal preference but read on to weigh up points for either style!

Advantages of a Real Tree:

• Fun of choosing the tree: Make it a family tradition to go around and pick out a tree! There are so many sizes and shapes to choose from to suit the space you have available, as well as any decorative visions. This is a great opportunity to make amazing memories as a family (check out our other blog on How to Create Your Own Family Traditions).
• Lovely smell: The pine scent brings a wonderful, festive smell to your home and is an important part of the season to many families.
• Supports local businesses: Visiting a nearby vendor or family farm makes for a festive day out and supports local, family-owned businesses during the Christmas season.
• Recyclable: A real Christmas tree is completely recyclable and can be replanted or repurposed as shredding for wooded areas or use the trunk to create your own wildlife shelter. Your local nature reserve or garden centre may also accept your tree as a donation.

Setbacks of a Real Tree:

• Yearly cost: If you opt for a real tree, you’ll have to buy one every year.
• Needles: These drop off regularly and may make a bit of mess during the holidays.
• High Maintenance: From driving out to a vendor, transporting the tree, to then moving it into position in your home, a real Christmas tree can be quite time consuming, requires more care, and can be more difficult to handle because of its size and stature.

Advantages of an Artificial Tree:

• No mess: No need to tend to your artificial tree everyday! There won’t be needles to sweep, a tree to water or branches to trim.
• Easy to set-up: Setting up your artificial tree is quick and hassle-free. They can also dismantle for easy storage.
• Customisation: From a particular tree species, fancy features or a certain decorative look, like pre-lit or decked with pinecones, an artificial tree allows you to choose a tree that meets your exact Christmas wishes.
• Reduced fire risk: Many artificial trees tend to be made with fire-resistant materials

Setbacks of an Artificial Tree:

• Non-recyclable: Made with non-recyclable materials, artificial trees are unfortunately bound for landfills.

How To Put Lights On A Christmas Tree

Hanging the lights around the tree is arguably the fiddliest part of the decorative process, yet the dazzling appearance they make can truly transform the look of your Christmas tree.

There are a couple of methods to hang your chosen lights on your tree. Read on to follow our step-by-step process.

Top to Bottom:

• First things first, you’ll want to plug in your lights to check all the bulbs work. There’s nothing worse than placing the last of the lights on the tree to find half of them have bulbs that don’t work!
• Start from the top – Beginning at the tree’s top, start weaving the lights over and under the branches whilst working your way round.
• Work downwards – As you weave round, start to make gentle progress downwards, making sure to lay the lights neatly on the front and the back.
• Hide any extras – If you get to the base and have surplus lights, you can conceal these at the back of tree in some of the branches.
• Add more for extra brightness – If one string of lights doesn’t give enough brightness, why not add another round to give your tree a boost!

Bottom to Top:

• Just like with the Top to Bottom method, you need to check your light bulbs first, by plugging them in!
• Begin at the base – Starting at the bottom, zigzag lights through your tree in sections, not just around.
• Add depth – By placing your lights deep in the tree and close to the front branches, you’ll create a more dynamic look.
• Disguise connectors – As you make your way up the tree, if you need to disguise connectors you can do so by tucking them on the branches near to the trunk.
• Reach the top – Once you’ve reached the top, stash any extra lights at the back to keep out of sight.

How you decorate your tree with lights is a personal preference and depends on what look you’re going for. Perhaps you’ve mastered the Bottom to Top approach, or you’ve got a knack for starting at the top. Whatever you decide, you’re sure to make a bright, beautiful Christmas tree!

Choose Your Colours

Do you stick with a traditional colour scheme at Christmas?

Or, do you enjoy changing the feel of the room around the festive season with a more vibrant palette?

Below are a few classic and more explorative colour combinations to trial out this Christmas!

Classic Red and Green:

• Primary Colours: Deep red and rich green.
• Accent Colours: Gold or metallic touches for a touch of elegance.

Frosty Blue and Silver:

• Primary Colours: Icy blue and shimmering silver.
• Accent Colours: White or pale grey to enhance the cool, wintry feel.

Elegant Gold and Burgundy:

• Primary Colours: Luxurious gold and deep burgundy.
• Accent Colours: Cream or ivory for a sophisticated look.

Whimsical Pink and Mint:

• Primary Colours: Playful pastel pink and mint green.
• Accent Colours: Soft gold or silver for a charming and unique palette.

And why not co-ordinate your tree’s colour scheme with the wrapping paper on your presents?

To get the kids involved, you could theme your tree decorations or colours around a character that your child loves! Get inspired by the red, blue, yellow and grey from Paw Patrol or go all out with the pink from Barbie!

To Tinsel Or Not?

Many people choose to steer away from traditional decoration styles, like tinsel, nowadays. There are so many different styles you can experiment with, such as minimalist, limited colour schemes or all bauble baubles!

If you do decide to use tinsel, why not get the whole family involved! The younger children could choose the colours and the older children could decide how to hang the tinsel on the tree. Here are a few tips:

• It’s best to stick to 2 or 3 colours for a more cohesive look.
• Don’t forget the back when hanging tinsel!
• Alternate your colours for a festive looking tree.
• Use thicker tinsel near the bottom of the tree, and thinner up top.
• Co-ordinate your chosen colours with other decorations around the room.

Craft Your Own Decorations

Making your own decorations is a wonderful activity to do with the family and leaves you with some memorable handmade Christmas décor to last you for years and years to come!

Here are some creative ideas to inspire you this season:

• Handprint Wreath: Create a wreath using paper or felt cutouts of your family’s handprints. Everyone can contribute their handprints, and you can assemble them into a wreath shape, adding bows and ornaments for extra flair.
• Pine Cone Ornaments: Collect pine cones, paint them in festive colours, and add glitter or faux snow for a sparkling touch. Attach a ribbon loop, and they’re ready to hang on the tree.

• Sock Snowmen: Use white socks to craft adorable snowmen. Fill the sock with rice, tie it off, and decorate with buttons, felt, and other materials to make charming snowman decorations.
• Paper Chain Garland: Create a paper chain garland using coloured construction paper. Cut strips, loop them together, and staple or glue to form a colourful and festive garland to hang around the house.
• Candy Cane Reindeer: Turn candy canes into reindeer by attaching googly eyes, a red pom-pom for the nose, and pipe cleaners for antlers. These make cute ornaments or table decorations.
• Photo Frame Ornaments: Create mini photo frames using popsicle sticks, then glue a small picture of each family member inside. Hang these personalised ornaments on the tree.
• Mason Jar Snow Globes: Fill mason jars with water, glitter, and small holiday figurines. Seal the jar, and you have homemade snow globes to display.
• Toilet Roll Angels: Use toilet rolls and spare paper around the house to cut wings and dresses, to make your own angels for the tree.

All these DIY activities ensure great family fun and the chance to spend some quality time together. For more creative play activities to do together, check out our arts and crafts toys!

Topping The Tree – Angel or Star?

There are many styles of tree topper to choose from nowadays. With the star becoming a popular choice, the angel being more traditional. The history of the angel originates from the Christmas story, where the angel visited the Virgin Mary and Joseph. From this, the star holds significance as being the guiding star to lead to Baby Jesus.

The star tends to be a popular choice as a fun decoration but there are plenty of other options if neither an angel nor star suits your theme!

• A bow: available in lots of different colours, a large bow might be just what you need to tie your tree together!
• A personalised topper: a family photo or a topper with your family name adds that extra personal touch.
• A DIY paper creation: make your own paper snowflake to top your tree with.

With lots of decorative stages throughout the Christmas tree process, there is something for every member of the family to get involved with. We hope you enjoy your Christmas!

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