How to Decorate the Christmas Tree: The Right Way to Do It!

The leaning tree of Pisa, children in decorating fever, inherited decorations from decades past. What do we hang up first again? How to decorate the Christmas tree together, and doing it in such a way that not only the children’s eyes light up, is no easy task. This year, we’re finally doing it right and giving practical tips and revealing the ABCs of decorating!

The Christmas tree has been one of the absolute highlights of the Christmas season for as long as I can remember. Picking out a tree together at the market, putting it up and getting the boxes of decorations out of the attic. Rediscovering old treasures and long-forgotten handicrafts and decorating the Christmas tree. Now, at the latest, that special mood comes up that makes Christmas an atmospheric, wonderful family celebration!

Before decorating the tree, the same questions come up every year: In which order should we hang the decorations? Because as you can see from the result, it’s anything but the same. How do you distribute the fairy lights evenly? How can I make the Christmas tree shine with beautifully lit Christmas tree baubles and which new decorations could I try out?

One thing must be absolutely clear: How to decorate the Christmas tree with children also means saying goodbye to perfectionism and the dream Christmas tree from the home magazine! It gives children immense joy to decorate the Christmas tree and of course you don’t want to take that away from them. And when the beloved offspring is in bed, you can make one or two unnoticed corrections, such as making your little cousin’s teething ring disappear 😉

Oh you relaxed Christmas! You’re a long way away? Then our Christmas party checklist for families and tips for a harmonious Christmas with the family might be what you’re looking for 😉

10 Practical Tips You Should Know Before Decorating the Christmas Tree

Every second German household has a Christmas tree at Christmas. Whether it is a Nordmann fir, a noble fir or a blue spruce is a matter of taste, but those who decorate with real candles, for example, should not buy a blue spruce because of the thinner branches. The most important thing is that the tree has been freshly cut and is then placed in the right Christmas tree stand and does not immediately start to drop its needles. The most important practical tips can be found in the following list.

1. The right tree for your lighting: With an electrically lit Christmas tree, you are free to choose. If you want real candles on the tree, choose a tree with strong branches such as the Nordmann fir and the silver fir, which support the metal holders and heavy candles well and provide stable support so that the candles can be straight and clamped on.
2. Is the Christmas tree fresh?: Buy a Christmas tree from the region, as this has shorter transport routes and is therefore often cut fresher. It is important that the cut surface of the tree is light. If it is grey, the tree has been lying for a long time. In addition, the needles should be soft and bendable and not prick the skin, which means it is no longer fresh.
3. Don’t buy a tree at the last minute: Most trees come from large stands and were cut weeks before the holidays. So if you have a shady place to store the tree where you can put it in a bucket of water, buy it early and it will stay fresh! Indoors, trees dry out quickly in the warm heating air, so don’t put it up too early.
4. Trees with root balls rarely continue to grow: Although it seems to make ecological sense to buy a tree in a pot, the roots of these trees are usually badly damaged and if they have been standing in a warm room for a long time, these trees unfortunately no longer grow.
5. Saw off the cut: Saw off the cut of the tree a few centimetres before planting. A fresh cut will absorb the water better and the tree will stay fresh longer, as long as you regularly refill the water in the Christmas tree stand. Rule of thumb: A 2 m high tree needs about 2 litres a day.
6. Choose the right Christmas tree stand: The Christmas tree stand must be suitable for the size of your tree and can ideally be filled with water. This way, the tree stands stable and straight and stays fresh longer.
7. Think about a Christmas blanket: Spread a Christmas blanket under the Christmas tree to protect the floor from water, dripping candle wax and needles. Plus, it looks beautiful!
8. Away from the heater: Place the tree as far away as possible from the heater, heating pipes, fireplace or other heat sources.
9. A Christmas blanket under the Christmas tree looks pretty and protects the floor from falling pine needles, water and candle wax.
10. Christmas baubles add depth and proportion: Your tree will have depth if you hang light baubles further out on the branches and darker baubles further in. If you want to decorate the tree with a colour gradient, it is advisable to hang the darker baubles at the bottom and the lighter ones at the top, so that the Christmas tree looks more proportional.

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How to Decorate the Christmas Tree

When do the baubles go on the tree?

The Christmas tree has found the perfect place and now it’s time to decorate it. The following applies: the order is important to get it right.

1. Attach the fairy lights first

2. Distribute the Christmas tree baubles

Distribute all the baubles you want to hang on the tree! Hang the larger baubles at the bottom and the medium-sized and smaller ones further up, to give the tree a slimmer look. Make sure to hang shiny baubles close to the candles so that the baubles shine nicely, the matt baubles you can spread out more freely. Decorate both the outer and inner branches of the tree to give it more visual depth.

3. Decorate the Christmas tree with pendants, figurines, bows and bells

Now fill the free branches between the baubles with Christmas tree pendants, bows and figurines until the tree looks “full”. The heavier the ornaments (e.g. metal or porcelain pendants), the further inside the branch you decorate the tree with them.

4. Adding tinsel and garlands

Garlands and tinsel complete the tree decoration, so to speak. Work from the top down and attach the longer tree decorations to the tree in the same way as the fairy lights.

5. Attach real candles last

The candle holders for the wax candles go on the branches as far out as possible, not too close under one above. Jewellery should also not hang close above them. The candles are placed in the holders. Real beeswax candles smell best.

6. Finally, decorate the Christmas tree with the Christmas tree topper

Last but not least, decorate the top of the tree. Either put on a Christmas tree top, put on a straw star or tie a bow around the top of the tree.

Children and Perfectionism

Less is not more after all! At least not for children when it comes to how to decorate the Christmas tree…

Christmas is a celebration for the whole family. For us, that means my sister with her children, grandparents and sometimes the in-laws, friends or neighbours with children. Family is a broad concept for us. Since children have been in the house, I have hung my perfectionism on the Christmas tree with one crying eye and one laughing eye, right next to my niece’s chaotic pile of pendants, which is shoved up a reindeer’s bum in a dense tangle.

Glitter is great. The more the better! And when the desire to call for mum and dad to lift you up because you can’t reach the branch you want, you just throw the pendant onto the branch. It will stick. The needles trickle softly when a small hand pulls on a branch until the tree bends 25 degrees towards it. The baubles clink, but miraculously remain hanging as the branch snaps back and the whole tree shakes.

Tasteful and discreet was yesterday, because when asked what has to go on the tree, the little ones only know one answer: everything, of course! And then you look into the beaming eyes of children, who marvel enthusiastically at their gaudy work and feel it, the spirit of Christmas.

My tip: Pre-sort Christmas tree decorations and let completely unsuitable pieces disappear from the box!

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On Abenteuer Freundschaft there are many more great ideas for Christmas games and Christmas crafts to browse! On our leisure blog you can discover tips for activities with children, with friends and with your partner all year round.

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