How to Decorate a Christmas Tree?

[earllogjam]

Please help me out!

My first question: How many ornaments per foot of tree? Is there a rule of thumb?

Anyone have any recommendations for what I should be going for when I buy? I have a box with 100 red globes and gold globes. I also have a garland of red berries, but I think it's supposed to go over doorways or the stairwell (I think it's 32' altogether, 4 strands of 8'). I also have large Martha Stewart strings of lights that are white, but I think those are for outside. That's all I have so far. :redface:

Edit: They're 4 boxes of 25 White Large Pearl-Finish Classic Lights, 27' and the box says "Ideal for small trees' and 'Connect up to two light strands.'

You obviously aren't a gay guy are you Petit? I think Christmas tree decorating is just an innate talent for gentile homosexuals.

For the tree decor challenged..http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...21x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=07196996000P

 

[maxcok]

I've helped decorate my parents and grandparents trees before, but this is my first year I'm getting my own tree, and trying to figure out where I want to begin my own Christmas decoration collection is where I'm at right now. I thought that red and gold would look very pretty against a green tree, so that's why I bought the big box of red and gold and red/gold globes, but then I was sort of stumped what to do next?

Hello darlin, sorry for hijacking your thread with the MM sillyness, but it sounded like you were getting plenty of good advice. Tray and Nudey had some great tips, especially for Jewish boys. :wink: Okay, my recipe:

Red and gold shiny balls against the green tree with (tiny) clear white lights is a perfect canvas to begin with. Now send the BF to your local craft supply (e.g. Hobby Lobby, Michaels) for 3-4 dozen realistic looking white doves with feathers in two or three sizes and perch them all over. Add some more tiny birds in bright festive colors here and there. Dress it up with some clear crystal looking ornaments for extra sparkle, e.g. snowflakes, icicles, stars and whatnot, and scatter whatever odd, interesting, sentimental ornaments you have all around. If you don't have any of those yet, throw a party, and tell everyone to bring an ornament.

I am not a big fan of tinsel. Too labor intensive, almost never looks right, and makes a big mess. Instead wrap it all in two rolls of fancy 4" florist ribbon for garland, the kind with wire edges so you can crumple and mould it, one classic red/green plaid with metallic gold threads, the other an embossed shiny soft gold damask for contrast. Top it off with a beautiful white robed Christmas angel, and voila, a classic elegant traditional tree with plenty of sparkle and punch that also expresses your individuality. If you have leftover ribbon and ornaments, you can make fancy bows, tie them to fresh evergreen boughs to decorate your table, mantle or elsewhere. Whatever you do, we want pics. :smile:

 

[flame boy]

How to decorate a Christmas Tree? Let me do it, I make tree's look fabulous!

I've done 4 trees so far this year...only one of them was mine.

 

[B_Hickboy]

Fire.

 

[maxcok]

So that's his secret. I get it.

 

[helgaleena]

Goodness, P, if you are hosting the event, just get the tree covered any which way so it's there, and worry about details in future years! It sounds like you have chosen well and have sufficient to handle the situation. The guests are certain to give you things that can go on the tree right away, so leave a few spots not quite full. And try not to have glass things where baby relatives might be able to reach. Or hounds!

Happy first family Xmas event.

 

[Countryguy63]

{snip} Also, make sure that you don't neglect the inner part of your tree. I think most people just decorate the outter tips of branches, which leaves the tree looking flat and one dimensional. Put ornaments (and lights) toward the inner core of the tree as well. (Just don't forget about them when you take it down!) {snip}

This year, I let my girls have the honor. I actually love decorating for the Holidays. One of the things that I will do is to tightly wrap the core (trunk) with small white lights. Very time consuming, but as Tray mentions, it adds tremendous dimensional value. It also helps to show any decorations that have been hung inside the tree. The rest of the tree is multi colored.

Oh, and I love tinsel. Lots of work, but I love the look when done properly (not piles, tossed on the tree).

I actually love theme trees. Other than "Santa", I actually haven't done any others, though.

 

[petite]

Hello darlin, sorry for hijacking your thread with the MM sillyness, but it sounded like you were getting plenty of good advice. Tray and Nudey had some great tips, especially for Jewish boys. :wink: Okay, my recipe:

Red and gold shiny balls against the green tree with (tiny) clear white lights is a perfect canvas to begin with. Now send the BF to your local craft supply (e.g. Hobby Lobby, Michaels) for 3-4 dozen realistic looking white doves with feathers in two or three sizes and perch them all over. Add some more tiny birds in bright festive colors here and there. Dress it up with some clear crystal looking ornaments for extra sparkle, e.g. snowflakes, icicles, stars and whatnot, and scatter whatever odd, interesting, sentimental ornaments you have all around. If you don't have any of those yet, throw a party, and tell everyone to bring an ornament.

