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How to decorate your Christmas tree with ribbon

This December, forget about gifting a partridge in a pear tree: all we want for Christmas is a tree that looks like it could have been pulled right off the page of our favourite festive Instagram account. After all, decorating a Christmas tree is no easy feat. You’re dealing with ornaments, tinsel and baubles – and what’s with those string lights and how they always look so messy?

It’s time to replace those same old (boring) decorations that you’ve used for the past few years – we have a feeling your Christmas tree could use a little refresh. Thankfully, we’ve come up with 5 easy tips on how to decorate your Christmas tree with ribbon to make it look like you hired a professional stylist. With just a little imagination and planning, you can create a tree that will have everyone wanting to open their gifts under!

(Don’t forget to bookmark this page so you can check back in when you’re ready to start decorating your own Christmas tree.)

What you will need:

  • A Christmas tree, for obvious reasons
  • Ribbon - and lots and lots of it! We can’t tell you how much to use, as it depends on the size of your tree and how extra you want to go. It’s a good rule of thumb to buy more than you think you’ll need, and then return what you don’t use. We recommend you stick to three colours, and use wired ribbon, as it’s easier to create loops and rolls. They’ll also hold their shape longer and better than ordinary ribbons
  • Baubles and ornaments (but these are optional)

Step 1: Invest in a high-quality Christmas tree

You need a good foundation before you can start decorating, so make sure you have a Christmas tree that has a sturdy base and doesn’t have any branches missing. Trust us, having a beautiful tree is half the battle and you’ve already won.

Step 2: Fluff and shape your tree’s branches

A pretty tree is a full tree, so start fluffing those branches. Separate them individually so they fan out and cover as much space as possible. If you find some gaps, don’t be afraid to bend the branches to fill them up.

Step 3: Pick your colour palette

Now, for the fun part! Think about the colour theme you want to go with this year. Will you harness a winter wonderland theme and go with blue and white, or keep it traditional with red and green? How about going for a shade completely unexpected, like pink? A colour theme will make your tree look cohesive and complete, and also give you a clear idea of what colour ribbon to incorporate.

Step 4: Decorate with ribbon

Start at the top of your tree to create a pretty cascading effect. You want to tie your thickest ribbon around the very inner part of the branch – where it connects to the tree stalk – so it looks like the ribbon is coming from within the tree, rather than just resting on top of it. This will also help to add a ton of depth and shape to your tree.

Once you’ve found the branch you want to start with, twist your branch around the ribbon, and then start looping to another branch. Do a large full loop and then a smaller loop, and repeat. Keep in mind that your loops shouldn’t sit too close to your tree, and they shouldn’t stick out too far either.

You can follow a zigzag pattern as you descend the tree, or you can work your way around and around the tree. If you want a really professional look, keep the pattern a bit more random (although this may take a few attempts to get it looking like it’s cascading.)

Step 5: Grab more ribbon and repeat

Once you’ve reached the bottom with the first ribbon, go back up to the top and using your second thickest ribbon, repeat the process. You don’t need to follow the same pattern as your first ribbon: you just need to fill in the spaces.

Bonus step: Add the finishing touches

Your Christmas tree is looking complete even without the extra embellishments, but if you want a little more bling, you can add baubles and decorations of the same colour palette sparingly on the tree for extra effect. Start with the big baubles, and then fill in the gaps with the smaller ones.

Embellish your tree with holiday ribbons

The countdown to Christmas is on! Before the silly season gets truly underway, there’s no better time than now to get crafty – we’ve got a huge collection of festive ribbons to help you decorate your Christmas tree. From mesh to metallic, velvet, sparkle and beaded, and in a range of colours, lengths and patterns, you are sure to find the perfect decoration to match this year’s theme.

Add the finishing touches to your tree and shop our range of ribbon online now at Christmas Elves!