Courtney Warren is a Texas-based interior designer whose work has been featured in Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Apartment Therapy, and Today.com. She is a frequent consultant on Fox 4 TV’s Good Day program in Dallas, was ranked in the top 3 percent of interior designers in the US by Houzz.com, and starred in the Dallas episode of TLC’sFour Houses. She delights in helping overwhelmed clients create beautiful spaces—and will never turn down a warm chocolate chip cookie or Diet Dr Pepper.
This is the question I ask myself every time I plan out my Christmas decor.
I don’t want to recreate the Charlie Brown Christmas tree, after all.
That one lonely ornament is so sweet, but also, so sad.
No Sad Christmas Trees. Not on my watch.
You might be thinking….”My tree is ‘insert height here” ft tall- so how many ornaments do I need?”
Some years I decorate a 7 ft tree.
Some years I decorate a 9 ft tree.
But every year, I need to know how many ornaments and how much ribbon to prepare for on my tree.
So, I created this sheet to give me a general rule of thumb.
And figured it might be helpful for you, too.
Based on ribbons of 10 yards, follow this chart:
Now that the ribbon is covered, the recommended ornament quantities are pretty simple:
a 6 ft tree…..60
For a 7 ft tree…..70
For a 8 ft tree…..80
For a 9 ft tree….90
10 ft Christmas tree-120-160 ornaments
12 ft Christmas tree-144-192 ornament
14 ft Christmas tree- 168-244 ornaments
I think the best part of Christmas decor is allowing your personality to shine through.
So, I am going to say that as long as YOU love your Christmas tree, how many ornaments it has really doesn’t matter.
Some people love a fuller tree, and some prefer only fewer ornaments.
Some might think one is overdecorated, and some may think it’s the other is under decorated.
If you are not sure which camp you prefer, then aim for a middle ground.
Now, let’s talk 2023 Christmas tree how-to: decorating basics
There is something therapeutic about fluffing a tree. It is sorta mindless work, it doesn’t take too much effort.
What is fluffing a Christmas tree? Simply taking each branch and spreading them out evenly so they are even and there are not large holes in the tree.
Fluffing a Christmas tree is It basically like the Christmas answer to a bald combover.
How long should you fluff?
It’s one of those jobs, maybe like painting, where you could work on it forever. If you don’t see any large, gaping holes, then you have sufficiently fluffed!
It can be a bit scratchy on your hands, so it can be more enjoyable if you wear gloves.
You can see in this photo, the Christmas tree on the left has gone through the initial fluffing
(although I do see some wonky branches towards the bottom. Oof!
The tree on the right is straight from storage)
For more in depth steps, see my blog post about all things fluffing.
I range my smaller to medium ornaments anywhere from 4-8 inches.
I think a tree looks best with a few oversized ornaments.
Like 16-22 inches big!
While we are talking about great values and making things easier this holiday season, I have just the thing that may help you.
I have been helping people with the holidays for the past 11 years, and I find that we all (myself included) can tend to make them overly complicated and miss out on the magic they can bring.
So, I put together some all my best holiday decor tips and hacks for both Autumn and Christmas so we can make holiday decor simpler, yet beautiful, and instead, can enjoy what really matters this holiday season.
Do you need that kind of help?
And as always, please remember
I am constantly sharing free tips in all the places!
I want to get a week of HOLIDAY HELP sent to my inbox!
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