A complete tree traditionally is composed of lights, garland, trim, and ornaments, arranged in that order. Add a tree skirt for a finishing touch. It is customary to add the topper last, although this is mostly for ceremonial purposes.
Lights
Thread lights from the base of the tree to the tip, and the inside branches to the outward ones. For trees taller than 4 feet, use up to 100 small twinkling lights per foot. Trees 2-3 feet tall need 35-80 lights. If you prefer to use the larger C-7 or C-9 bulbs, multiply the height of your tree by its dimension. For trees up to 7 feet divide this number in half. Divide by 3 for trees over 7 feet. Check the packaging of C-7 and C-9 bulbs, since not all brands have been approved to use with artificial trees.
Exercise caution when using strings of lights end-to-end. As a general rule, do not hook more than 3 sets of lights together, as doing so can overload the circuits and blow the fuses. Some commercial grade sets are safe to hook up to six sets. Hook together only strings of the same lights; for example, never hook a string miniature twinkling lights to a line of C-7 bulbs. This is also true when hooking your tree topper to the light sets. Use a 3 outlet cord instead. Discard any damaged light sets or decorations and turn everything off when you go to bed for the night!
Garland
Garlands can be made of tinsel or beads, and some ambitious revelers still make their own garlands out of popcorn, cranberries, and/or linked paper. Ribbons of various widths, styles, and colors also make fabulous garlands. Hung in large loops, garland adds drama to your tree, although how you drape your garland is a matter of taste and sometimes depends on the size of your tree. (Large loops can look silly on a smaller tree.) Nowadays you can also string garland vertically, by securing it at the top and looping downward. Experiment to see what looks best. Garlands may slip, particularly if the tree is delicate or droopy. To keep them in place, wind the garlands around the branches or secure with ribbons or wire.
You will probably need about 10 feet of garland per foot of tree. Any extra garland can be used to decorate around the house, and is particularly lovely used on the mantle or in wreaths. You may use up to three different types of garland, but make sure these coordinate with each other.
Ornaments
Whether you have hundreds of one-of-a-kind collectibles, or a box of shabby hand-me-downs, your tree can look fabulous if you hang your ornaments well. First, create depth and interest by hanging some ornaments on the inside branches. Use plain or inexpensive ornaments for this, using the outside branches to showcase collectibles, if you have them. If you are still building up your collection, shoot for 10 special themed ornaments per every 2 feet of tree. Hang similar ornaments in a group, taking care not to crowd them, but keep them together for maximum impact. You really can't have too many ornaments, the key is in the spacing.
A word about metal hooks: save them for fishing! Instead, use loops of ribbon, raffia, or cord to hang ornaments. These can be a unifying factor if your ornaments don't all match, and are much lovelier and easier to handle than metal hooks.
Skirt, Trim and Toppers
This would include tinsel, bows, or whatever else you want to throw on your tree. Trim can be used to tie together different types of ornaments, but it's completely optional. Whatever you do, don't spoil your tree by drowning it in trim. Use a little for enhancement. As far as the skirt goes, it should be big enough to cover the stand, but not bigger than the average branches. Add some wrapped presents and you are ready to go!
The most common toppers are stars, angels, and finials, but these days you can use almost anything to top your tree. A big bow that matches the garland would be a fine example of a tree topper. Your tree topper is a significant piece, so choose wisely!
Christmas Tree Decorating Tips
Want to add some wine flair to your Christmas decor this year? There are a number of great products that you can make or buy to incorporate your love of wine into your holiday decor. If you like do-it-yourself projects you can make a wreath or ornaments. You can also purchase some fun wine Christmas ornaments and figurines to enhance your holiday decor.
For something different than the traditional evergreen wreath, you can buy or make a wreath made from grapevines. A wine themed wreath is a great item for your kitchen, wine room or even your front door. These can end up looking very lovely after being decorated. Try wrapping a string of clear lights around the wreath. There are also different grape light strings that you can use in conjunction with your grapevine wreath. You can use many of the traditional colors and decorations with these wreaths but to add more of a wine look, adorn your wreath with plastic grape clusters, ribbon with vineyard or wine designs, or add some wine corks to the grapevine wreath. As a complement to your grapevine wreath, use grapevine garland as an elegant way of decorating your banister or mantle. A wreath made with wine corks is another great wine related Christmas decoration. Make your own cork wreath with the corks that you have saved from your favorite wineries. If you don't have the time or patience, there are many beautiful cork wreaths available to purchase.
Figurines are very popular Christmas decorations for many homes. You can choose from many different elegant wine figurines that have Santa with wine bottles and glasses to add some flair to your holiday decor. There are several Santa figurines where he is holding wine glasses or bottles and even some that have Santa with a wine barrel. These figurines generally range from ten to thirty inches in height and are great items to decorate the fireplace mantle or hearth or even around wine racks and cellars. If you use nutcrackers as part of your Christmas decorations, there are several nutcrackers with a wine or grape theme. There are even wine related snow globes available to add to your Christmas decor.
The tree is the focal point of any decorated house. Fortunately, there is a wide range of wine ornaments available for your Christmas tree. Whether you want to use wine Christmas ornaments to add to your current tree or if you want to create your own wine themed Christmas tree, there are many ornaments to choose from. Generally, there are two categories of wine Christmas ornaments to pick from; vineyard style ornaments or fun ornaments. Traditional ornaments are ones that utilize grapes, wine bottles, barrels and vineyard designs. Generally, if they have any text, it tends to the homey or inspirational like, "Friends and wine get better with age." There are also whimsical ornaments with comical depictions of Santa Claus or his reindeer with wine and with fun sayings like "You'd be jolly, if you only worked one day a year.". There are also hand painted mini wine glass ornaments that have fun and whimsical images. So depending upon your style, there are many different wine related ornaments to choose from. To light your tree, there are strands of lights that have grapes on them or you can use your existing lights and some large grape cluster lights as an enhancement. Again, if you are crafty, you can find several different designs on the internet for cork ornaments that you can make to add to your Christmas tree or to grapevine wreaths or garland.
Christmas wine stoppers are another great way to add to your holiday decor. Use several wine stoppers in empty wine bottles to create a table centerpiece or use them to decorate a shelf. There are numerous Christmas wine stoppers to choose from including snow-globe wine stoppers, ornament shaped stoppers, Christmas light shaped stoppers and many different stoppers with Santa, snowmen, or reindeer. Like the wine ornaments, Christmas wine stoppers have both traditional type stoppers such as blown glass stoppers to whimsical stoppers like a passed out Blitzen.
Use bottle collars or charms as decorations by placing them on either full or empty wine bottles. These hang on or from the neck of the bottle. You can use them alone or in conjunction with a wine stopper. These collars and charms come in a number of different designs like ornament shaped bottle charms that have different messages like "Cheers" or "Eat, Drink and be Merry." There are several bottle collars with Santa, snowman or reindeer motifs as well.
There are many different wine decorations you can make or buy to enhance your holiday decor throughout the house or even create a wine themed room. You can use all of the different decorations that were mentioned above or select just a few to help create a wine themed Christmas.
Both Emmasnow & David Scott are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Emmasnow has sinced written about articles on various topics from Wine and Spirits, Family and Business and Finance. About the Author:Emma Snow is a creator at for Ornament Shop and Craft Kits. Emmasnow's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.
David Scott has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family, Scooter and Wedding Bells. David Scott operates WineChristmas.com a website that offers wine and. David Scott's top article generates over 135000 views. to your Favourites.
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