I am not a big fan of tinsel. Too labor intensive, almost never looks right, and makes a big mess. Instead wrap it all in two rolls of fancy 4" florist ribbon for garland, the kind with wire edges so you can crumple and mould it, one classic red/green plaid with metallic gold threads, the other an embossed shiny soft gold damask for contrast. Top it off with a beautiful white robed Christmas angel, and voila, a classic elegant traditional tree with plenty of sparkle and punch that also expresses your individuality. If you have leftover ribbon and ornaments, you can make fancy bows, tie them to fresh evergreen boughs to decorate your table, mantle or elsewhere. Whatever you do, we want pics. :smile:

I have no room to complain when it comes to hijacking threads. :tongue: I don't mind in the least.

I love yours and Nudie's suggestions. I think I'm going to use a few of those, especially the evergreen boughs idea. I have a few volunteer cedar trees in the yard that need removal anyway, so they'll be useful. :smile:

I just thought of this, reading your post, but since I'm not religious, I wonder if a dove on top of the tree might be more appropriate for me? I've never seen it done before, but it seems like it might make for a better personal symbol than a star or an angel for me. That's something to consider...

How to decorate a Christmas Tree? Let me do it, I make tree's look fabulous!

I've done 4 trees so far this year...only one of them was mine.

Four? That sounds like fun. I bet they're beautiful. Do you have photos? :smile:

Goodness, P, if you are hosting the event, just get the tree covered any which way so it's there, and worry about details in future years! It sounds like you have chosen well and have sufficient to handle the situation. The guests are certain to give you things that can go on the tree right away, so leave a few spots not quite full. And try not to have glass things where baby relatives might be able to reach. Or hounds!

Happy first family Xmas event.

Oh, it'll be small, just a few family members are staying with us, but I expect a lot of people will drop by, new baby and everything, you understand. :smile:

I hope we get some Christmas ornaments this year. It would be so neat to start of TheBaby's life like that.

This year, I let my girls have the honor. I actually love decorating for the Holidays. One of the things that I will do is to tightly wrap the core (trunk) with small white lights. Very time consuming, but as Tray mentions, it adds tremendous dimensional value. It also helps to show any decorations that have been hung inside the tree. The rest of the tree is multi colored.

Oh, and I love tinsel. Lots of work, but I love the look when done properly (not piles, tossed on the tree).

I actually love theme trees. Other than "Santa", I actually haven't done any others, though.

I've never seen a tree with the lights wrapped around the trunk. Decorating the tree has always been a family event, at both my grandparent's house, done mostly by the grandkids for the past several decades, and mostly just me and my dad and my stepmom at my dad's house.

 

[petite]

You obviously aren't a gay guy are you Petit? I think Christmas tree decorating is just an innate talent for gentile homosexuals.

For the tree decor challenged..Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

No, I'm a straight woman. :smile:

I love that tree. I'm tempted to get it. My family would think it is hilarious. :tongue:

 

[petite]

I told my dad that I thought one of the fun things we could do after they arrive is have him and TheBF pick up a tree and trim it all together. He loved that idea, and he said that he's going to bring some of the hand-painted ornaments to put on the tree.

He said that this year, we should start some new traditions because this will be TheBaby's first Christmas. It made me very happy. :smile:

 

[Rikter8]

Here.

PlanetChristmas

Join, Visit the forum. It's a good group!

 

[SweetLovesVick]

In my opinion, a Christmas tree is a personal piece of art.
Mine is decorated with kids ornaments, homemade ornaments, a couple of Wal-Mart specials to remember the earlier years, ornamentations, tinsel and LED Lights.
Although it "looks" tacky by public standards, everything has meaning to us. For GOD SAKE, do not conform!!:biggrin1:

I agree with the above poster. I started as a teenager picking up ornaments on vacations, then later on business trips, and of course after Christmas sales. We have one tree in the front window (formal living room) which is really for the people who drive by the house. I purchased two trees off QVC which had both white lights and multi colored lights built on it with a remote. it was $300 before the holiday and after on clearance for only $75 I bought two of them and my husband has loved me ever since the purchase. No more crazy light arguments and blown bulbs. And the trees are tall 7ft and chubby not those skinny trees you see this year.

People can not believe they are fake and thats all good for me.

