Gold and red are classic Christmas colors that look great on a Christmas tree.
Red is the traditional color of Christmas and gold adds a little glamour and sparkle to your holiday display.
Here are a few designer tips & tricks for how to decorate a Christmas tree in gold and red.
The Tree
Before decorating your Christmas tree, you need to make sure that the tree itself is prepared properly.
Live Christmas trees need to be positioned very securely and completely vertical with the best side facing out.
Artificial Christmas trees need to be properly fluffed so they look full and most life-like.
Topper
A designer trick is to add the tree topper before decorating the Christmas tree so the ornaments aren't accidentally disturbed while trying to add the topper, however some people prefer to honor someone by allowing them to add the tree topper at the end as a final step indicating that the Christmas tree decorating is finished.
Lights
Christmas lights should highlight your Christmas tree and complement the overall design.
In most cases, clear or white Christmas lights look more elegant than colored lights.
A designer tip is to add a minimum of 1 strand of 100 mini lights per foot height of Christmas tree (a 7 foot tall Christmas tree gets a minimum of 7 strands of 100 lights).
Keep in mind that this is a minimum, so feel free to add more, even if you have a pre-lit Christmas tree.
Also consider adding a few extra strands of oversized lights for a more varied lighting effect.
You might also want to add a few strands of twinkling lights to the center of your Christmas tree for a slight twinkling effect.
Garland
Add garland to your tree to establish the gold and red color scheme and overall theme - whether it is rustic, elegant, glam, modern, festive, etc.
You can add ribbon garland, fabric garland, pine cone garland, newspaper garland, popcorn garland, or whatever garland you prefer.
For a truly unique Christmas tree, consider using more than one type of garland. If you decide to use ribbon garland, you can use different thicknesses or textures of ribbon, or you can use the same thickness of ribbon in different patterns.
Fillers
Use several fillers to make your Christmas tree look more full and reinforce your red and gold color scheme and theme.
You can add greenery from your garden, pine cones, faux floral stems, floral picks #ad, or other non-ornaments.
Make sure to step back every few minutes to see if you have any gaps that need filling.
Add the fillers to any holes in your Christmas tree, then add fillers throughout your tree to make them look balanced.
Coordinated Ornaments
Now is the time to add your ornaments that complement your red and gold color scheme and theme.
For a standard sized 6 foot to 8 foot tall Christmas tree, try to avoid ornaments that are smaller than your fist, but don't go any larger than your outstretched hand. Ornaments that are too small look cluttered and ornaments that are too large look juvenile.
If you already own a lot of smaller ornaments, consider wiring a set of 3 together to create one larger oranament.
The taller your tree, the larger your ornaments should be, however small table top Christmas trees should have smaller ornaments.
In the past, people often put the larger ornaments at the bottom and the smaller ornaments at the top (which is still a good way to decorate), however the more current decorating trend is for all sizes of ornaments to be mixed together.
Add Christmas ornaments in many different sizes, shapes, and textures that complement your theme.
Sentimental Ornaments
Now you can add your sentimental ornaments.
You can add family photo ornaments, ornaments from vacations, kid crafted ornaments, vintage ornaments, or any other ornament that you love.
Make sure to keep the fragile ones out of reach of pets and children.
Topper and Skirt
If you haven't already added your tree topper, now is the time.
After all of the decorating is complete, you will most likely have pine needles on your floor. Sweep or vacuum them up, then add your Christmas tree skirt.
Your Christmas tree skirt should be larger than the diameter of the bottom of your Christmas tree.
Do not spend a lot of money on your Christmas tree skirt because it will be covered in gifts and not visible most of the time.
Some people like to drape fabric or a blanket around the Christmas tree just to cover the base. After the Christmas gifts are opened, they will add poinsettias or other winter/Christmas items to fill in the space.
Christmas Gifts
Designers know that your Christmas gifts are a part of your Christmas tree decorations, so take their wrapping into consideration when planning your Christmas decor.
For a gold and red Christmas color scheme, consider using 3 types of papers and 3 types of ribbons in different combinations.
You can use a textured solid red paper, a solid gold paper, and a gold & red paper mixed with 3 different gold & red ribbons.
For more information about how to decorate a Christmas tree in gold and red, see the video below.
How to Fluff an Artificial Christmas Tree into the Correct Shape
