How To Decorate An Elegant Christmas Tree

Like any other area of your home, the Christmas tree can easily be decorated with beautiful, elegant décor. Use shimmering fabrics and sparkling ornaments for a modern, sophisticated take on this holiday tradition.

Lights

For your elegant Christmas tree, use either white or blue lights. If you select a set of led string lights, many also come in warm or soft white. Warm white gives off a soft yellow glow, while cool white has a semi blue/white appearance. All are appropriate for an elegant Christmas tree.

• For a more sophisticated, traditionally elegant Christmas tree, use white or warm white string lights.
• For a more modern look, try using blue or cool white string lights.
• Begin decorating your elegant tree by stringing your lights before any other decor.
• Begin stringing lights at the base of the tree. Wrap the string upwards, moving up several inches with each pass around the tree.
• Wrap the lights near the trunk, and outward several inches.
• Be sure to wrap the lights in a way that hides the wire, so only the light from the bulbs can be seen.
• For elegant trees with many lightly colored decorations, white-wired string lights may be appropriate. If you have purchased a white, flocked tree, only use white-wired string lights.
• The closer together each layer of lights are, the brighter your tree will be. Elegant Christmas trees are often brightly lit, with only a few inches in between each layer.
• Be sure to purchase a long enough string, or enough conjoining strings, to fully cover your tree. An elegant Christmas tree should never have unevenly spaced lights.

Garlands

While elegant Christmas trees usually feature ribbons rather than tinsel garlands, they can be still be used.

• Stick to garlands in silver, white, blue or gold. Red and green garlands are typically only used on traditional Christmas trees.
• Garlands can be draped around your tree horizontally or vertically.
• Always be sure to leave plenty of space between each layer of garland. Elegant Christmas trees should not appear overly stuffed and crowded.

Ribbons

Ribbons are a frequent addition to elegant Christmas trees, and are a great way to add shine and sophistication.

• Use gold, silver, white or blue ribbons.
• If you have a very large tree, use a ribbon three to six inches wide. For small to medium sized trees, keep ribbons between two and four inches wide.
• Gently drape the ribbons horizontally around the tree, like a garland, or place them vertically cascading down from the top of the tree. Again, be sure to leave plenty of space between the ribbons, allowing the tree, lights and other décor to show through.
• Try tying large, full bows with your ribbon, or purchase them separately. Place them sparingly around the tree to avoid overcrowding it.
• Select a ribbon color that matches or compliments the color of your ornaments.
• If you are using blue lights, try a white ribbon rather than blue to avoid overusing the color.

Ornaments

While traditional Christmas trees are often colorful and feature a wide variety of ornament styles and colors, elegant Christmas trees should stick to a design theme.

• Depending on your personal preference, choose one to three key colors for your tree, and use ornaments in those shades only. Select from gold, silver, white, blue or soft metallic green.
• Spherical ornaments in metallics are a great choice for elegant trees.
• White, silver or blue snowflake ornaments also look nice.
• If you would like to use uniquely shaped ornaments, select several of the same shape, and place sparingly around the tree. Make sure they are within the range of elegant Christmas colors.
• Ornaments with jewels and glitter are good options for this style of tree, as well as clear ornaments.

Extra Decoration Ideas

Try some of these elegant Christmas decoration ideas to finish off your tree:

• Glitter Fruit: Purchase or make glitter fruit and ornaments to set on the branches of your Christmas tree.
• Faux Pearls: in place of a traditional garland, try stringing faux pearls around your tree. Long strands can often be found at craft stores.
• Light & Ribbon Combination: Try wrapping a large, sheer white ribbon around a string of white lights. The light will appear soft and sophisticated as it filters through the ribbon in this beautiful and unique combination of both décor pieces.