I need tree decorating tips, mine always looks crap :)

[Phoenix]

I usually throw some lights round, throw some beads round and wang some baubles on What do i need to make it look nice? Is tinsel still a no no or is it back in? It always looks really bear even though there's loads of baubles on.

didn't realise tinselwas a no no, always have loads of tinsel, for an xmas tree I think more is better, and the tackier the better.

I've bought 400 lights for a 6ft tree. Ds' are 3.9 and 5mth so won't be going anywhere near it. Got loads of bright coloured baubles and decs. Just something to make it look fuller.

Put lights on first.
Put larger ornaments next - put them in the 'holes' where there is less foliage, and 'deep' on branches near tree trunk.
Then fill in with smaller ornaments near the front of branches.
Delicate ornaments higher up out of reach of little hands, and where they are less likely to get knocked/broken.
Uglier ornaments on the sides and 'round the back.

I would let the children help decorate the tree cause they love doing it, but then redo the tree when they go to bed - lol!

I stick to only white lights, no tinsel, loads and loads of baubles and other interesting dangly bits of all different sizes. My tree ends up so covered in them you'd never see the tinel if you tried. Also I'd stick to just 3 or 4 colours. I have gold, red, bronze and copper colours on my tree and I love to turn all the other lights off and just look at it - pure magic.

I only decorate the bits people will see to save decorations e.g. don't bother too much with the bits next to walls. And I use a tree skirt round the bottom to hide any wires etc.

First of all, divide your tree into four (mental) quarters, starting from the top. However, swivel the bottom point of your quarter by one quarter. If you really find this difficult, use string .

Then, first of all, put your lights on. For a 160 cm tree you will need two long sets of LEDs. The lights should go fairly deep into the tree, and go up and down a bit - they should not be tight. You want to get an effect of "all over lights", not "a wire with lights", once they go on.

Then divide your decorations into a groups of four, and decorate each quarter in exactly the same way, making sure each quarter is evenly covered!

Bonsoir - you sound like an expert? Do you do this for a living??!!

I love tinsel, multicoloured lights, homemade wonky ornaments and dds lovingly chosen annual new decoration. Then add a bauble to every branch.

I have lots of taste

I think you are all underestimating the lighting requirements. Or 6ft tree gets 1000+ lights.

LOL - no, not at all!

But last year I decided to completely renew my Christmas decorations. Since this was quite a major financial undertaking, I wanted to get it right, so went to Le Bon Marché (quite the most beautiful Parisian department store) and took a long, hard look at how they had decorated their display trees, and what the stylists were doing! And then I did a simplified version myself.

Our 6ft tree has 500 lights and by the time I'm halfway through putting them on, I get fed up. last year I wasn't feeling too good, adn got to the point where I was grabbing handfuls of lgihts and pushing them into the tree. The effect was good though!

While lights shouldn't be too sparse, I don't want a tree that is all lights either.

I do other decorative things with lights - I lit up a farm that DD has last year, and this year I am going to light up a cardboard castle.

It may be because we have small, white, relatively unobtrusive lights, but I find the whole 'twinkling' effect of loads and loads of lights, plus having enough lights in the middle of the tree (I wrap some round the trunk before I do anything else) makes all the difference.

(I do lose the will to live, and certainly the whole 'joy of Christmas' feeling, if I ever allow myself to think about the taking it all down bit whilst decorating). We also wind lights through ivy and mistletoe in the rest of the house.

I hate the taking down part....I think this year I am going to throw a sheet over the tree and put in loft fully decorated

One thing I always do as well is put on one colour of baubles at a time I only have red and gold this year 2 styles of each colour so start off with one colour and style make sure they are evenly spread then do the other sets the same way it helps avoid clumps of one colour and type in one place.

I make some of my own decorations out of oranges by slicing them into rings, roasting them in the oven until they're dry and then tieing 2 or 3 together with ribbon and hanging on the tree. I think they look really sweet and they smell good too

that sounds good millington

what temperature do you roast for and for how long? Do they last all right, not go mouldy?

Hmmmm, it's been a year since I last did them. I think about 180C for 40 mins?? The rind should go quite dark and the fleshy bits dry out. They've never gone mouldy but I've never dared to keep them for next year.

I always put lights on first and make sure they cover the whole tree (mine is 7ft ) I put loads of decorations, beads and garlands on.

Christmas trees are supposed to look pretty random, and be covered in mismatched baubles and as many lights and strands of tinsel as you happen to have in the box. And you can get quite big tubs of cheap baubles if there's too much tree still showing at the end of your efforts.

My only rule is that you have to use tinsel to cover the wire for the lights. Apart from that, anything goes

Ok so i've been and bought more decorations, big baubles and some tinsel .

I've got bright coloured baubles (green, pink, purple, turquoise) and dh isn't happy that i got pink and purple tinsel

I've got 5 sets of lights on mine, including outside icicle lights DH is waiting for a plane to come into land