How to Decorate Your Christmas Tree: Part 2

Now that you have your lights sparkling on your tree… what’s next?

Choosing how you want it to look! Do you go with a theme or stick with your collection of ornaments collected through the years? Either is GREAT! The key is to have a plan. Once you know what items you have to work with – or maybe need to go purchase – you can take action! Speaking from personal experience, while working at Canterbury I learned so many helpful tricks from the owner, Cindy Haight! I actually just sat down with her to get her top pointers and tips! AND LUCKY YOU I’m about to spill all those secrets to you!

Let’s start from the top!

1. Properly lighting your tree (Check! We learned that on the previous blog post.)
2. Inventory. Know what you are working with – lay out all the items for a complete visual. Buy what you might be missing (take a trip to Canterbury where we have designers there to help and guide you).
3. Tuck items into the tree! Don’t be afraid that someone won’t see it! They will be impressed by the depth this gives to your complete design! (More to come on this!)
4. Pull items out of the tree too! Not literally take them off…but have some dangling from tips of branches. Secure these with wire so they don’t fall/slide off.
5. Balance. Yes, no one wants a tree to tip over…(that was a joke lol), but seriously – your ornament sizes, color and dimension! Confused?? It can be, but check out our later post on this for images and ideas!
6. Elements of surprise. Unique objects like large sticks/logs, a sleigh, mailbox, lanterns, large owls (stuffed, but live would be AMAZING lol)…We love to experiment with our trees! It creates such interest and it gets people talking!
7. Not your grandmas’s garland. (HAHA! It’s ok, I have some in my basement, too.) We love to use “sprays” or “picks“. We have snowy, icy, glittery, big, small, natural, vintage, fun, or traditional…(ok you get my point)…styles of these sprays and picks at Canterbury. We top our tree with them. We BEEF our trees up with them, too! We also add them to our wreaths and arrangements! I’ll be going into more detail with pictures on a future post! BUT using burlap, small stringed ornaments, ribbon, bunting, rope, etc. is a great look if you want to use a garland!
8. Top it off…or not. We don’t always add decor to the “tippy top”. Most of the time we add an emphasis to the top with sprays and picks. However, a vintage tree might look great with a natural star made of vine, or a classic tree might have a brilliant star or beautiful angel. We like the picks made of glitter if we want pizzazz, or we might add extra pine branches with unique pine cones to catch your eye. We have even wired bunches of ornaments to top our tree off. We like to create the look of a continued line – instead of a “hat” on top.
9. Skirt or No Skirt? Finishing with a tree skirt is the traditional way to go. However, we have never been too traditional with our ways. (*snicker*). Bunch up some burlap, stick your tree in a a galvanized bucket – or on top of one! Have you seen those DIY ruffle skirts?
10. HAVE FUN! It’s your tree. Don’t do it to please others. Do it as a family event or for your own pleasure. How it turns out is just they way it was meant to! It’s your own creation to be proud of! There is no right or wrong – only finding new, unique ways to style your Christmas tree this year! Have you used some of our tips?? Then, we would love to see your trees this year! Post them on our Facebook Page here! We would be honored!