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Christmas Tree Ideas
Whether you are having a real or artificial tree these holidays, there is a wealth of decorating options available. Have a look at our Christmas Tree Ideas. While the holidays are about expressing your own style, we’ve put together a few ideas to help you get started. Happy holidays!
Feng Shui and Christmas Trees
Use Feng Shui to help make your home more harmonious over Christmas. Use plenty of green as there is a lot of red fire energy over Christmas, which can create feelings of stress. Green is a cooling colour, and brings feelings of peace and goodwill. It also absorbs the fire energy created by Christmas lights and the warmth of people congregating.
Angels and cherubs are lucky symbols and fill the room with peace, goodwill, and a fairytale atmosphere. Everyone in the household, including people that are staying with you, should place something on the Christmas tree. This will ensure that people put their own special feelings into the tree and makes the gathering more special. Too much colour, sound, and activity can have a numbing effect on people. Too much food and colour will cause the family to become exhausted so don’t put decorations up too soon.
The colours on your Christmas tree do different things, such as:
- Gold and silver – strengthens the intuition and represent money, fame, and ostentation.
- Red – is the colour of life and the most auspicious colour of all. It relates to growth, happiness, and joy, and is believed to keep away evil forces.
- Blue – represents spiritualism, thoughtfulness and consideration, and is associated with faith, constancy and fidelity. Blue is calming and cooling.
- Purple – can often be more auspicious than red and it is associated with high ideals, loyalty, truth, love, and suffering.
- White – is the colour of mourning as it is said to have no life and no colour. It is the colour of purity, innocence and naivety, however, Feng Shui prefers that this colour is not used.
- Pink – is healing and represents love and romance. It is very soothing and raises our vibrations so it is a very healthy colour.
- Multi-coloured – this represents all the colours in the spectrum coming together and each colour imparts its own properties. Always make sure that multi coloured decorations are used on green Christmas trees as the green will balance our system and bring order and harmony.
A Snow Theme
To create a snow theme on your Christmas tree, the primary decorations should be white. Classic white lights should be put on first and you can choose from solid or twinkling lights. As far as ornaments go, stick with the theme and choose snowmen, or clear snowflakes. Opaque, frosted glass balls also look wonderful. If you want just a hint of colour, add some candy canes, or place fake birds in the branches. Top the tree with a star, snowflake or snowman. Piling fake snow around the bottom of the tree can create a great effect or use the fake snow that comes in a can to lightly dust the branches with snow, for a feeling of a true winter wonderland.
Colour Schemes
There are many colour schemes that you could choose for your Christmas tree and, of course, what you choose will be based on your personal choice and décor. Red and green is a classic and common Christmas tree theme and one that looks fantastic in any hope. For a little more sparkle, try a tree that is gold or silver themed – these have a more contemporary feel while still capturing the warmth of Christmas. For something a little different, try using regal purple – it’ll really stand out!
General Decorating Advice
No matter what theme you choose for your Christmas tree, there is a general order for decorating your tree – the lights, garlands (such as tinsels or ropes of beads), and ornaments. When using ornaments, try and mix some special ones in with the ones that you get from the store. These could be ones that have been handed down through the family, or that your child has made in school. They could be a one of a kind ornament that you stumbled upon and fell in love with. You could even make some yourself. It is best to decorate your tree in the evening, so that when you turn the lights on and step back to admire your handiwork, you can feel the spirit and magic of Christmas.
It is best to arrange the Christmas tree lights on the branches near the bottom of the tree and then weave them up around the inside of the tree. Once you have reached the top, weave them back down again, gradually moving to the outer branches as you come down. While ornaments are commonly placed on the ends of the branches, place some closer to the inside of the tree to add some depth and visual interest. Start by using the basic ornaments and then placing special ornaments. Finally, top the tree with the tree topper.
Caring for a Real Tree
While artificial trees are popular in Australia and look fantastic, many people opt for the look and atmosphere that can only be provided by a real tree. These trees are usually potted, and common trees that are used for Christmas trees include Norfolk Island pines, Lilly Pillys, or Wollemi pines (if you can find one!). However, your tree won’t like being indoors for too long, so try and find a sunny spot on your deck or patio to decorate your tree. If you do need to take it inside, try not to do so for much longer than a week.
When using real trees, you must be careful not to overdo the decorations, as heavy weights on the branches can damage them. Also, don’t forget to water the tree! It will need a good drink every few days so make sure that it is easily movable if necessary.
When putting the decorations away, take your Christmas tree outside and put it in a semi-shaded spot for a couple of weeks. This will allow it to acclimatise, before being returned to its usual position. Well water it through the summer and repot it in autumn with some fresh potting mix. As soon as spring comes around, use liquid fertiliser once a fortnight. If you follow all these steps, by the time it’s Christmas, your tree will be looking great and ready to use!
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