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How to Decorate a Christmas Tree, Step by Step

How to decorate a Christmas tree step by step: lights, garland or ribbon, ornaments, topper and skirt, plus how many ornaments to hang on your tree.

By Christmas Trees editorial teamUpdated 6 min readHow we research

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A green Christmas tree with warm white lights, a wide gold and copper ribbon spiral, gold ornaments and a gold star topper

Decorate a Christmas tree in five steps: lights, garland or ribbon, ornaments from largest to smallest, topper, then skirt. Home Depot and Hicks Nurseries both start with lights. For ornaments, start with about 70 to 105 on a 7-foot tree, then add more where you see gaps.

What order do you decorate a Christmas tree in?

Lights come first on a Christmas tree, because they are hard to add once ornaments are hanging. Follow the order below, and use the last column if another approach suits your tree better.

Step What to do Other options
1. Lights Test them, then work over the whole tree Wrap each branch, or spiral from the top
2. Garland or ribbon Wrap, swag or tuck it in Add it after ornaments, as Home Depot does
3. Ornaments Large, then medium, then small Hang favorites first (Old World Christmas)
4. Topper Set it at the crown and step back Save it for last (Old World Christmas)
5. Skirt Cover the stand Do it before the topper (Hicks Nurseries)

If the tree is artificial, start before step 1. Reviewed says to fluff and shape the branches first, and Lewis Puleo, vice president of tree maker Puleo International, says to pick the side you think prettiest as the front.

Christmas tree decorating ideas by tree and color

Christmas tree decorating depends on the shape and color of your tree, so each of these guides covers one kind of tree or one color scheme.

Rose gold ball ornaments on a white tinsel Christmas treeWhite trees
A narrow frosted Christmas tree with silver ornaments and a red ribbon spiralSlim and pencil trees
A compact Christmas tree with red and gold ornaments against a white wallSmall trees
A Christmas tree with red and gold ornaments in a room with grey wallsRed and gold
Blue ball ornaments and gold curling ribbon on a green Christmas treeBlue pairings
Pink and magenta ball ornaments with pink tinsel on a green Christmas treePink ornaments and trees

Christmas tree lights: how many and how to string them

A Christmas tree takes about 100 lights per foot of height, according to Hicks Nurseries and Mahoney’s. Home Depot goes higher for mini lights, at 300 per foot, and gives 100 per foot for larger C6 and C9 bulbs. Mahoney’s suggests 75 per foot for a cozier look and 125 for a showier one. Test each string before it goes on, as Puleo advises in Reviewed.

The method varies. Puleo starts by wrapping lights around the trunk, and Reviewed adds that each major branch should be wrapped from trunk to tip and back. Home Depot says draping lights around the tree in a spiral from the top is the quickest method, at about 20 minutes, and it uses the fewest lights. A pre-lit tree skips this step.

Check the lights before they go on

The U.S. Fire Administration says to inspect holiday lights each year, throw away strands with frayed or pinched wires, and follow the maker’s instructions on how many strands to connect. Skip electric lights on any metallic tree: the Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that a faulty set can charge the tree and could electrocute someone who touches a branch.

Adding garland or ribbon to a Christmas tree

Put garland or ribbon on a Christmas tree before the ornaments, which can then hide any joins. Hicks Nurseries and Reviewed work this way, while Home Depot adds ribbon after ornaments. Designer Brad Schmidt tells Reviewed that wired ribbons hold their shape better than non-wired ones, and he starts from the top.

Three ways to put it on:

  • Spiral. Home Depot winds ribbon from the base upward for a candy cane effect, and wraps garland the same way, working slightly upward as you go.
  • Swags. Home Depot drapes ribbon from the bottom to the top, with each swag about 12 inches long.
  • Tucked pieces. Hicks Nurseries cuts ribbon into 2 to 3 foot pieces and tucks them in as waves or loops, using 2 to 3 coordinating ribbons. Schmidt cuts ribbon into 3- to 4-foot pieces and weaves it in and out from the top.

