The Ultimate Guide to Decorating Your Christmas Tree
Growing up in the Philippines sure made me a dedicated Christmas lover. There’s a reason why they call it the unofficial Christmas capital of the world. We get reaaallllly into it. The festive season started during what we called the ‘ber’ months. As soon as the calendar changes to September, malls would start blasting their Christmas playlists, trees and decorations get put up in houses, and string lights would start to cover houses and illuminate whole neighbourhoods.
Moving to New Zealand meant that Christmases didn’t feel quite like Christmas at first. It’s surprisingly cooler during December in Manila so at least then I could enjoy a hot mug of cocoa so the idea of spending Christmas at the beach in sweltering heat was a strange concept to me. There was the year I insisted we bought a real tree for the first and last time in our lives. That was the year I learnt about hayfever. We stick to pine scented Christmas candles nowadays.
It took me a while to get used to Christmas here. The first time I truly felt ‘Christmassy’ was back in 2012 when my friends and I spent the 24th running around doing errands together. I carried around a heavy ham the way a mother would carry their baby. We drank Christmas themed drinks at our favourite Starbucks. Exchanged presents near the giant Christmas tree at the town square. My friend dropped me off and half an hour later messaged me and asked if I wanted to come with her to find an outfit. It was 4 pm on Christmas eve. Of course I said yes! The mall was hectic and buzzing, Santa was there taking photos, the Christmas songs were on loop. That was how the Christmas season in the Philippines from September to January felt like.
I still miss seeing whole subdivisions and neighbourhoods get into Christmas but over the years I’ve started building my own traditions to make me feel Christmassy. There’s the inaugural first sip of the Starbucks Christmas drink (peppermint mocha 4ever). There’s the annual midnight shopping with one of my bestfriends because malls are open until late… or early. I’m still in charge of sorting out the Christmas ham for the family. There’s also the rewatching of Love Actually and exclusively watching holiday films for the month.
And then there’s the Christmas Tree. Oh, the Christmas Tree! The thing that makes me feel the most festive. I love the process of putting up a tree. I love looking at it, lighting it as soon as the sun sets, and making it as magical as possible. Turns out I’m not the only one! We put our tree up last weekend and I shared some bits of the process on my Instagram story. I had so many questions about the tree, especially after I shared mum’s pro tips on how to string lights. So here’s a step by step guide on how to do it straight from an interior designer (who also very much LOVES the holiday season).
HOW TO STRING LIGHTS ON YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE
Step 1 - Plug in the first set of lights. I use the first light from the plug end as a starting point.
Step 2 - Starting from the bottom of the tree, twirl the lights tightly on the first branch, work your way from the innermost part of the branch to the front and then to the back again making sure you wrap most of the individual stem in each branch.
Step 3 - Continue with the 2nd branch, always working your way from the back to the front and then back again then jumping to the 3rd branch until you finish the first layer/tier of the branches ( it's very important to twirl the lights into the inside part of the branches for depth).
Step 4 - Work your way up the tree with the rest of the lights until you reach the top. (Remember, patience is key!)
That's it!
Now you can start hanging your ornaments, making sure you step back from time to time so you can assess which parts need more bits and baubles. We love a classic Christmas tree so we got RED ornaments with a bit of GOLD baubles. We chose nutcracker toy soldiers, letter/post boxes, gnomes, snowman, Santa's sleigh and reindeers, wooden Christmas trains, gingerbread houses and other traditional-themed ornaments for a nostalgic childhood Christmas feels but more on that below.
Now let’s talk about the ornaments… We know I love a good neutral, minimal palette in fashion and interiors but for the month of December, it’s all about the reds and golds, baby! I love a classic Christmas theme. It takes me right back to my childhood! Holiday seasons can be nostalgic as it is so we lean into that heavily. Also we don’t really change themes every year so that means whenever I buy an ornament or a decoration, I know it will be used for a long time. When we talk about sustainability and the holiday season, I think it’s important to acknowledge that you can still have the decorations and ornaments etc while also making sure that those pieces last for a while and don’t just get used as something trendy and disposable.
That said, a lot of what’s on our tree now are ornaments that have been collected over the years. We bought them because we liked them, not really sticking to a theme aside from the colour scheme guideline. Luckily it all goes well together and this year really brought out the nostalgic, traditional Christmas vibe that I love.
I shared a photo of our tree the other day to a few close friends and one of them said it looks like the trees they see on posh English shops like Harrods and it’s on par with The Ritz. I thought it looked like an old toy shops tree and might just be the most magical evolution of this tree ever.
WHAT WE USED:
7 ft Christmas tree from Adairs bought on sale years ago
6 to 8 boxes warm white LED String lights from Mitre 10 (We used the ones with green string so it blends with the tree)
Big red bow from Spotlight years ago but you can shop a similar one here
Red gnomes, felt guardsmen, sleigh and reindeer garlands from The Warehouse (bought in 2019 so no longer available but there should be similar ones out there!)
House
Nutcracker decorations (not to be confused with the questionably racist nutcracker ballet… according to German folklore these nutcracker dolls bring good luck and protects the home)
Wooden Merry Go Round (my favourite one! I have been hunting this down. Got the last one in store and I found it hidden in the back of a sign. I was not only there as soon as the mall opened, but I also did a lap around the store three times lol)
FINAL TIPS
Use plushies as tree decoration. My favourite ones are the reindeers scattered around our tree. The one we have isn’t available anymore but here is a similar one
Fluff your tree properly before you begin decorating! I didn’t know this… and wondered why the tree looked fuller last year! Turns out I didn’t fluff it right and now it’s a little too late
To add more depth and dimension, put ornaments and decoration in the back branches. It’s a nice little surprise when you look up close, makes the tree look fuller, and if you have little ones at home it’s a cute activity to find all the hidden ones together
Make a list of what you want to get, check it online first and see which stores have it so you save time hunting around. That said, sometimes the website will say it’s not there when it is so if you really want an item and have the time/means to do so, then by all means go on a treasure hunt! The letter boxes were mum’s favourite and we went to a few different places to find it. 100% worth it and 10/10 will do it all again.
Don’t be afraid to add sentimental, personal pieces that don’t fit the theme. I have a blue Christmas Stitch from Lilo&Stitch on my tree even thought it doesn’t fit the colour scheme but my nana gave it to me so it’s really special. I also have a musical Santa’s butt ornament hanging in there somewhere… I won it at my old corporate job’s Christmas party. We played a ‘guess the Christmas song’ game where the first one to stand up and guess which song the lyric is from wins. And I won! So that ornament reminds me of that.
It’s officially 20 days until Christmas so happy decorating!