How to decorate a Christmas tree

Before you can be rockin’ around the Christmas tree, you’ve gotta dress that baby up in her festive best! But where to start? Does the tinsel come first? How many decorations is too many decorations? Are coloured lights still on trend for 2017? If you’re totally overwhelmed by the thought of turning that bare fir into something from the pages of House & Garden, you need our top tips for how to decorate a Christmas tree…

1. Decide on a colour scheme. Will you go traditional with red and gold, minimalist with silver and white or make it modern with some hits of neon? Before you start investing in Christmas tree decorations, hit up Pinterest for some ideas and decide what you want to your finished product to look like. As they say in The Castle, it’s all about the vibe…

2. Start with lights. Before you start, plug them in to make sure they’re all working and replace any bulbs that need it. Then, starting from the bottom, wind the lights around the tree – try not to worry about it being too perfect, you want it to look random! Finish up by trying to conceal any unsightly wires by hiding them in the branches or under the tree.

3. Add your tinsel and trimmings. You’ve stepped back, surveyed your light sitch, and given it a big thumbs up. Now is the time to pull out any tinsel or garland you might have and, in the same way you expertly hung those lights, drape it around the tree, working from the base to the tip. You might even want to double up your garland for extra impact.

4. Last call for decorations! The stressful bit (lights and garland) is over, now it’s time to hang all those fun baubles and ornaments. How many you use to cover your tree is really a matter of taste, but it’s a good idea to opt for a range of shapes (round, teardrop, stars) and make sure you evenly distribute them around the whole tree. Hang them on various depths of the branches, and for the big finale – place the star at the top of the tree!

5. Pull out the presents. If you’ve been super organised and already hit up our list of 100 gift ideas for everyone on your list, you’ll already have a present or two to pop under the tree!