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Everything You Need to Decorate An Amazing Christmas Tree

We have your list of essentials to decorate an amazing Christmas tree this year. Don’t stress we’ve got you covered with our simple ideas!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Halloween is over.

Thanksgiving is coming up in a few short weeks.

And then it’s my absolute favorite holiday!

CHRISTMAS!!!

I love everything about it…the special time spent with family & friends…the gift buying & giving…the delicious food & drinks…and of course, the beautiful Christmas decorations.

But what I don’t love is the stress that sometimes comes with preparing for the holidays.

Am I right?

Tell me I’m not alone!

Sometimes there are conflicting schedules that make it hard to schedule that special time with family & friends.

The stores are often crowded with shoppers or out of stock on items when I’m searching for the perfect gift for each person on my list.

Finding the time to entertain during this busy time can be really difficult too.

And all that delicious holiday food…well, who has time to cook.

But the Christmas decorations…oh, no that will be done no matter how busy I am during this time of year.

Our home will be decorated for my favorite holiday.

When I was a little girl, I loved laying on the floor in our living room under our Christmas tree mesmerized by the gorgeous twinkling lights.

And honestly, I still love the magical glow of Christmas trees.

Making my house festive for my family gives me so much joy…although it can be stressful trying to get everything decorated.

For me, the main decoration of Christmas in our home is our tree.

Actually, I may have more than one tree…I may have a bunch in all sizes…and I’d really like to get a few more.

I mean can you really ever have too many trees?

Let’s not stress about holidays this year, because today I’m sharing everything you need to decorate an amazing Christmas tree.

What Style Christmas Tree Do You LOVE?

decorated christmas tree in front of window next to fireplace

Our family’s main Christmas tree is a real tree that we put in our family room.

We wait until after Thanksgiving to go to a farm in the mountains to cut it down.

Then we decorate it together with meaningful ornaments we’ve collected over the years.

I’ve considered getting a faux tree in the past couple of years since I started blogging so that I could decorate it earlier, but our family has always had a real tree and I’m not sure we can give it up.

faux christmas tree lit up in dark living room between two club chairs in front of window

I started adding faux trees in different rooms in our house that I’m able to put up earlier and enjoy that magical warm glow of the twinkling lights.

There are so many options for faux trees in any size or style that you can imagine.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money on the actual tree to have an gorgeous one.

There’s always one to fit your budget.

Check out our list of options below.

Be sure you keep reading to the end so you get all my tips to decorate an amazing Christmas tree this year!

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Shop for Christmas Trees

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How to Trim a Christmas Tree

Woman hanging DIY Christmas ornament on farmhouse style Christmas tree in front of a window.

Now that you have your perfect tree it’s time to add the lights and decorations.

If your tree isn’t prelit you’ll need lighting.

Do you want clear or color?

Do you want small classic lights or maybe you like the larger vintage bulbs?

I always use warm clear lights and usually go with inexpensive string lights in a classic style.

Although, a couple years ago, I used large vintage string lights and I loved how it looked.

If you scroll back up to the tree in the living room at night you can see the larger bulbs.

slim christmas tree by staircase with diy wood ornaments

After your tree is lit you can start adding ornaments.

This is an area that you can either spend a lot or a little depending on your budget.

If you’re adding extra trees to your home like I did recently you may not have extra money for even more ornaments to decorate the additional trees.

No worries…you can just make decorations.

I made these simple DIY wood ornaments for my cashmere flocked pencil tree.

For only $5, I was able to make 16 ornaments…not too shabby.

Check out this post to see how I did it.

If DIY isn’t your thing we found some really pretty ornaments in a variety of price ranges to trim your tree below

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How to Add Ribbon to a Christmas Tree

Close up of a Christmas tree with dried fruit ornaments and natural ribbon with gold polka dots.

Adding ribbon is another budget-friendly way to fill your tree.

Whethere your style is traditional, farmhouse or boho there is a ribbon out there that would be perfect on your Christmas tree.

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How to Use Different Garlands on a Tree

close up of decorated christmas tree with several different strands of string bead garlands and ornaments

Anne and I worked for a friend who was getting her store ready for Christmas.

We helped move all the Christmas products into her store and styled shelves, tables, walls and more.

We also decorated not one or two…but SIX Christmas trees!

The first one we decorated was a little rough in the beginning, but we learned so much from Jackie working for her, we were able to style the next five trees and even restyle that initial one.

And I think they all came out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

You can see in this rustic tree that Anne decorated she used several different styles of bead garlands.

It really was fun being able to use any products that Jackie sells in the store to decorate the trees.

No budget!

But in real life adding a few strands of garland on your tree would be a great way to add texture.

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Where to Add Floral Picks to a Faux Tree

Window display for Christmas with white lanterns and a gray, white, and wood Christmas tree with hanging grapevine orbs filled with twinkle lights in Asheville Rodworks store

I’ve decorated Christmas trees with all the ideas I’ve shared so far…lights, ornaments, ribbon, and bead garland.

But I’ve never used floral, greenery or Christmas stems and picks in my Christmas tree.

When we styled the trees at Rod Works we had access to a variety of picks.

And oh boy, were they a super fun addition to each tree.

I used some cool white pom pom picks on the gray and white tree above instead of a topper.

Red and white Christmas decorations on a flocked tree in a window display at Rodworks Asheville store

Just a few of the red and white ball picks stuck in the branches here and there add a bit more dimension to this pretty Christmas tree.

I already bought some picks to try in one of my trees this year.

Can’t wait to show you which one!

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How to Use Signs on a Christmas Tree

close up of christmas sign nestled into branches of decorated Christmas tree

Signs were another décor piece I never thought to use in my Christmas trees.

But the bigger size looks great mixed in with the ornaments don’t you think so?!

Since the branches on artificial trees are able to bend, I just nestled the sign deep enough into the tree so that it wouldn’t fall out.

I’m definitely looking in my holiday bins for a couple of signs to add to my tree this year!

Shop Christmas Signs

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Let’s Talk Christmas Tree Skirts & Toppers

galvanized metal farmhouse Christmas tree collar painted with black chalk paint with French country style stencils filled with burlap and a Christmas tree

Christmas tree skirts have come a long way since I was a little girl laying under my tree on top of a traditional red and white fabric skirt.

Now you can choose a tree skirt to match your Christmas home décor style and color scheme.

Or you can add a tree collar or box to the bottom of your tree.

Anne painted her farmhouse style silver tree collar to match the French Country style of her home and it’s just so pretty.

dining room decorated for Christmas with dining table and chairs in the middle of the room Christmas tree at end of table in front of windows

The topper is another décor item for your Christmas tree where can have a bit of fun!

On our family room tree with all of our sentimental ornaments we have a snowman topper that we’ve had since we had our first son.

There are some things that are just family traditions and too meaningful to change.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t pick out new toppers for my other trees.

The rustic wood star is the perfect finishing touch for this tree that’s decorated with woods, burlap and galvanized ornaments in our dining room.

Shop Tree Toppers, Skirts & Collars

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Now you’re ready to trim your tree!

Have fun & don’t stress!!

If you have any questions or suggestions, contact me or leave a comment!

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