Top 10 Secrets to Get Your Christmas Tree Looking Amazing

We’ve been decorating and selling Christmas trees in Malta for over ten years now, and throughout this time we can say that we’ve managed to pinpoint the essential secrets to create an unforgettable Christmas tree.

Even if some of these secrets might sound easy to do, make sure you don’t make any other common mistakes when decorating your Christmas tree as it will favourably affect the beauty of your Christmas tree.

1. Purchase a quality Christmas tree

You can buy an artificial Christmas tree for as low as €65, not from our shop but you might find these prices at other low-end Christmas shops. We don’t have such Christmas trees because we always keep quality in mind.

When shopping at Alistair Christmas Shop you can rest your mind that the quality of your tree will be amongst the best on the island, it might not be as low as €65, but in the long run, it will undoubtedly be cheaper and retain its beauty after years and years.

2. Shape branches properly

Let’s face it, opening branches is the hardest thing whilst decorating a Christmas tree and many don’t pay attention which is one of the biggest mistakes you could do! When opening branches make sure you meticulously open each branch one by one, you should open the branches to ensure that when you look through it, you don’t see the tree pole in the middle.  

We always like to take our time to open a tree because the final result will change the appearance of the tree; not only will it look fuller but will make the rest of the styling more comfortable.

3. Use a Christmas theme

We can never stress this enough as this can make or break the entire Christmas decor in your home or office. When decorating you always have to have a vision of how you’d like it to look like, if you don’t have an idea you’ll end up purchasing anything you like and nothing will match together.

With a specific theme in mind, you’ll be able to envision your tree and know what you can and cannot add to your tree. Each year we launch our very own Christmas themes so make sure to check out this year’s Christmas theme.

4. Lights always go first!

We know, we know, this is no secret as many have the same concept, but we do tend to get this question of whether lights should go after the baubles, to make the light more visible. The answer is no; the light always goes first.

If you’re looking to make your Christmas tree brighter, we suggest investing in two sets of lights. A standard set of lights which should be placed deeper in the tree, and a cluster set of lights which should be placed at the edge of the tree. This way, you’ll have more light throughout the tree without any dark spots.

5. Start from the lead cable and work your way up

Yes! When it comes to lights, there are various things to keep in mind, and one of these things is from where to start. We always suggest to start from the lead cable and work your way up, this will allow you to calculate the distance from the tree to the power socket, and will make it easier for you to manage the lights whilst decorating as they won’t tangling whilst going around.

6. Use Christmas ribbons

Many don’t understand the merit of using ribbons or multiple of ribbons on a Christmas tree and think that by adding more baubles will make the tree look more prominent, but this isn’t the case. When you use a ribbon on your tree, you’ll add additional contrast which will elevate your Christmas tree decor.

There are many ways and types of ribbons, so choosing the right method and ribbons will solely depend on the style you’d like to achieve.

“We have one of Malta’s biggest ribbon collections, with ribbons coming from all around the world including Germany, India, America and many more! Visiting our Christmas shop will certainly leave you overwhelmed with choice but our retail assistants will make it better!”

Alistair Fenech – Owner

7. Elevate your Christmas tree with tree picks

Tree picks can be anything from beautiful red poinsettias to berries and dead branches. The choice of the type of tree picks will depend on the Christmas theme you’ve chosen, but regardless of this, adding tree picks will make your tree look amazing.

When putting in tree picks, make sure not to overdo it, a little goes a long way, and remember to space them out!

8. Choose the right topper for your tree

A beautiful tree topper is essential to ensure that your tree feels complete, even though some opt not to add a topper we always like to recommend it.

The real question is, which tree topper is right for your tree?

Most of the time you can’t go wrong with a beautiful handmade bow as this will fit most Christmas trees and will elegantly elevate your tree decor. If you’re opting more for a star, make sure that size of the star matches with that of the tree, the last thing you’d want is for the star to look too small or too big on the tree.

Visit our Christmas shop and let our retail assistants assist you with the perfect bow for your Christmas tree! Don’t forget to get the pictures of your tree, will do the rest.

9. Don’t limit yourself to just baubles, go nuts, but not too nuts!

When it comes to a Christmas tree, it has to have that personal touch to it, especially if you have children. There are many types of different hangers to use on your Christmas tree including wooden, ceramic, clay and even plush toys! A conjunction of these will make your Christmas tree look amazing and filled with character.

Just make sure not to overdo it and space everything. Ideally, start with the hanging decor and space the ornaments out then fill the space between them with different sized and textured baubles.

10. Use a Christmas tree skirt and fake gifts

There’s no denying the fact that the ugliest part of a tree is the stand. Imagine having the perfect Christmas tree, decorated with the most beautiful ornaments, ribbons and a fantastic design just to be ruined by the tree stand!

Please don’t do it! Invest in a beautiful Christmas tree skirt or ring, whether it’s a wicker basket, iron ring or one of our exclusive handmade tree skirts anything is better than the current stand you have.

What about the fake gifts? We all love shopping around and putting presents under the tree, but sometimes some wrapping may lower the quality of the tree. We suggest to wrap fake gifts (empty boxes) and placing them in front of the actual gifts, this way it will look stylish throughout the festive season.

Not an expert gift wrapper like us? Learn more about how we can help you create professional gift wrapping for both fake gifts and real ones, discover our Christmas gift wrapping services.

11. Use ribbons to hang your ornaments

I know we said 10, but another one will certainly won’t hurt!

Not many think about ribbons as the perfect way to hang baubles on a Christmas tree, why would they when you always have those free strings? Well even if they do come free with your pack doesn’t mean you should use them.

Using ribbons to hang your baubles and other ornaments will make your tree look more elegant and fuller, plus the attention to detail will make a whole lot of difference to the overall look.

Still don’t feel confident?

If you still think you don’t have the creativity to be able to create a perfect Christmas tree, we don’t judge! It takes a lot of time an practise to be able to make our masterpieces of Christmas trees and certainly won’t be achieved in one try.

If you’re having trouble to purchase all your decor make sure to check out our free service of personalised shopping. On the other hand, if you already bought all décor but looking for one of our team members to decorate your tree make sure to check out our setting up and dismantling service.


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