12 Days of Christmas – Day #12

CHRISTMAS TREES

The centerpiece of Christmas celebration, it’s hard to believe that not long ago we would choose and decorate our trees on Christmas Eve.  Much has changed in the past 50 years.  Christmas tree decorating is carefully planned, often around a theme, and the trees are prominently placed in our homes to bring Christmas spirit into our everyday life.  Today, the final in our 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop, we present our personal Christmas Trees.  We hope that you find inspiration and the spirit of Christmas.

Welcome to the third annual 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

Stop by every day from December first through the twelfth for new ideas you can use to make your season brighter!

Meet Your Hosts

They have all been busy as Elves creating, decorating, cooking and crafting tons of new ideas for you to try this holiday season!

Shirley~Intelligent Domestications I Alli~An Alli Event I Michelle~Our Crafty Mom I Marie~DIY Adulation 

Erlene~My Pinterventures I Beverly~Across The Blvd. I Debra~Shoppe No. 5 I Victoria~Dazzle While Frazzled

Megan~C’mon Get Crafty I Michelle~Michelle James Designs I Amanda~Domestically Creative

Deborah~Salvage Sister & Mister I Jeanie~Create & Babble I Sherry~Olives & Okra

Jenny~Cookies Coffee & Crafts I Emily~Domestic Deadline I Bonbon~Farmhouse 40 

Leanna~Of Faeries & Fauna I Pam Larmore~P.S. I Love You Crafts I Kelly~North Country Nest I Marie~The Inspiration Vault

Gail~Purple Hues and Me I Lynne~My Family Thyme I Karen~Dragonfly and Lily Pads I Trisha~Blowing Away Out West

Tomika~Life In Pumps I Rachee~Say it, “Rah-Shay” I Lorrin~Embrace The Perfect Mess 

 Serena~The Weekend Jaunts I Terri~Christmas Tree Lane I Jessica~A Southern Mother 

Sam~Raggedy Bits I Cyn~Creative Cynchronicity Valeria~Val Event Gal

Yami~The Latina Next Door  I Tania~Little Vintage Cottage

 Lauren~Wonderfully Made I Vanessa~DIY 180 I Kimberly~A Wonderful Thought I Kim~Everyday Parties 

Dru~Polka Dot Poplars

Decorating your Christmas Tree in Layers

Designer Look:  March of the Toy Soldiers Christmas Tree

Christmas trees invite the beauty of nature into our homes.  Christmas trees are a tradition grounded in the origins of the holiday, centered around Christ who is the root of Christmas.  Martin Luther was inspired to add candles to his Christmas tree during a twilight walk through the woods where he mused that he could see God’s light shining through the tree branches. There is symbolism throughout:  green for the ever-green nature of Christ, candy canes for the shepherd’s canes, stars for the star of Bethlehem.  It’s natural that the Christmas tree is central to our celebration of Christmas.

Tree design has evolved over the years to include modern conveniences we can all embrace.  The most compelling trees take advantage of string lights, ornament spinners, wire edged ribbon and ornaments.  Many trees today portray a theme, or color scheme.  Whatever your decorating choices may be, layering your Christmas tree decorations will give it a designer look.

[bctt tweet=”Layer your ornaments to give your Christmas tree a designer look.” username=”@BlowingAway1990″]

Decorating your Christmas Tree in Layers

Layer # 1: Lights: For full trees, you will generally need 100 mini-lights per foot of tree.  The skinny or pencil tree requires about half that.  Always layer a few strands of twinkle lights over the regular lights to add depth and visual interest.

Layer # 2: Ribbon:  Use wire-edged ribbon to create a garland around your tree.  Attach with floral wire.

Layer # 3:  Ornaments:  Start by hanging ornaments inside the tree.  This, too, adds visual depth to the tree.  Then hang the rest of the ornaments on the tree.  Remember, every ornament should dangle from the tree freely, and not be hitting a branch or another ornament.

Layer #4:  Bows & Picks:  Finish by attaching bows made from wire-edged ribbon with floral wire.  Use the bows to fill in gaps on the Christmas tree.  Add floral picks to some of the branches, attaching them with floral wire.

Bonus ideas:  Finish the Christmas tree with a tree skirt, or by wrapping the tree stand in burlap to resemble a root ball.  Use ornament spinners to display especially beautiful ornaments. Create ornament vignettes by placing 3-5 ornaments together in a single area as a display.

Layers give every Christmas tree a designer look, regardless of your theme or color preference.  For great ideas, visit the other hostesses below!

Be sure to visit our fellow 12 Days of Christmas Bloggers below for even more creative ideas this holiday season!

We hope you have been enjoying the #LightTheWorld ideas for simple service each day in December.  Get your printable calendar and ideas for the next 12 days here.