My 4 yr old daughter has a "PINK" yes a pink Wal-mart tree four feet and my son has a tiny white one the same size. She has all Disney princess little tiny ornaments, he has all Disney cars characters on his with red bulbs.
They actually saw the trees in Wal-mart two years ago and said thats all they wanted Santa to bring them was their own trees and he could keep the toys they asked for............ so "Santa mom and dad" went to wal-mart and shocking none the less they had a 4 ft trees of every color even brown

My point is your tree will be different as your family adds to it each year. Make it the way you both think it should be. So when you sit and look at it it makes you happy that its your family tree! Your children will make it special with how they want it to look and believe me I never got excited for the tree like my kids do. It is insane the decorating we now do Thanksgiving weekend each year. My husband goes out and hangs beautiful white icicle lights around the whole front of the top gutter of the house and he smiles while he does it (before the children no smile was seen on his face EVER). The 48 yr old father next door never decorated his house with lights ever, his kids begged for lights for years. Two have moved out and the only one left is sixteen this year. He went out Halloween weekend and decorated every single real Christmas tree in his yard(eight) some are ten feet tall. He told me he did it because my son said his house looked sad without lights! His daughter has never been happier she said this will be her best Christmas ever just because of the lights.

So something simple can make not just you but anyone who sees your decorations happy! Good luck your house will look fantastic!

 

[SweetLovesVick]

I don't think there should be any rules about decorating a tree it should be suited to your whims. However I follow these guidelines for myself. I light the tree first from the inside out and from the top down. I hang really large ornaments on the inside branches, I hang smaller ornaments on the top and graduate larger as I go down. I also stuck with a two color theme as I have added ornaments each year. When you hang a few things step back and see if it suits what your final statement is. This is last years tree!

This tree is awesome!

 

[maxcok]

I have no room to complain when it comes to hijacking threads. :tongue: I don't mind in the least.

I love yours and Nudie's suggestions. I think I'm going to use a few of those, especially the evergreen boughs idea. I have a few volunteer cedar trees in the yard that need removal anyway, so they'll be useful. :smile:

I just thought of this, reading your post, but since I'm not religious, I wonder if a dove on top of the tree might be more appropriate for me? I've never seen it done before, but it seems like it might make for a better personal symbol than a star or an angel for me. That's something to consider...

I'm not 'religious' either, nor am I anti-religious. I can find common truths, guidance, and spiritual enlightenment at the heart of many different faith traditions and beyond. For me Christmas is a time to celebrate the spirit of peace, hope, and enlightenment coming through the darkness in the dead of winter. It's echoed in Jewish, Hindu, Druid, Celtic, Wiccan, Roman festivals, etc. - all of them ultimately tracing their roots to the 'pagan' solstice celebrations at the dawn of humanity. That's why I like encorporating symbols like the dove that represent the spirit of peace and love without being tied to any one tradition. The same with an angel; it's not a religious statement for me, but the embodiment of an abstract celestial presence, the same as a star in the night sky. For me, no more a religious statement than the tree itself.

I personally don't have a problem displaying traditional Christian symbols in this context. People who visit me know that my spiritual beliefs are much, much broader than that. Put whatever you like on your tree, though if you're going to cover it in doves, a dove at the top might get lost. I like having something special that stands out and draws the eye upward, a focal point. You'd be surprised at some of the crazy trees and tree toppers I've had over the years, so be free to use your imagination. Regardless, I think you should put a manger at the base where you can wrap your baby in swaddling clothes and wait for the shepherds to arrive. :wink:

 

[CUBE]

I keep a tree up year round. I change it for some holidays or not. I enjoy it every night. 6ft tree. I would use 500 lights and 100 ornaments. This will look like a full tree. I have the majority of small lights in white...but have red, purple, green single strands embedded deeper into the tree. When the ornaments are added it looks like a white tree except not as stark as all white. The inset color comes off as an association of the color balls added. Use a power strip so the lights aren't all plugged into each other. Any more that two strands together and you will burn out the first strand fast.

 

[accemb]

I like clear lights, which reflect brightly off my antique glass ornaments. I like a traditional glass finial style topper, and have glass candles to clip on the tips of the branches for a traditional, Victorian sort of look. Most of my ornaments are from my grandparents, parents, and relatives. Others I've collected at yard sales and antique shops. Oh, and Christmas CDs must be played while decorating the tree.

 

[B_curiousme01]

From a design prospective, I suggest...

Put your lights on first
Whatever ornaments you have that are identical, spread them around the tree as equally as possible. Don't forget the back!
Fill in with what remains and then decide what else is needed

It's easy to make your own ornaments from dough, paper mache, etc. I saw that you were thinking of something guests to be creative with to add to the tree. You could go to Michael's and get some pre-cut paper shapes with holes at the top. Guests could write notes to you, bf and baby...