Christmas tree decorating. Is there a method to your madness?

[CrinchyGrinchy]

I'm currently decorating my tree. I'll admit I'm an anal perfectionist when it comes to tree decorating so I have a Balsam Hill faux tree so I can bend the branches into perfect positions for my baubles to hang.

A faux tree means fluffing it first. I absolutely hate this process, but the tree looks so much better afterwards.

Once I start decorating I go in with the 'filler baubles' (the plain mostly plastic coloured ones ie: silver, red, etc) on the inner parts of the branches leaving room for the nicer ones towards the outer ends of the branches. Once I've got all the filler baubles on then I go in with all my nicer glass ones, so they're on full show in prime position and look beautiful and noticeable.

It takes me an entire day to decorate my tree. I realise I'm totally anal over it, and every year I swear I'm going to buy a load of new plastic baubles and just let the kids do the tree. But when it comes Christmas time every year I can't bring myself to do it.

Anyway, just wondering if people have a 'process' they follow each year to decorate their tree. Just wondering if I could learn a few things. Perhaps I should be putting my filler baubles on after my nice ones? Or any other things I can do to make the process easier or tree look nicer.

I hate fluffing the tree was actually thinking this year I would pay someone to that for me if it was a thing! Love decorating it though. Nothing fancy lights first then baubles.

When we had a fresh cut tree, the process always started with DH having to cut some off because I always bought one that was too tall.
Now we have a small potted one that is only around 4.5ft so the problem has been solved for a few years.

To decorate, I do lights first. 2 sets, one warm white, one coloured. I'd like a set that can do both but also can't justify buying more when I have so many
Then I put on the good decorations. We collect them from wherever to go so I make sure to add the new ones to prime spots at the front, even though no one else would ever notice.
Once they're on I sit down and just let it be - usually I put up other decorations and when I come back I notice gaps - which I fill using boring filler baubles. I have some giant ones from having real trees that had some sizeable gaps between branches.
Once that's done, star goes on the top and it's done.
Between tree and everything else it takes a few hours.

My mum takes days to do her tree - fluffing up branches and lights one day, big baubles and the little kitchen tree the next day, filler baubles and ornaments the day after that, then she'll say she's done but spend hours tweaking it right up to Christmas Eve 😳

I find it takes ages just getting the tree down from the loft. Whose smart idea was it to store a 7ft artificial boxed tree in the highest point in the house?! This is why I'm asking for a mahoosive cupboard in the dining room, so I don't have to face the equivalent of foisting a 20 kg coffin-like box up and down the stairs and the steep loft ladder...

Anyway. Box down, three tree portions released, remember that we wrap the sections in bubblewrap with string around many times and wonder WHY the hell we do that - oh yeah, because it's prelit and we don't want the non-working prelit lights breaking do we - and start erecting the ensemble. That bit doesn't take too long. Soon enough and with just two cups of tea each, it's standing fairly upright in all its glory. Just a bit of tweaking (me) and gauging with a plumb bob (engineer DH) and we're good to go.

Lights out of their boxes. Look steadily at the mass of lights entanglement and decide to run away to the French Foreign Legion. Persuaded not to with bribery of mince pie and more tea. Spend three hours untangling the lights and cursing the day we bought a string of a gazillion. Finally get some on the branches and notice gaps and shift around, spin your partner and do-se-do, up and down.

Troop back up into the loft for the boxes of baubles and ornaments, find the ones I want are all distributed equally amongst four or more likely five boxes. Stack five bauble boxes in long-suffering ds's room. Have a rest. Carry a box down to the living room. Examine contents; is it the box with the smallest baubles in to go near the top of the tree? Is it hellers like. Rummage through another box in ds's room, find the smaller baubles one and tote it down. Start hanging baubles while resisting eating the chocolate decorations. We have enough baubles to cover three large trees adequately so going through them all to find the ones that make the grade this year is quite a task. Wishing I had co-ordinated the blighters back when I was packing them up last January and realise that although I had a memo to go through the decorations and cull a load to give to Oxfam in November, I have in fact not done this.

TL:DR - Not enough method, way too much madness.

We get a real tree so no fluffing. There is, however, the business of deciding which is the best side, and then making sure it's anchored in the stand and won't tip over. This takes a while.

Once this is accomplished, the order of operations goes as follows:
Gold beads draped around the tree, top to bottom, using the expandable marshmallow toasting fork.
Lights tested, plugged in, then put on, bottom to top using the marshmallow fork.
Small light-reflecting baubles placed in interior.
Then, in order - angel banner at top of tree, star on top with help of marshmallow toasting fork, then straw angels, snowflakes, glass baubles, ornaments the DCs made in school ages ago, candy canes, rest of baubles arranged on the tree, poorer quality handmade items around the back, finishing with the big paper mache ones that go on the bottom branches alongside other unbreakable ornaments (cat proof).
Everything is subsequently adjusted for a few days.

1. Put up fake pre lit tree
2. Fluff
3. Open decoration box and let the kids go crazy for half an hour until they get bored
4. Wait until they are in bed then rearrange with a glass of Baileys in hand

Mishmash of childhood decs and the ones we buy each year- we have a special trip and each choose a single one (neon dragonfly ds2? How festive) and so it’s not coordinated in the slightest but I love it.

Kids do ours. Symmetrical it is not!
Might as well just throw the decorations on for all the thought that goes into it. It's perfect. Well almost.

I rearrange the lights afterwards for a more even spread.

