Step by Step Directions for Decorating a Christmas Tree
Holiday decorating usually begins with the Christmas tree and here are step by step directions to create a visual feast for the eyes. The Christmas tree on our main floor glows with light, from the inside out, before any decorations are placed on it! This tree is eight feet tall and very dense. There are about twenty-two sets of lights on it and it takes me a whole day to bring the tree up from the basement, set it up, and string the lights on it! Yes, it may be crazy, but it is worth it!
A golden angel sits atop the Christmas tree. Apparently, I am a traditionalist and the angel just seems right. This one is just lovely and has adorned our tree for over twenty-five years. She was a little heavy for the top branch of the tree. In order to support her weight better, a bell-shaped styrofoam piece was attached to a wooden dowel painted dark green. With my little Black and Decker battery powered drill, a hole was drilled down the center of the styrofoam. Then the dowel was inserted. The dowel was then attached to the top branch and the trunk of the tree with florist wire. It works perfectly.
You can see in the picture above that the string of lights is wrapped around the branch, starting from the top. At the base of that branch, the next branch is wrapped all the way to the tip and held there with one hand. Extend the string of lights under the branch and to the base of the next branch and begin to wrap it the same way. Repeat the process. Sometimes I miss a branch, but I try to wrap every branch. It looks spectacular with just the lights and the angel
A swirl of poinsettias is the next step on our tree. Doesn't it look like we could stop right here? This swirl has changed over the years, from one side to the other, thinner at the top and the bottom, thick in the middle, etc. The silk poinsettias have been red, rose-colored, and my favorites are these white ones. (Some years, I weave ribbon in and around the poinsettias, and obviously, this would be the next step before the ornaments. This year, I won't be using the ribbon.) Some of the smaller poinsettias are placed at the top, beginning at the base of the angels skirt, and a swirl is made with the rest of the flowers. Step back and tweak the swirl as you go.
Next, we begin with the ornaments. Every year, when the kids were little, we bought an ornament for each of them. As you can imagine with four kids, we have quite a few ornaments. Someday they will be passed on to each of them and hopefully, bring back good memories.
Hang the bigger ornaments first, and distribute evenly around the tree. This year I am omitting the big red ornaments we have and keeping it lighter to mimic the feel of the more delicate mantel decor. This year, some of the heavier feeling ornaments will be used for the tree on the catwalk.
The next step is hanging the rest of the ornaments, evenly around the tree. Remember to distribute color evenly around the tree, too. This year there are still a few ornaments with red on them and they are spread out evenly around the tree.
The last ornaments placed on the tree are for filler. These are the plain balls. This year I have only used the silver, white, and gold balls. Some have glitter, some are matte finished, and some have a mirror look,, but they are great for filling in bare spots. Tuck them back behind more decorative ornaments. Tuck them back in any empty spots and hang them wherever there is a bare spot.
Now, just add a beautiful tree skirt!
Hopefully, there are a few tips here, which will help you with your Christmas tree. If you use these step by step directions for decorating a Christmas tree, it is really pretty simple to have a gorgeous tree!
