Almost everyone can put decorations on a Christmas tree, but your Christmas tree should be special.
It should have something that sets it apart from the rest.
This year, why not make your Christmas tree really sparkly?
Here are a few interior designer tips & tricks to add sparkle to an average Christmas tree.
photo courtesy of Aotaro flickr.com/photos/aotaro/23243222120/More Lights
Most Christmas tree decorators will tell you to put 1 strand of 100 non-blinking white or clear Christmas lights on your tree for every foot height, so if you have a 6 foot tall Christmas tree, you should use 6 strands of Christmas lights.
A designer tip to make your Christmas tree really sparkle, add 2 or 3 times as many lights.
For a 6 foot tall Christmas tree, use 12 to 18 strands of lights.
For an 8 foot tall Christmas tree, use 16 to 24 strands of lights.
Keep in mind that many of these lights will be covered by ornaments, so it will be less bright once decorated.
Even if you have a pre-lit Christmas tree, you can still add more lights!
Designer tip - Make sure that all of your lights are the same, since clear and white lights come in cool or warm colors that can vary among different manufacturers. If you must use different types of lights, make sure they are evenly distributed throughout your Christmas tree to make it cohesive.
Add lights to your Christmas tree along every branch - apply them towards the trunk of your Christmas tree, then towards each branch tip, then back towards the trunk. You might add more than one string of lights to each branch.
Twinkling Lights
In addition to your standard lights, a designer trick is to add twinkling lights to make your Christmas tree sparkle.
Make sure to get twinkling lights #ad, not basic blinking lights that just turn on and off. You might want lights with multiple settings to choose from.
Add at least 4 strands of white or clear twinkling lights only near the center of your Christmas tree, but you can add as many as 1 strand per foot height of tree (7 strands for a 7 foot tall tree).
Since different sections of Christmas string lights twinkle at the same time, run the lights up and down your tree many times instead of keeping the strands grouped together so it feels like your entire Christmas tree is twinkling at the same time, not different sections of the tree blinking at different times.
You want your Christmas tree to twinkle and sparkle, not feel like an obnoxious flashing street sign, so don't use too many flickering lights.
Larger Lights
Add at least 4 stands of white or clear lights in a larger size to your Christmas tree to really make it sparkle.
You can add as many as 1 strand per foot height of tree, so a 6 foot tall tree would get between 4 and 6 strands of larger lights.
The larger lights add variety to your lighting.
Shiny Decorations
Add metallic and reflective decorations to your Christmas tree to really make it sparkle.
You can add metallic tinsel, DIY light reflectors, silver or gold metallic ornaments, mirrored decorations, mercury glass, rhinestones, glitter, or other items that will reflect light.
You can even use a special ornament rotator #ad that will rotate your reflective ornaments and make your Christmas tree really sparkle.
Glitter Spray Paint
If you are daring, you can spray paint your Christmas tree with glitter spray paint #ad to make it sparkle.
You might want to paint just the tips of your Christmas tree, do an ombre effect where the top is more painted than the bottom, or go for it and paint the entire thing with a heavy coat.
Gift Wrap
A Christmas tree is not finished being decorated without wrapped gifts underneath.
Wrap your Christmas gifts in sparkly or metallic gift wrap #ad and a color coordinating bow.
You can even add a fun glitter or rhinestone Christmas ornament to the box for extra flair.
You Might Also Like