Tree assembled
Lights on
Tinsel on
Decorations on. Lots.
Angel on top. Dd got on dp shoulders to put it on.
This is for main one in living room. I have 3 others in house

Il get a pic now

Main one in living room.

We need a picture OP!

Tree up, lots and lots of fluffing, big set of warm white lights and then small set of red berry lights, then on go the baubles! I normally like to take a good few hours to do the baubles, but I'm 7 months pregnant with a 1 year old who was enjoying removing each bauble as I was putting it on so they all went on in 40 minutes but I'm still quite pleased with it!

@scramblesontoast wow I love your tree! I had the same issue with my 3 year old 'helping', every time I look at it she has changed the bottom baubles around, won't hold it against her though 😁

Here's mine

This is a game changer, no more getting wrapped up in lights, pop the ring over the top and then just work each string down through the branches, it's been my best Christmas decoration buy ever I think

We have a fake tree, I put it up and fluff it out, put the lights and tinsel on then let the kids do baubles. Then I move them all around and try to educate my 9yo on correct bauble placement (i.e, 2 baubles on one branch with a big gap over here makes no sense) 😂

Then me and the toddler spend the next 3 weeks in a silent battle over bauble placement. I think they belong on the tree, he disagrees

Wow! That's amazing!

I love all the different trees on this thread 😃

Oh fluffing a fake tree is the pits through not as much as putting on the lights IMO. Then at our house comes the stringing of the beads..only slightly less annoying than the lights. This used to be superseded by the careful application of ribbon but I dropped that because I can't be arsed.

Then once all the boring bits are done - finally the nice baubles and decorations can go on all higglety-pigglety as determined mainly by the kids, later to be somewhat fixed by me depending on my mood and level of enthusiasm

All of your trees look
Gorgeous 🤩

Real tree, real candles. Tree goes up morning of the 24th so it's nice and fresh and doesn't get the house burnt down.
Decoration all centered around candles - need to be 20 cm in from tip of branch so they stay level, and need enough space on top so nothing can catch fire. Then glass baubles - positioned so they don't get wax dripping on them. Also glass birds. After that, fill in with everything else.

I put up my tree this evening. It went something like this:
Assemble tree
Fluff
Start putting lights on
Swear
Unwind lights a bit and redo
Swear some more
Finish putting lights on
Adjust lights to fill gaps
Add favourite decorations
Add chocolate decorations
Add filler decorations

The lights are coloured and the theme is currently "anything goes" with a special emphasis on stars, and a supporting cast of birds and foxes.

Real tree, so pre-fluffed but asymmetrical, but we roll with it. It's only small too as we're in a little flat, so my ambitions are a bit muted.

Lights first, one string as far in and around the trunk as I can get them, another string about mid-way in.

(New this year) wired ribbon wrapped around to cover light wires as much as possible and disguise gappy bits.

Filler / plain baubles on first, then special ones. We collect them from wherever we travel, so have a mad assortment of colours, shapes, styles and sizes from a little wooden Pinocchio to a glass sloth, wire Mickey Mouse head, ceramic clogs, a wire and bead work bird...

@Peridot1 Your tree is gorgeous but as a new convert to ribbon I think a nice wide soft one in a complimentary colour wrapped around and squished just into the branches would bring it all together (as below; not my tree).

I have a Balsam Hill tree too and don't bother with fluffing as tree is upright all year in the special BH container bag on wheels.

Bright white Cluster lights, about 3000, draped in approx parallel rows all the way to the top. Takes forever, going up and down the ladder!!

Huge white plastic baubles strategically placed, followed by green ones.

Fill in other baubles in various sizes and shapes inside tree and all over

Special glass hanging baubles on ends. No same next to each other.

White picks to even out colour/for symmetry

silver lametta

Colours are mainly red, green, gold and white/silver with a few brown baubles
Plastic baubles only, at the bottom as cat loves to play under the tree.
Home made quilted tree skirt in red with green fringe, real bells (cat loves those!) and Santa sleigh etc picked out with glitter glue.
Arrange Trolls round the base. (Cat loves those too!)

I put in racking and shelves in my garage just to store plastic crates filled with Christmas decorations as it was too much trouble bringing everything down each year. My tree takes 2 days to finalise decoration on my own, so it goes up at Dec 1 and comes down on Jan 6 so I can enjoy it as long as possible. It's lovely at night with all the room lights off and just the tree lights on.

i tried doing the cascade of wire ribbon this year I will do a few more

__

Lights first, then shove tinsel inside the tree, then statement decorations and then filler baubles and decs.

Ours is always a joyful mess as we just throw things on it until we all get bored.

I do do the plastic or wood ones at the bottom because of multiple cats and a few special breakable ones at the top but that's about it.

Some lovely trees!

@FettleOfKish - yes that might be an idea. I’ve decided to completely re do the tree anyway. I have the living room one to do today which is much more traditional colours and I think I’ll re do the big tree either tomorrow or on Saturday. Maybe if I fluff the tree properly, position the baubles better and add in lots of gold instead of the turquoise and pink it may look more Christmassy. I’ll get some gold ribbon and attempt to make it look like that photo!

All the trees are gorgeous 😍 i love when we start a post on them. Love seeing how everyone does theirs.

@XelaM thank you 😁i actually ran out of space to put any more on🤣
So far the twins havent bothered with pulling off baubles tf lol. Last year there was big gaps round the bottom and i found a load of baubles at the back and under the sofa beside tree once i took all down.