How to Dress a Christmas Tree the Natural Way (and Make It Your Own)

There's no right or wrong way to dress a tree. Here's how I do mine, and a few things I've picked up from my family along the way.

Real, artificial or a little indoor tree

You can always have a real tree. Or go smaller and dress a little tree-like indoor plant instead.

With an artificial tree, you can have exactly the type and look of tree you want. Fresh trees are limited in type, especially in the UK. Artificial trees are clean too: no dropped needles. Our Vita artificial tree is a good example of a natural, Scandi-looking tree.

And here's a tip from my partner's dad. Dress the tree once, exactly how you want it, then wrap it in clingfilm as it is, pop it in the loft and bring it back out next year. No hassle.

Lights first, then go from big to small

Lights always go on first, then garlands. A cedar garland with pine cones or the House Doctor paper garland of stars, birds and snowflakes both work well.

Then add the larger decorations first and go smaller and smaller, adding in between. Think about larger pieces that can fill the gaps in your tree, like the Circulo glass baubles or the Olsson & Jensen Palazzo velvet bauble, then fill in with smaller ones like the woven Bellagio bauble or House Doctor's gold acorns.

Look at your tree as a sculpture you can keep adjusting. It's nice to add a few extra bits on Christmas Eve, for example. My mum used to secretly add chocolate decorations to the tree on Christmas Eve and tell us it was Santa who'd done it.

The tree topper

I love all the options, but I absolutely love the new Glow LED starburst. It's like a sparkly star, almost like a fairy wand. I also love the Connect star in antique copper, because it's so Scandinavian.

On our own tree, my partner and I have a massive glass Santa bauble that sits on the top. We've had it for about a decade now.

Memory decorations go on last

I always add the decorations with memories attached at the end. I love opening the box that has them in. My partner and I both have our own, and we both love adding them to the tree. There's a whole range, from straw decorations my mum gave me to some small hand-painted baubles my partner got when he was at university.

If you're starting your own collection, the Olsson & Jensen felt mice (white, brown or beige) are the kind of thing that becomes a memory decoration in a few years.

Add more as you feel more festive

Don't feel rushed or pushed into doing things. Do it your way, or the way you did as a kid. Add things as you feel more and more festive. Maybe you've got friends coming round and want to add a few more Christmas bits around your home.

For that, our new Passia honeycomb paper ornaments from Lene Bjerre have just arrived, and they're just perfect.

For more on how I decorate, read A Natural Scandi Christmas: Mix It All Together and Don't Overthink It. See everything in our Christmas decorations, or come and see us at Redbrick Mill, Batley.

Kamil