When decorating your Christmas tree this year, consider decorating without the color red and opt for a winter wonderland theme instead.
Winter colors tend to be white, white, and more white, but there are ways to make a winter Christmas tree more interesting.
The Christmas tree below uses a color scheme of champagne gold and silvery gray instead of basic white.
Here are a few tips, tricks, and ideas for decorating a winter wonderland Christmas tree.
Prepare
The first thing you need to do before you start decorating your Christmas tree is to add the lights and fluff it into shape (assuming it is an artificial tree).
Some people like to fluff their tree first and then add the lights, while others prefer to add the lights and then fluff it. Either way is fine.
For tips on fluffing an artificial Christmas tree, see the article How to Fluff an Artificial Christmas Tree into the Correct Shape.
For tips on adding lights to a Christmas tree, see the article Designer Secrets for How to Put Lights on a Christmas Tree.
Tip - just because you have a pre-lit tree doesn't mean you can't add more lights for added drama!
Garland
After the fluffing and the lights comes the garland.
Most people only use one type of garland, however two or more types will add extra texture and give your Christmas tree a designer look.
Trick - using multiple textures is the most important part of decorating a Christmas tree with minimal color, else it will look boring and dull.
The Christmas tree above uses two similar gray wired ribbons that are smooth and shiny, but have a textural champagne gold glitter. One has a champagne gold stripe and the other a Christmas tree pattern.
The ribbons were added starting at the top of the Christmas tree and looped down and pinched into place before looping down again. The tree is a 7 foot tall tree and the ribbons used were 10 foot long each and looped down 5 times.
The ribbons were added symmetrically on the Christmas tree, alternating in style all the way around on the visible sides.
If your Christmas tree is out in the open, you will need to decorate all sides. If it is against a wall, you will only need to decorate 3/4 of the tree. If it is in a corner, you will need to decorate 1/2 of the tree.
In addition to the ribbon is a rough gray burlap that is added randomly to make the Christmas tree have more texture and to make it look less symmetrical, but still balanced.
The burlap was cut into approximately 9 inch strips and placed wherever there was a bare spot in the tree.
Tip - Every time you add a strand of garland, step back and take a look to see if you need to make adjustments.
Some people like to wait until the end to add the tree topper, however you can add the tree topper now if it compliments the garland.
The bow tree topper in the photo was made using 2 rolls of 30 foot long wired ribbon. It is actually 2 bows attached back to back so it is visible on both sides.
Oversized Ornaments
After the garland is in place, it is time to add the oversized ornaments.
Oversized ornaments should be about the size of a softball.
Don't go crazy with ridiculously enormous ornaments that will make your Christmas tree look juvenile.
Add at least 3 different types of 12 matching oversized ornaments equally spaced throughout your tree.
The Christmas tree above uses glittered champagne gold spheres, glittered champagne gold snowflakes, and mirror & pearl snowflakes.
Smaller Ornament Fillers
After the oversized ornaments, it is time to add the standard sized sphere ornaments and smaller sphere ornaments to fill in the empty spots.
Feel free to use glass ornaments for a more refined and classic look, or you can use high quality plastic ornaments that have an almost similar look but are shatterproof (which is best for families with young kids or accident prone adults).
Add ornaments in different shades, textures, and materials in the winter wonderland color scheme throughout your Christmas tree.
Try not to add the ornaments too symmetrically (which is boring), however they need to be balanced.
Once again, make sure to step back and take a look every few minutes to make adjustments as you decorate.
The Christmas tree above uses medium sized matte gray ornaments, smaller distressed silver ornaments (no shiny silver on this tree), medium sized champagne gold matte ornaments, and medium sized glittered champagne gold ornaments.
You can also add in some crystal ornaments for added sparkle and shine.
Items from Nature
To offset all of the shiny materials on the Christmas tree, add some rough items from nature.
The Christmas tree above uses pine cones and champagne gold painted grapevine spheres.
Not only does the texture add dimension to the decor, but the dark colored pine cones create a pleasing contrast to offset all of the light colors.
Floral Picks
To fill in the empty spots and add more texture to the Christmas tree, add floral picks.
The Christmas tree photo shows floral picks with little champagne gold spheres on branches.
Other Ideas
A few other ideas you can use to personalize your winter wonderland Christmas tree include adding crystals, pearls, feathers, cotton batting, twigs, grapevine wreath, icicle ornaments, paper ornaments, and flowers.
Christmas Tree Skirt
You can purchase a Christmas tree skirt that compliments your color scheme, you can make one, or you can get several yards of 60" wide fabric and lay it nicely around the base of your Christmas tree.
Christmas Presents
Your Christmas presents are a part of your Christmas tree decor, so make sure to wrap them appropriately.
The presents under the tree shown above are bagged or wrapped in white, gray, champagne gold, or kraft paper #ad (which is great for wrapping just about everything).
Notice that the gifts are wrapped differently, however in the same color scheme for a cohesive yet interesting design.
For more information on making your Christmas gifts look fabulous under your Christmas tree, see the article Your Christmas Gifts are Part of Your Christmas Tree Decorations.
More Details
For a more detailed view of the winter wonderland Christmas tree, see the video below.
