When you embark on a search for new Christmas goodies to style your home with this season, start by making a list of everything you intend to buy, and then only start. This will prevent you from buying unnecessary impulse purchases, and help save you money and effort in the long run.
Barking up the right tree
Christmas trees can be an awfully specific field. If you are looking for an artificial tree on account of these lasting longer and the fact that they won’t shed needles in your home, look for a type that is well-crafted from good material, to ensure that your money is well spent on a tree that will last long. A well-crafted tree will be able to hold the Christmas tree decorations without tipping over, and will still look good after many years of use.
A traditional tree will outlive any changing trends and fashions, so when picking out designs, rather go for a traditional one than one of which the design was guided by a fashion of the moment. Fashion dates quickly, and you will have spent money on a tree that looks odd and out of place if you opt for a fashion tree. Classics don’t date, so pick one you like, and rather style it to reflect the fashion of the time. Next year you’ll get to reuse it without limitations to the style!
Decorating the outside of your home
Of course the outside of your home counts towards the decorating budget! To know exactly what you’re letting yourself in for, do a thorough assessment of your yard – how many trees do you want to decorate, and are they the type of trees to stand up to the Christmas decorations you have in mind? Do you have any interesting nooks and crannies in the yard that would make for visual interest? Everything is a potential surface for Christmas lights, so make sure you know what you need!
Let there be lights
String lights are the traditional lighting of choice in Christmas decorating, and come in as many lengths, colors, designs and configurations as the human mind can dream up! This makes them ideal for decorating almost any space, but let’s take a look at a few specifics, so you know what you’re working with.
The more bulbs on the string, the more power it uses, but if you choose LED bulbs, you can get away with more bulbs per string than in the case of incandescent bulbs, as LED bulbs are far more energy efficient. While it is possible to expand on an incandescent bulb string, you will be limited to a far lesser number, due to the demand these bulbs place on your power outlet. LED output is incredibly low energy, so you will be able to link many more of these without causing an overload, which could lead to your power tripping.
Then the ornaments come in
Christmas lights and ornaments both come in different shapes and sizes, which really opens up your options when trying to put together a cohesive visual plan. Make sure to buy Christmas ornaments at Polar X Ornaments for great savings and a lot of designs to choose from. Doubling up on lights in different layers, using bulbs of different sizes, can create great visual interest. The same is true for ornaments. Make sure that the sizes you use vary, as this creates perspective, and makes your Christmas tree interesting to look at. Also consider different configurations when planning how to hang your lights on the tree. Why not try a top-to-bottom spiral for an interesting variation?
The one thing everyone forgets about
The highly underrated tree skirt can go a long way in finishing off your look. It balances the tree, and creates the final finishing touch. But what is a tree skirt actually? Quite simply, it can be anything from a piece of fabric to a woven basket, or a custom sewn, actual “skirt” than goes around the base of the tree. It is great for hiding the ugly bases or stands of a tree, and can make the tree seem more solid by providing a visual anchor, and bringing the overall look together. Aesthetically speaking, it also provides a pretty backdrop for presents that are stacked under the tree!
