On Thanksgiving night, after all the family has shared their hearts of gratitude, a big turkey dinner, and the clean up, we all work together and set up our Christmas tree. It’s such a special, fun night that I look forward to every year. We have gotten the tree decorating down to a science so I thought I’d share with you all the details of how to decorate a Christmas tree or more specifically, how I decorate my Christmas tree.
1. Choose the right tree – Live, artificial, skinny, fat, tall, short, Charlie Brown-like… there are many trees to choose from and you will have to decide what you like best and what works best for your home. 20 years ago we bought an artificial tree. It was a big fat one. It worked well for many years but then our family began to grow and our 1,000 square foot home wasn’t getting any bigger, so we had to find a different tree. I was very blessed to find a skinny tree at a Thrift Store for $35 and it works PERFECTLY for our home.
So, choose the right tree for you… you are the only one that can decide that!
2. Safely set up and spruce up the tree – When our boys were little, keeping our tree in the upright position was not easy. We eventually screwed it to the floor…I kid you not! If you choose an artificial tree, you will need to spruce it up a bit. I slightly bend every other branch in an opposite direction. This gives the tree a fuller look.
3. Lights – Your next step is to string the lights on the tree. A lot of trees now are pre-lit but even if your tree is pre-lit, you may want to add some extra lights. (this is what I did) I read that for every foot of your tree, you should have a string of 100 lights.
4. Garland – There are many types of garland. For my tree, I chose burlap. Also with this step, I placed rafia here and there throughout my tree.
5. Ornaments – You may choose themed, miscellaneous, or special family ornaments. Every year, we as a family choose an ornament for our tree. It is typically from somewhere special that we have been that year. This was our new ornament last year.
We have them from the very first year we were married until now…almost 21 years and 4 kids later.
Finally, just top your tree with your favorite topper and enjoy your newly decorated tree.
Happy Decorating!!
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My husband and I also buy an ornament that tells a little something about our year as a family. It makes my heart happy to unwrap each of them as we decorate the Christmas tree.
Thanks for your step by step directions of how you decorate your tree! I was wondering if I should put the garland on first. 😉
Happy Thanksgiving!
Ashley @ 3littlegreenwoods
Too cute, I’m afraid I had a giggle at your expense when you explained how you screwed your tree to the floor…I only had one little boy and 2 girls but we both know boys are all energy and fearless!
Decorating Christmas tree is my one of the favorite task and last week I have started to decorate my Christmas tree. This year I want to do some special and thus I am searching for creative ideas. I found your decorative ideas perfect and now I am too excited to see my decorated tree.
I never thought of putting the garland on first – thanks for that tip
My husband and I do the annual ornament too – great family tradition and every year is like going back down memory lane.
Lastly, I LOVE you putting your tree in the galvanized tub! I am heading to the shed in the morning to look for our tub!!
What a lovely tree! You are so right about getting the right tree for your space. I have an artificial tree, prelit, too, and have been very happy with it for the past 7-8 years (I don’t remember precisely what year I bought it — online). This year for the first time I noticed some bulbs burnt out so next year, as the tree is still in great condition, I will be adding strings of lights per your suggestion. It is the most wonderful thing to be able to add ornaments to one’s tree, year after year, that have special meaning. Amazingly, since my memory is not so good these days as it used to be, I recall very well where and when I purchased the vast majority of my ornaments, even those in their storage boxes not used on the tree this year. It’s amazing how many I’ve accumulated in a relatively short period of time. How wonderful to have 21 plus years worth of memories of your marriage and family on your own tree. Kudos to you. Christmas should be about sentiment, and nothing is more sentimental than the memories those special ornaments evoke each season when we see them, as if brand new, all over again. Happy Holidays to you and yours.
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