How to decorate a small Christmas tree

Small Christmas trees can look as stunning as a huge showstopper

Living in a confined space doesn’t mean you can’t have a spectacularly decorated Christmas tree. A 3ft or 4ft tree can still look fantastic. The answer to having a beautiful tree, whether small or large, is to pile on the decorations. It need not cost a fortune just buy some good pieces and fill in using cheaper packs of plain shatterproof baubles. Placing your tree on a table or on the windowsill will make it seem more impressive.

First of all, decide which tree to go for real or artificial; in the long run an artificial Christmas tree represents better value for money as our top-quality trees will last at least 15 years. Then there is the question of do you want a pre-lit artificial tree or are you going to use your own lights? There is no doubt a pre-lit tree saves hours of untangling the rats nest you threw into a bag last year and then arranging them along each branch, so you get an even coverage. All our pre-lit trees come with low voltage LED lights which cost very little to run, are cool to the touch, important if you have small children, and should last for around 50,000 hours. We also do trees with battery operated lights which are ideal if you are placing the tree away from a power point. All our pre-lit trees feature white lights so adding your own can easily personalise the tree and instantly make it look more spectacular. If you are having a classic red and gold colour scheme, try putting red or amber lights into the centre of the tree to really give it depth and to illuminate your baubles. If going for a traditional cold Arctic palette use blue lights in the centre. Winding iridescent or shiny tinsel inside the tree also gives your tree depth as the light bounces off the tinsel onto the decorations.

When choosing your baubles and decorations go for a selection of sizes and try and stick to just two or three shapes, difficult I know when there is so much to choose from. Start decorating your tree from the bottom with the largest baubles and work your way to the top finishing with the smallest. The traditional tree topper is an angel, fairy or a star but you can add a little extra height by inserting some artificial floral stems. You can also insert some of the same stems into the tree to give coherence to the whole design. 

If time is not on your side and you don’t have hours to decorate the tree opt for one of our pre-lit, pre-decorated small trees; some of which come with snow tipped branches, berries, leaves and cones. All you need do is dress out the branches, add a pack of shatterproof baubles in various sizes and  plug in; the ultimate time saver.

Now all you need do is to disguise the tree stand; some of our small trees do come with a decorative basket or sacking bag. Add a few Christmas presents wrapped in paper to tone in with your decorations. If you don’t have any suitable presents to wrap just wrap some empty boxes. If you have a cool white palette of decorations you can disguise the stand with snow blanket, snowballs and a sprinkling of iridescent snow. Piles of toning shatterproof baubles can add interest to a basket or burlap base. Winding some battery operated lights through the baubles or snowballs will make your tree seem taller.