Nothing signals Christmas quite like the shining lights of Christmas trees in windows. I’ve talked about my Christmas aesthetic a little in this post and all the other Christmas decor you might need but this one is solely for the tree.
I grew up always getting real Christmas trees and that actually is my preference. Yes they are messy and sometimes unruly but there’s just nothing like them. The smell, no matter how much people try to replicate it, is just so much better. I love seeing the sap running down the trunk and all the little oddities and bald spots.
That being said, my tree this year is actually fake, shocking I know. I’m just borrowing it so who knows if I’ll stick with fake trees but this one is actually pretty nice. I do really love and prefer real trees but I also really dislike bad fake trees. I hate having to fluff them, I hate the texture and when they poke you. I hate when they just look bad. It’s so much easier for a fake tree to look bad than a real tree to look bad. But there has been a major improvement in fake trees. I like the ones with the plastic sprigs because they take so much less work and look a lot more realistic. I know the major hardware stores have had a lot of really great trees recently but they can be pretty expensive.
Okay enough about the tree itself, lets talk about the decorations. My Christmas tree theme is kind of starry night inspired. I’ve always loved stars and ever since I played a star in a Christmas play I knew I wanted my tree to be star themed. I go for shades of blues and blue greens as well as gold metallic accents. Also, a lot of my ornaments are no longer available so the ones I have linked are similar ones and the best I could find. So that’s kind of the background now let’s get into it!
Base Ornaments
Whenever I decorate a Christmas tree, I always start with the base layer. Sometimes that means garland or ribbon, which I didn’t do on this tree. After those, the ornament base layer begins. For me it’s the ordinary, round ornaments that normally come in big packs. Since you have quite a few of them, they are more about brining congruence to the tree instead of being an accent. I always dot them in a zigzag pattern up the tree. Because my tree isn’t the traditional red and gold, my base layer is where I bring in the color elements I want. I went with dark teal and navy. I’ve also got varying sizes and finishes of base ornament. The teal ones are shiny and smaller while the navy is larger and matte. I also have six gold round ornaments that are medium but instead of being just plain they have a subtle star pattern on them.
At this point my tree just has a lot of round ornaments that I love but that seems too similar. I add a white oblong sparkling ornament to give some shape diversity. This is probably the one aspect of my tree that is still lacking and that I will be working on, I want more interesting and different shapes than just balls. That’s my goal for next year!
Accent Ornaments
Now that your base is on and the majority of your repeating ornaments are gone, you can add the accent ornaments. For me, this means ornaments that are unique enough that you wouldn’t want them as your base, meaning you wouldn’t want more than five of them, but you need them to help the tree have direction.
In my case, this means this is where the shining, sparkling, star aspect of my tree comes into play. As much as I love stars, I do not want my whole tree to be that (but saying that, it would be really beautiful and maybe someday I’ll do that.) Instead, I have about three different ornaments that I have around 3-4 of. I love the World Market stars on my tree and it makes me sad I only have three. I would love two more. Also from World Market, the sparkle tassels, add so much length and shine. Technically they are silver but at night you can’t even really tell and it doesn’t bother me to mix metals like that. These giant ornaments from Hobby Lobby I love, but I got my first one a few years ago before picking up two more and while I like the new ones, they aren’t exactly the same and the first one is for sure my favorite design. But oh well, what can you do.
I have only three kinds of ornaments I classify as accents, but ideally I would have about five. I have a few ornaments that fall under the same style and category (birds) so they kind of count but they aren’t all matching which I would prefer. After this year, when they are on sale I’ll pick up a few more to round out my collection.
World Market Metallic Ornament
One of a Kind Ornaments
Okay this is the hardest type of ornament to shop for and give recommendations for because they are so unique to each person. My favorite way to get one of a kind ornaments is to either get them when I am traveling or to make them myself to commemorate the year. That being said, even one of a kind ornaments should match the rest of the tree. What I mean is, if you have no vintage style Santa ornaments or red or anything relating to that, then don’t get one and put it on your tree. If you really do want that, then you need at least two and you would have to take your entire tree in that direction color and stylewise.
My one of a kinds all match my color scheme and most of them are embroidered and from the same seller. When I went to England, I picked up tons of ornaments from different places that all were the same brand. So they look cohesive even though they are different. If you can’t get ornaments from the same brand (often you can) at least get two of the same or fairly similar.
For the ornaments I make myself, I always use a disc style ornament that is the same size. I just picked up a pack from Michaels and have been using it since. World Market has lots of ornaments that are one of a kind and is a great place to shop.
York Minster Ornament
Westminster Abbey Ornament
Tie a Bow on It
So this category is not required at all but I’ve noticed such a change in my tree when I do this. Maybe it’s because I don’t do garland or big ribbon as a base, but adding little bows on the tree really helps to round out the look.
I love that you add it last to fill in any gaps or missing pieces. Also, you can add so much length that helps to draw the eye. I go for a light blue velvet ribbon so I’ve got the full spectrum of blues on my tree. Finding light blue ornaments is hard but the blue ribbon is readily available and gives an antique look. Basically the ribbons are just so easy and cute I think everyone should do it!
Making My Good Life 
Leave a comment