How to decorate a Christmas tree: your guide to styling your festive centrepiece
Decorating the Christmas tree is a time-honoured family tradition and brings loved ones closer to share in the festive spirit. We understand that styling your Christmas tree should be joyful and stress-free, so we’re sharing our tips on how to create a festive centrepiece that showcases your style with all of the fun and none of the fuss.
Find the perfect tree placement
Before putting up your tree, get a gauge of what space you have available. For smaller spaces a slimmer tree won’t take up too much room but still have a striking impact. If you’ve got a bigger area to fill, then you could opt for a tree over 7ft with a wider base.
If you’ve chosen a real Christmas tree, make sure it’s away from direct heat sources and top up with fresh water daily to prevent the needles from drying out too quickly.
Choose a theme that showcases your style
How you decorate your home this season is personal to you, so your decorations should reflect your style. We’ve put together five key themes this year to help you create a magical backdrop for your Christmas memories.
Woodland Wonder
Inspired by nature’s changing seasons, Woodland Wonder is your soft transition from autumn to winter. A pot-grown or real tree would complement this theme, but you can still achieve the same effect by dressing an artificial tree with natural textures and earth-toned decorations.
Woodland Wonder is all about bringing the outside in, so we suggest adding a range of different textures and tones of greens, golds, and ambers for depth and a warming atmosphere.
Holly and Ivy
Traditional prints and motifs meet Scandi style in this wonderfully nostalgic theme. Reminiscent of Christmases past, Holly and Ivy encourages us to decorate our homes with handmade paper chains, charming characters and traditional red and green baubles.
Leave no branch bare and embrace nostalgia this season by drenching your tree head to toe in warm colours that will invoke a deep sense of joy for the whole family.
Deck the Halls
For a more luxurious look, our Deck the Halls theme is an elevated take on classic Christmas style. With deep reds, rich purples, and gold accents, this theme will transform your tree into an opulent addition to your living space.
This theme is all about the grandiose, so we recommend our 7ft Fraser Fir tree as your base, which can be decorated with statement pieces and a classic gold star to top it all off.
Starry Night
The deep winter sky takes centre-stage for our Starry Night theme, and our artificial Balsmea tree with snow-effect branches would be the perfect backdrop for your Christmas tree styling.
Create a magical winter scene in your home with iridescent, silver, and blue decorations, which, when paired with cool-toned lights, will provide an enchanting atmosphere this festive season.
It’s Christmas
Full of joy, colours, and festive spirit, this theme celebrates Christmas in all its glory. You can bring whimsy and charm to your tree with robotic Santa legs, bold-coloured baubles, and finish off with a battery-operated festive train to run around the skirt.
We recommend multi-coloured lights and contrasting patterns for this theme – but there’s no right or wrong way to dress your tree this way. If it makes you happy and brings you joy, we say go for it!
Fluff, shape, and prepare
Once you’ve chosen your tree and planned your theme, it’s time to put it all together! Whether you’ve chosen a real or artificial tree, how you structure it is essential. For an artificial tree, take a bit of extra time shaping each branch to create a natural silhouette, and for real trees gently trim any uneven sections and ensure the stand holds the tree upright and secure.
Add lights to your tree
Now here comes the fun part – the decorating! Lights provide the perfect base for any tree, and our top tip is to wrap them around the branches instead of draping them on the surface, as this creates depth and allows ornaments to take centre-stage. Start from the bottom and work your way upwards, weaving lights from the inside of the branches outwards.
Layer your decorations
Hanging your favourite decorations from the tree is a treasured Christmas memory for everyone. Whichever theme you’ve chosen, be sure to include decorations that are personal to you such as family keepsakes or handmade ornaments.
For a fuller looking tree, we suggest starting with larger and statement baubles placed deeper within the branches, working outwards with medium sized pieces, and finishing with smaller, delicate decorations towards the outer edges.
If you’re using garlands, ribbons, or beads, then hang them in a spiral pattern around the tree from top to bottom for a fun sense of movement.
Finish the look with a statement topper – a classic star or angel never goes amiss – and a decorative tree skirt or basket to conceal and protect the stand.
The final touches
Once you’ve finished decorating your tree, you can extend the Christmas spirit into the rest of your home. Decorate with matching wreaths and garlands or create festive motifs for the dining room table. You can also add reed diffusers or scented candles to capture Christmas for all the senses.
Creating a magical looking Christmas tree doesn’t have to be complicated, and the most important thing is that you have fun with it.
Discover styling inspiration with our Christmas collections, and don’t forget to drop by your local Dobbies store to explore our ranges in-person and say hello to Santa in his grotto in the process!