Our Christmas Tree Decor
Yes, we have more than one Christmas tree and no, I'm not interested in any side eye. Christmas season is my way of getting through Winter; coming home to a cozy house with festive touches in every room makes me incredibly happy and I don't have any plans on ever changing that.
While I'll always love our main mish-mosh tree full of sentimental, mismatched ornaments, the aesthetic tree is the moment; she's the *showstopper*, and just incredibly pretty to look at as the fixture in the front of our house. Sharing all of the details of our Christmas tree decor in today's post!
Looking for more holiday decor? Right this way.
Our Christmas Tree
The viral Home Depot tree by Home Decorators was so special because of it's lights and having sold out almost immediately, I wanted to find an alternative option that had the same feel. I tried out the Home Decorators Ashton Balsam Fir ($499), Elegant Grand Fir ($399) and ended up going with the Elegant Grand Fir (I definitely don't recommend having multiple trees shipped because the return process is a pain. Next time I would see them in store!).
Once the viral Grand Dutchess Twinkling Balsam Fir came back in stock, I ended up grabbing the slim version of this tree for our cozy lounge room (more on that below).
Home Decorators Top Trees Breakdown
Home Decorators is a newer brand to me, but I was really impressed with the quality for the price. If you're in the $200-$500 budget range for your Christmas tree, this is a great brand to explore.
Ashton Balsam Fir: full, fluffy and BRIGHT
The Ashton Balsam Fir, which is the priciest of the bunch, is a beautiful tree; very full and fluffy but the one thing that turned me away from this tree were the lights. This tree has 1,200 color-changing mini LEDs with Quick Connect (more on that below). The lights, although beautiful and plentiful, felt too bright white, almost blinding and this tree just didn't have the warmer cozy feel I was looking for.
Elegant Grand Fir: natural, nordic and warm
The Elegant Grand Fir, on the other hand, is a less-fluffy, more 'natural-looking' tree and I really loved that nordic look. This tree has 1,500 warm white micro-dot LEDs with Quick Connect. The wam white lights immediately felt cozier and I ended up falling in love with the micro-dot LEDs (these are much smaller than traditional or even mini LEDs). I wasn't looking for colored light options on this particular tree, so that wasn't an issue but something to keep in mind if you want the option! This tree also has a twinkling light function (the Ashton does not), which I was looking for.
Grand Dutchess Twinkling Balsam Fir: viral for a reason
At the time, the viral Grand Dutchess Twinkling Balsam Fir tree was sold out, but for comparison, this tree has both color and white options with 2,250 micro-fairy lights (these are a differently-shaped than the micro-dot LEDs and a little more pronounced, but still smaller than mini LEDs). Once this came back in stock, I bought the slim 7.5' version for our lounge room (small TV room, secondary to the living room) where we spend a ton of time, especially in the Winter. It's a great in-between of the 2 trees above; it has the fullness of the Ashton, but the warm, natural lighting of the Elegant. If you're in the market for a cozy tree with warm lighting that also has colored-light options, this would be my recommendation!
If you're looking to spend a little more, we love our 9ft. Balsam Hill Blue Spruce, which is our main tree that's in our living room with higher ceilings. Joe's oddly allergic to Christmas trees, so since we can't do the real thing, we splurged on this that we know we'll have for years to come.
What to Look for: Quick Connect Technology
Home Decorators trees come equipped with Quick Connect technology, which is an absolute game-changer if you've ever dealt with a traditional tree and the light set up. If one light goes out, with Quick Connect, the rest of the tree stays lit. There's no connecting Part A to Part B and trying to find empty plugs in a sea of branches. The plug-and-go is so easy, so definitely something to keep an eye out for if you're browsing!
Ornaments and decor
I wanted a mix of texture throughout the tree, so I combined velvet, ceramic and glass ornaments, all from McGee + Co. and Crate & Barrel. Although pricier, you get what you pay for in terms of quality (good storage is also important!) I think sets are great and make things easy, but I also recommend mixing in some singles that fit whatever theme you're going with. Here's everything that I used:
I brought in a simple wooden bead garland, with a minimal tree topper, then added some handmade brown velvet bows (tutorial on how to tie them here). For the tree collar, I went with something we had and it was really the only thing I didn't love. This one is on my wishlist for next year!
Gift Wrap
Elegant meets traditional meets Parisian is what I was going for this year. I wanted a mix of rich colors paired with French florals that all tied together really elegantly, and this is what I landed on. If you're looking for more gift wrapping ideas, here are 7 new wrapping themes to try this year.
