How to Decorate a Christmas Tree

Knowing how to decorate a Christmas tree starts with having everything you need to for the look you want, whether traditional, minimalist or even eclectic.

• Choose a ladder or step stool with good stability and an appropriate weight rating. This will help you safely dress most trees.
• Collect ornaments, ornament hooks, a tree skirt, tree topper, Christmas lights, garland, ribbon or any other Christmas tree decorations you like. (With a little practice, you can learn how to make a bow for a Christmas tree topper.)
• Choose the light type that suits your style. LEDs produce a cool-tone light. Incandescent lights offer a warm glow and novelty lights add personality. You can mix styles to create different effects. Be sure to use indoor-rated lights that are UL-listed and have the same color cord as your Christmas tree.
• Your tree's height and the type of coverage you want determines the number of lights to get. Use 100 lights per foot for low coverage, 250 lights per foot for medium coverage and 350 lights per foot for heavy coverage. Keep a few extra bulbs on hand, so you can replace any that go out.

Select a location for the tree that offers both safety and a dramatic presentation.

• Rearrange room furnishings to make the best space for your Christmas tree.
• Measure the selected space's width, depth and ceiling height. You want to make sure the tree, topper and tree stand all fit.
• Pick a spot that's close to an unused electrical outlet.
• Avoid allowing electrical cords from the tree to stretch across any space that gets foot traffic.
• Install a smart plug at the outlet, so that you can control the tree from your smartphone or tablet.
• Place the tree in a spot away from any heat vents or sources. This can prevent fresh trees from drying out and keeps artificial trees looking their best.
• If a live tree is too tall for the space, maintain its shape by trimming it from the bottom.
• Leave a minimum of 8 inches of free space surrounding your tree to make it easier to decorate on all sides.

Tip: Shop your local The Home Depot for a variety of Christmas trees, including live Christmas trees and cut Christmas trees. In many store locations, a Home Depot associate can make a fresh cut on the bottom of your tree to help it fit better into a tree stand. Pre-lit artificial trees and artificial Christmas trees that look realistic are also available.

To avoid risks of fire or other dangers, it’s important to know how to correctly place Christmas lights on a Christmas tree.
Before you begin applying the lights to the branches, test each strand to make sure there are no bulbs missing or burned out. Determine the pattern you want for stringing the lights. There are several methods to choose from:

• Visually divide the tree into three vertical triangles. Fill in each triangle with lights, alternating the light strings from side to side, down the length of the area. This method takes about 45 minutes.
• Begin at the top and drape lights around the tree in a spiral. Draping is the quickest Christmas tree-decorating idea. It also uses the fewest lights and requires only about 20 minutes for most size trees.
• Begin at the bottom of the trunk and wrap each branch with a light strand, up to two inches from the tip. This method uses the most lights and can take an hour or more, depending on the size of your tree.

Tip: A monochrome color scheme, such as all white lights, works with most ornaments when you decorate a Christmas tree.

Once the lights are placed, stand back from the tree. Squint your eyes until the tree becomes blurry. This will help you see any dark spots on the tree. Add lights to the areas that need them.

Think about how to decorate for Christmas before you start. Decide whether you want to use a certain color scheme or theme.

• Gather ornament hooks to accommodate varying weights and sizes of ornaments.
• Hang large ornaments first.
• Begin at the top of the tree and move vertically down the tree, attaching three large ornaments for every foot of tree.
• Hang medium ornaments. Place these farther into the branches. Allow 8 to 10 ornaments per foot.
• Fill in gaps and adorn branch tips with small ornaments. Place about 20 small ornaments per foot.

It’s easy to learn how to put ribbon on a Christmas tree. Fluff and separate the tree branches. Whether they are real or artificial, this will help them hold the ribbon. Use one to three kinds of ribbon. Mesh or textured ribbons usually hold onto the branches better than smooth ribbons. Burlap works well with rustic Christmas decorations. Wired satin ribbons are lovely on an elegant Christmas tree. Wide ribbons can help hide any remaining bare spots.

• If necessary, use floral wire (or cut small pieces of green pipe cleaners) around the ribbon. Then, twist them onto the branches to secure them.

There are three main ways to put ribbon on a Christmas tree:

• Start at the base of the tree.
• As you wind the ribbon around and around the tree, go up slightly up. This will create a candy cane effect.
• Leave even spaces between the ribbons. Twist the ribbon as you wrap it around, if desired.
• Put a bow on the top of the tree. Cut lengths of ribbon and let them hang loosely from the top to the base.
• Twist each ribbon a few times to give a festive look to the tree.
• Drape ribbon in swags from the bottom to the top of the tree. Make each swag about 12 inches long.

Use the same basic steps for decorating a Christmas tree with ribbon when you're ready to put garland on a Christmas tree. Then, follow one of these three popular methods:

• Wrap garland around the tree, working slightly up, as you go from the bottom to the top.
• For extra interest, twist two different kinds of garland together and drape them in swags around the tree, working from the bottom up.
• Cut lengths of garland and twist them slightly into "s" shapes. Secure them to the top of the tree and let them hang loosely to the base.

Place a tree topper at the crown of the tree. Take a few steps back and check to see if the topper is straight. If not, adjust it as necessary. You can also top your tree with a purchased or DIY bow. Learn how to make a bow for a Christmas tree by following the instructions below.

• Cut a 15-inch length of ribbon.
• Fold the ribbon over on itself to make two loops at the top and one at the bottom. Don't let the ribbon twist. The two top loops should look like two bunny ears.
• Cross the right loop over the left to make a third loop, so the bases come together. Keep the tails of the ribbon flat and of equal length.
• Fold the loop that's now on the left behind the right loop and through the bottom loop.
• Pull the top loops together to form the bow.
• Make a knot in the center of the bow.
• Notch the ends of the ribbon tails as desired.
• Finish your Christmas decorating with a Christmas tree skirt and other matching decor.

Tip: For a bigger bow, start with a longer piece of ribbon.