How to Decorate a Christmas Tree: Step-by-Step Guide with Pro Tips

Decorating the Christmas tree is the moment the festive season officially starts. The carols go on, the boxes come down from the top of the wardrobe, and for an hour or two the whole family has one job: turn a tree into the centrepiece of your home. But if you've ever ended up with a lopsided tree and more tinsel on the floor than on the branches, this step-by-step guide is for you. Here's exactly how to decorate a Christmas tree like a professional — lights, garlands, baubles and all.

Before You Start: What You'll Need

Gather everything before the first branch gets fluffed — there's nothing worse than hunting for bauble hooks with a half-dressed tree behind you:

• Your tree — fresh from the farm, or a lush artificial tree
• Christmas lights — roughly 100 per vertical foot for real trees, 50 for artificial
• Garland, ribbon or tinsel
• Filler baubles plus your feature ornaments — see our baubles collection
• Picks, sprays and berries or flowers for texture
• A tree topper, a tree skirt, and spare hooks or floral wire

How to Decorate a Christmas Tree, Step by Step

Step 1: Shape and fluff every branch

If you're decorating an artificial tree, this is the step that makes or breaks the final look. Take each branch and fan the tips out and slightly upward, working around the tree layer by layer. A properly fluffed tree looks full with half the decorations. If you've brought home a fresh-cut tree from our own Dural farm, give the branches a day to settle and open up before dressing it.

Step 2: Add the lights first, working bottom to top

Lights always go on before anything else. Start at the bottom near the trunk and work your way up, weaving each strand in and out of the branches rather than wrapping it around the outside. Pushing some lights deep towards the trunk is the single biggest secret to that professional "glowing from within" effect. For a modern, ice-covered look in one pass, cluster lights are hard to beat — or let a fibre optic tree do the work for you.

Step 3: Drape your garland, ribbon or tinsel

Garland adds movement and depth. Work from the top down this time, letting the garland swag gently between branch points rather than stretching it tight. If you're using tinsel instead, drape it in a loose spiral so each strand catches the light differently. Wide ribbon loops give a modern, designer feel — and on a pre-lit tree, beaded garlands sparkle beautifully without any extra work.

Step 4: Place your filler baubles deep

Every professional works with two groups of ornaments: fillers and features. Fillers are your plain baubles — hang them first, and push them deep into the tree, close to the trunk. They fill gaps, build colour, and give your lights something to bounce off. Space them roughly every 15cm along the inner branches.

Step 5: Layer your feature ornaments on the tips

Now for the showpieces. Hang your special ornaments on the outer tips, working around the tree in sections so nothing bunches on one side. Odd numbers look more natural than pairs, and long hanging ornaments are perfect for filling stubborn gaps. For sentimental or heavier pieces, secure them with floral wire instead of the standard hook — they'll stay put all season.

Step 6: Add picks, flowers and special touches

This is where your tree goes from nice to wow. Tuck picks, sprays and berries or flowers and poinsettias into the branches to add texture and break up the shine of the baubles. Clip-on birds, tiny gift boxes and themed characters bring personality — especially if little hands are helping.

Step 7: Finish with the topper and skirt

Save the star for last so you can size it against the finished tree. Embed the topper slightly into the top section rather than balancing it on the tallest branch — it reads as part of the tree that way. Then dress the base: a tree skirt hides the stand, catches falling needles, and gives Santa somewhere to leave the loot on Christmas Eve.

How Many Lights and Baubles Do You Need?

The rules of thumb decorators actually use:

• Lights: about 100 lights per vertical foot for real trees, and around 50 per foot for artificial
• Baubles: roughly 20 baubles per foot — a 7ft tree needs 80–100 for a full, layered look
• Garland: about 3 metres of garland for every foot of tree height

If maths isn't your thing, our tree accessories range includes decoration sets designed for specific tree sizes — plus tree stands if yours needs an upgrade before the big day.

Pick a Colour Theme Before You Shop

The fastest route to a designer tree is choosing two or three colours and sticking to them — traditional red and green, snowy white and silver, or something modern like champagne and copper. We've covered the most-loved looks in detail in our Christmas tree decoration ideas guide, complete with palettes and shortcuts for time-poor decorators.

Pro Tips from Our Decorating Team

• Step back often. View the tree from across the room every couple of layers — gaps and clumps are much easier to spot from a distance.
• Work in sections, not circles. Decorating a quarter of the tree at a time keeps your pattern even all the way around.
• Floral wire beats string. It holds precious ornaments more securely and lets you position them exactly.
• Decorate the middle. A tree should look full from every angle — treat the back the same as the front, because you'll walk past it all season.
• Finish under the tree. A skirt plus a few wrapped boxes makes even a simply decorated tree look intentional and complete.

Ready to Decorate Yours?

Everything in this guide starts with the right tree. Browse our full range of Christmas trees — from artificial trees in every size and colour to fresh-cut real trees from our own Dural farm — then round it out with decorations that match your theme. However you dress yours, take a photo before the tinsel settles — and have a very merry Christmas from all of us at Christmas World.

Frequently Asked Questions — Decorating a Christmas Tree

In what order do you decorate a Christmas tree?

Always: branches fluffed first, then lights (bottom to top), then garland or tinsel (top to bottom), then filler baubles deep, then feature ornaments on the tips, then picks, and the topper goes on last.

How do you decorate a Christmas tree like a professional?

Professionals push lights and filler ornaments deep towards the trunk so the tree glows from within, space feature ornaments evenly in odd numbers, and step back to appraise the tree every couple of layers.

How many baubles do I need for my tree?

Roughly 20 baubles per vertical foot — so a 7ft tree needs about 80 to 100 baubles for a full, layered look.

How many lights do I need for a Christmas tree?

Allow about 100 lights per vertical foot for real trees and around 50 per foot for artificial trees. Pre-lit and fibre optic trees come evenly lit straight out of the box.

Do you put tinsel or lights on the tree first?

Lights always go on first, before tinsel and ornaments, so you can weave them deep into the branches without decorations getting in the way.

What is the best way to hang baubles so they don't fall?

Floral wire or pipe cleaners hold far better than the standard string hooks — they secure heavier ornaments and let you position each bauble exactly where you want it.

How do you decorate a real Christmas tree differently to an artificial one?

The steps are the same, but real trees benefit from letting branches settle for a day first, using slightly more lights per foot, and choosing shatterproof baubles for lower branches if pets or little kids are around.

When should I put my Christmas tree up in Australia?

Most Australian families decorate their tree in the first or second week of December. Real trees last around four weeks, so a fresh-cut tree is best brought home in early December.