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Culinary

What are Some Traditional Ways to Decorate a Christmas Tree?

By J.Gunsch
Updated May 17, 2024
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The signature decorations of a traditional Christmas tree are the balls and bells. These can be any color and can be made of glass, plastic or coated in fabric. Usually every traditional Christmas tree has many of these balls and bells set as a base for the rest of the ornaments or as the sole decorations. Traditional Christmas songs like “silver bells” express the virtue of these ornaments.

One of the main focal points of a traditional Christmas tree is a star, angel or sometimes Father Christmas which is placed on the very top of the tree. Classic images often show a father lifting his child to place the star on the top. Without the help of a child you will need a ladder to position the star unless your Christmas tree is very small.

A traditional Christmas tree also has a generous supply of lights. The colors of the lights vary from strands of white or blue lights to strands of multicolored lights according to the decorators taste. With the advent of electricity, Christmas tree lights replaced the age old, beautiful yet dangerous tradition of donning the Christmas tree with candles.

Another time tested tradition of decorating the Christmas tree is garland. The garland is usually placed on the tree after the lights and before any other decorations. Garland is available in the form of woven leaves, colorful plastic material, popcorn, wooden beads etc. Children love to make paper garland by constructing a series of colorful paper loops to drape around the Christmas tree. Garland is not only a beautiful addition to the Christmas tree but also symbolizes honor and victory which connects the tree with the religious themes of Christmas.

In addition to the balls, bells, lights and garland, keepsake ornaments are hung on the Christmas tree to celebrate the joy of the holidays throughout the years. Some of the most popular include miniature Santa Clauses, elves, reindeer, rocking horses, stars, birds, wreaths and more. The sky is the limit when it comes to keepsake ornaments as they come in every any shape and form. Handmade ornaments are especially nice and can be handed down throughout the generations. Giving a keepsake ornament to a loved one that includes their name and the year is a great gift idea.

The last decorations to go on a Christmas tree are candy canes, and tinsel. Tinsel adds glitter to the tree making it appear as though there are beautiful icicles coating the branches. The candy canes make the task of taking down the tree more enjoyable since you can eat them instead of storing them away.

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Discussion Comments

By Glasshouse — On Dec 26, 2010

@ Parmnparsley- There are two different options for live trees. If you are content with a smaller tree, you can opt for a potted tree that you can plant within the next month or so. If you are looking for a larger tree, you can look into buying a balled tree. These trees may have a couple of feet added to the height due to the root ball, but it is a good option if you do not want to kill a tree. Just remember a balled tree must be planted within 7-10 days of being balled.

The price will vary greatly by region, but you can buy almost any type of tree live that you can find fresh cut. There are many popular trees and choosing one is completely up to you and your tastes. You can buy them from tree farms and possibly from some nurseries around the holidays. A good short needle variety is the white or Concolor fir. For longer needle varieties or trees for people with sap allergies, a Leland cypress is a good choice. These trees have very nice shapes symbolic of Christmas.

By parmnparsley — On Dec 24, 2010

I do not want to buy a fresh Christmas tree, but I do not like the artificial ones either. I like the idea of a live tree, but I want to get something that has that Christmas tree shape. What type of live tree should I purchase, and how much can I expect it to cost?

By Amphibious54 — On Dec 21, 2010

When I was a kid, my mother made a big deal about decorating the tree. We always decorated a fresh Christmas tree. Honestly, it was probably her favorite part of Christmas. The basic decorations were things like white clay pottery (porcelain maybe) doves and angels, white lights, gold bows, and multicolored glass balls. After this was set up, we would be able to decorate the tree with various decorations that we had made in school, and unique ornaments acquired over time. The finishing touch was the gold star and the candy canes that would mysteriously disappear before Christmas. She is always so happy after we decorate the Christmas tree.

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