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Deck the halls: how to create a crowd-pleasing Christmas tree

<span>Photograph: SolStock/Getty Images</span>
Photograph: SolStock/Getty Images

Christmas has come early, or at least many of us would like to think so. Trees have gone up earlier than usual this year, which is hardly surprising – they reinvent a living room you’ve spent far too much time in over the past few months. Plus, getting on with Christmas gives us something to enjoy, as well as making the end of this wretched year feel closer.

Still, it can bring out the humbug. How do you deck the halls while keeping everyone happy? Here is some expert advice.

How early is too early?

“In this climate, it’s never too early. It’s the only thing we’re going to have to look forward to this year,” says Ged Comerford, operations director for The Christmas Decorators, a company that heaps sparkle and baubles on department stores and celebrity homes.

Maxine Brady, an interior designer and blogger, agrees. “At the moment, I don’t think normal rules apply.” People will, she thinks, decorate their windows, similar to the NHS rainbows we put up in the spring, “so that people walking around will get that Christmas feel”. She thinks people are going to make a big effort this year, “and probably start earlier”.

For real trees, Comerford says a Fraser fir or Nordmann will last longer. “Central heating will dry a tree out,” he says, though he is sceptical that there’s much more you can do to prolong its look other than keeping it away from radiators or fireplaces. However, the National Christmas Tree Association recommends keeping your tree in a stand that holds water – about a litre for each inch of trunk diameter.

Consider a not-a-Christmas tree

If the thought of getting a Christmas tree up in November is too much, go for something less obviously festive. Last year, Hannah Bullivant, a stylist, couldn’t face being responsible for killing a tree, so instead she put up a large branch she rescued from a friend’s bonfire and decorated it. “It was free and had no environmental impact,” she says.

Brady, who styles Christmas shoots for brands and magazines, doesn’t always have her own tree. “I get a really lovely seasonal bunch of flowers and I put foraged twigs in it with baubles on them.”

Compromise creates goodwill

You may be a tasteful minimalist, but your partner, flatmate or children are into full-on tinsel and multicoloured lights. Bullivant got her two children an artificial tree from a charity shop. “They’re allowed to let rip with tinsel and all their favourite baubles,” she says. And, to the joy of everyone, it’s kept in their bedroom.

Brady acknowledges that Christmas decorations can get weighted with sentimentality. “My mother has some from her childhood in the 50s, which are beautiful, but they are a bit past their best,” she says. To keep everyone happy, she suggests “having different corners of your home that you dress up with different decorations”.

Real or fake?

A surprising number of disagreements centre on pine needles – many people maintain it doesn’t feel like Christmas without that lovely fragrance. If a real tree is a no-no for you or your carpet, you could sneak in other scented vegetation. “One of the ways I get that lovely smell in the house is by making a big wreath,” says Bullivant, who runs online wreath-making workshops. “I will use foraged fir and larch. I still have the greenery, just not the huge tree.”

Decorations to treasure

There are trends in Christmas decorating – this year, Comerford says, there has been demand for metallic shades, and a comeback for rose gold, while Brady says there has been a fashion for art deco-inspired opulence and vintage rose colours, as well as rainbow brights and neon.

But “it’s not about starting from scratch each year”, says Brady. “I don’t think that’s very eco-friendly. You don’t have to buy masses of new decorations to update your look – maybe a pack of six quirky decorations that slightly shift the mood of your tree.”

Bullivant’s family has a tradition where her children each choose a new bauble each year. “Maybe don’t buy anything that is too on-trend,” she says. “Buy stuff that you really love.”

Eco-friendly festive finds

A locally grown tree, or UK-grown at least, with an FSC certification is the most sustainable option. If it’s growing in a pot, and you manage to keep it alive for years to come, that’s even better – otherwise arrange to have it collected and recycled (usually as chippings) afterwards, rather than sending it to landfill. Otherwise, some companies offer potted trees to hire.

An artificial tree, while reusable for years, is still plastic, creates high emissions to manufacture and transport, and will eventually end up in landfill (usually made from PVC, they are almost impossible to recycle).

Arrange baubles by size – the biggest on the bottom.
Arrange baubles by size – the biggest on the bottom. Photograph: Martin Barraud/Getty Images

For decorations, “think about items you already have”, says Bullivant. She has repurposed shells collected from the beach, teacups and her kids’ toy cars. “One of my favourite things is to tie beautiful bits of ribbon on, and reuse them for gift wrapping through the year. Last year, I made tiny little posies of dried flowers, and they looked really sweet. You don’t have to buy baubles to have a beautifully decorated tree.”

Consider stepping away from the tinsel, which looks a bit straggly after a few years and then ends up in the bin – better to buy or make strings decorated with anything including paper, pine cones or pom poms.

Decorate like a professional

When choosing a real tree, look for one that’s bushy. If the artificial tree is coming out again, says Brady, “fluff it up to space out all the branches. Then start with your lights – the more the merrier.” The rough calculation, she says, is that for every foot in height, use about 100 lights. Don’t bother putting lights at the back if the tree is against the wall. “I would zigzag across the tree working your way up to the top.” You can also wrap lights up the “trunk” (easier and less prickly on a fake tree). “That will make it glow from inside.”

Then, arrange baubles by size – bigger ones on the bottom, smaller towards the top. “Keep stepping back to see where the holes are.” She says a few oversized baubles will make it look really professional.

For her, the devil is in the detail. By removing the loops of string the decorations came with and replacing them with florist’s wire, shaped into an S-hook, “you can hook the baubles on at any point on the branch, while the string is quite hard to put on a branch, especially if you want to put a large bauble right at the back.”

Trees for small spaces

If space is limited, a miniature tree, some attractive twigs (or small version of Bullivant’s Christmas branch) is the answer. Decoration should be in proportion, says Brady. “The simpler the better – if you load loads of stuff on it, it might look a bit overwhelmed.” Plus a small tree might be less oppressive if you get overexcited now and end up sick of Christmas by the first week of December.