Many people who decorate for the Christmas holidays have young children who want to assist with the preparations.
In order to get a designer look, many adults do not allow their kids to help.
You can still get an impressive designer tree with the assistance of kids. Here is how....
photo courtesy of Richard Broderick flickr.com/photos/richardbroderick/4369157879/The Night Before
The night before you decorate your Christmas tree, when the kids are sleeping, set up your Christmas tree and get it in place.
You should also put up the Christmas lights, greenery stems, and garland.
Christmas Lights
Most designers agree that you should use a minimum of 1 strand of 100 lights per foot height of tree, so an 8 foot tall tree would get 8 strands of 100 lights.
To give your family Christmas tree more of a designer touch, add at least twice the amount of light instead (2 strands of 100 lights per foot height of tree).
Most designers also prefer white or clear lights instead of colored lights.
Since it is a family tree, and most kids prefer colored lights, feel free to use colored lights.
If your son's favorite color is red and your daughter's favorite color is purple, feel free to use red and purple lights mixed together - not the top part of the tree being red and the bottom part purple.
If the kids like blinking lights, use non-blinking lights as directed, but add 1 -3 strands of blinking lights strung vertically in the center of the tree only, not towards the branches.
The ornaments and other decor will hide some of the blinking lights and give them more of a twinkle effect instead of harsh flashing.
Greenery Stems
If you have a very lush and full fresh Christmas tree, then you can skip this step if you wish.
If you have a fresh Christmas tree that is not very full or an artificial tree, you should fill in the Christmas tree with greenery stems.
Use 2 different types of large artificial or fresh evergreen stems in whatever color and style appeals to you - at least 1 per foot height of tree.
If you have an 8 foot tall tree, you would have 8 evergreen stems of each type = 16 evergreen stems minimum spread equally around your tree.
The greenery stems will make your tree more lush, full, add extra texture, and give it a designer look.
Garland
If you want to add garland, ribbon, or other non-ornaments to your tree, add those prior to decorating with your young children.
Children will most likely find this step tedious and boring.
Decorating with the Kids
Now is the time to decorate your Christmas tree with your kids.
Add any and all ornaments to your Christmas tree - whether store bought or homemade.
You can use ornaments from your travels, ornaments the kids made at school, picture frame ornaments with a photo of the kids with Santa, or whatever you like.
Taller kids get to decorate higher up on the Christmas tree and smaller kids get to decorate the lower portion of the Christmas tree.
Mom and dad get to decorate the top part of the Christmas tree.
For the best results, ask the kids not to hang ornaments on the lowest branches.
If the kids want to put 5 ornaments on one branch, then let them do it.
Decorating a Christmas tree should be all fun and everyone's decorating style should be allowed without correction.
If the ornaments have sentimental value or a story behind them, feel free to take your time and discuss each one with your children.
Finishing Touches
After the decorating is complete and the kids have gone to bed for the evening, feel free to do some very minor adjustments to the tree.
Don't move too many ornaments around, else your kids will notice.
Add many floral picks to create a cohesive look for your tree.
Purchase about 3 identical floral picks per foot height of tree to fill in any bare spots (a 7 foot tall tree would need approximately 21 floral picks).
You can use floral picks with curly cues, berries, or whatever appeals to you.
You might also like the article.....
Different and Unique Ways to Display Christmas Cards
Different Ways to Attach Garland to a Staircase
Several Options for Where to Hang Christmas Stockings When You Don't Have a Fireplace or Mantel
