Creating a Stunning Artificial Christmas Tree: Tips from Expert Nicole

Struggling with choosing and decorating your artificial Christmas tree? Worry no more! We’re here to guide you through the process with expert tips from Nicole.

Surrounded by your coils of twinkly lights, beautiful decorations and your family-heirloom tree topper, passed down from generation to generation, you could be fooled into thinking that decorating the Christmas tree is easy. Not always!

How can be that, after hours of work, we stand back, covered head to toe with dust and glitter, to admire our magical creations and see nothing but bare sections, clumped lights, or unevenly distributed colour? To avoid that happening this year, follow this blow-by-blow blog made with the help of our fabulous visual merchandiser Nicole, who knows a thing or two about decorating Christmas trees.

What you need:

• Scissors or blade to open packages and trim items
• Step ladder or something safe to stand on to reach the top
• If it’s a real tree, cotton gloves are helpful to avoid scratches
• Wire

Which artificial tree should I choose?

 A good-looking tree is essential – no matter how skilled you are at decorating, a scrawny tree is hard to disguise. If you’re choosing an artificial tree, it’s worth spending a little bit more to get natural-looking bristles. Our artificial Christmas trees have rounded, lifelike bristles at the ends of the branches, and this makes all the difference. Because we’re big fans of natural-looking trees, we tend to favour classic green trees or frosted trees over coloured trees. Besides, every colour of decoration looks great against a classic green tree – Mother Nature knew what she was doing!

What’s the difference between frosted and flocked?

A frosted tree ideally looks like it has been dragged into the house after a light dusting of snow. There is a light build-up of snow on the tips of the branches. The Snowy Nordmann Hinged 7.5ft is an example of a frosted three and for a smaller space or a second tree, the cute Mini Grandis tree at 90cm is frosted. A flocked tree, on the other hand, should look like there has been a heavy fall of snow, and the branches might even look heavily weighed down with snow. Despite its name, the Frosted Andorra Fir 7.5ft is an example of a flocked tree.

As for size, go for a standard tree if you have plenty of space, and a slim or pencil tree if you don’t have a lot of room. Pay attention to the diameter of the tree at its widest part as well as its height. Nicole decorates an 8ft Grandis Fir in the video, which is 244cm tall and 182cm in diameter. She recommends allowing at least 6 inches (15cm) between the top of your tree and your ceiling, and from the tips of the branches and your walls.

The majority of our artificial trees qualify for free shipping at the moment!

How to decorate an 8ft Grandis Fir Real Feel artificial tree

1. First things first: it’s very important to fluff out the tree before you start adding decorations. If you’re assembling an artificial tree, fluff out each section before slotting in the next. Fluffing out just means bending and arranging all the bristles to make sure your tree looks full and natural.
2. Add the lights. Nicole recommends 2000 compact lights for an 8ft (244cm) tree. There will be lots of lights left after you’ve worked your way around the tree and she recommends wrapping this extra length around the trunk, which will give interest to the centre of the tree.
3. Add your star or angel or whatever you’re putting on the top of the tree now so that you can get in close without disturbing any tree decorations.
4. Now for your baubles and hangers. For depth, place baubles and hangers in the interior of the tree as well as the extremities.

TIP: Cluster baubles together for more impact or a different look. Use floristry wire to tie three or more baubles together, and use the wire to attach the bunch to the tree. They’ll look like oversized berries! Nicole has used Warm Wishes, our traditional décor theme, and she has given us a checklist of what is needed for an 8ft tree (see below).

5. Christmas foliage is a big trend this year – we have floristry in all our décor themes. Choose a branch and insert the wired stem of your branch into the centre of the tree, then wrap the leaves around the bristles to keep it in place, making sure the colourful side is up! TIP: Where you have a bigger piece of foliage, Nicole recommends separating the leaves from the branch and placing them individually around the tree to get a more scattered look.
6. The finishing touches: hide wires, transformers and plugs by placing decorations around the foot of the tree, like wrapped presents, lanterns, battery-operated candles, Christmas ornaments, fabric and so on. Hide your tree stand with a neat tree skirt, currently on €25 for A List members!

For an 8ft tree, Nicole recommends:

6 x burgundy poinsettias

6 x timepiece hangers

9 x fabric bows

7 x gold poinsettias

7 x clocks

3 x tubes of baubles each colour

5 x red glitter leaves

5 x gold glitter leaves

7 x gold deer

3 x large gold baubles

2 x large green baubles

3 x large red baubles

2 x small gold baubles

3 x large green baubles

3 x red glitter glass baubles

Although we don’t want to think about the festive season being over, there comes a time when the Christmas decorations needs to come down and the house needs to get back to normal. When that time comes we have these handy Christmas tree storage bags.

Storage bag: H-33cm x W-100cm x D-48cm

Storage bag: H-72cm x W-142cm x D-72cm

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for how-to videos, tips and inspiration when it comes to Christmas tree decorations.

Have fun!