Length estimates differ too. Hicks Nurseries gives 9 feet of garland or ribbon per foot of tree, while Reviewed suggests about two strands of garland for every vertical foot. Home Depot adds that mesh or textured ribbons hold on better than smooth ones, and it turns to a wide ribbon when a tree has gaps to cover.

Wired Christmas tree ribbon

Shop wired tree ribbon

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Hanging Christmas ornaments from largest to smallest

Hang the largest Christmas ornaments first, as Home Depot, Hicks Nurseries and Reviewed all advise, because the big ones set the balance of the tree. Medium ornaments come next, placed deeper in the branches according to Home Depot. Small ones fill the gaps and the branch tips.

Old World Christmas puts favorite ornaments near the start, so none get left in the box, and treats a drooping branch as the sign to shift that ornament somewhere stronger. With toddlers or pets at home, Reviewed says, your breakable and most valued ornaments belong up high. Hicks Nurseries suggests mixing matte, shiny and textured finishes.

Christmas tree ornament sets

Shop ornament sets

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How many ornaments a Christmas tree needs

A 7-foot Christmas tree can take anywhere from about 43 to more than 200 ornaments, depending on the rule you follow. Each rule is below, worked out for that height.

Rule What it says 7 ft tree
University of Sheffield students, via Old World Christmas 6.2 per foot (their example gives 31 baubles on a 5-foot tree) About 43 (calculated)
Old World Christmas, per foot 10 to 15 per foot 70 to 105 (calculated)
Old World Christmas, height chart By height 120 to 170
Mahoney’s By height About 80
Hicks Nurseries 20 average-sized per foot 140 (calculated)
Home Depot 3 large, 8 to 10 medium and about 20 small per foot 217 to 231 (calculated, adding all three sizes)

Old World Christmas has published both a lighter and a fuller figure. Start from about 70 to 105 ornaments on a 7-foot tree, its 10 to 15 per foot, with Mahoney’s about 80 inside that range. Hang those, then add more where you see gaps.

Finishing a Christmas tree with a topper and skirt

The topper and skirt finish a Christmas tree, in whichever order suits your space. Home Depot says to place the topper at the crown, then step back and check that it is straight, and it finishes with the skirt. Hicks Nurseries does the skirt first, and Old World Christmas leaves the topper for last.

A rustic burlap star tree topper with red berries on a Christmas tree
A rustic burlap star at the crown. Set the topper after the ornaments, then add the skirt.

Reviewed says a topper should fit the theme and suit the proportions of the tree and the height of the ceiling. The Christmas tree topper guide covers sizes and how to secure one. The Christmas tree skirt guide gives sizes by tree width.

Before you call it done, check two things from the U.S. Fire Administration: keep the tree at least 3 feet from fireplaces, radiators, space heaters, candles and heat vents, and make sure it does not block an exit.

Frequently asked questions

What is the first step in decorating a Christmas tree?

Lights. Hicks Nurseries says lights always go on first, and Home Depot also starts there. On an artificial tree, fluff the branches before the lights go on, as Reviewed advises.

How many ornaments should be on a Christmas tree?

Start from about 70 to 105 on a 7-foot tree, which is Old World Christmas's 10 to 15 per foot, with Mahoney's figure of about 80 inside that range. Hicks Nurseries goes higher, at 20 per foot.

Do you put ribbon or ornaments on a Christmas tree first?

Put ribbon on first, so the ornaments can hide any joins. Hicks Nurseries and Reviewed work this way, while Home Depot adds ornaments first and ribbon after. Both orders work.

How many lights does a Christmas tree need?

About 100 lights per foot of tree height, according to Hicks Nurseries and Mahoney's. Home Depot goes higher for mini lights, at 300 per foot, and gives 100 per foot for larger C6 and C9 bulbs. Mahoney's suggests 75 per foot for a cozier look and 125 for a showier one.

How do you decorate a sparse Christmas tree?

Home Depot turns to a wide ribbon when a tree has gaps to cover, and Old World Christmas says a sparse tree needs fewer ornaments placed with more thought. Put the largest ornaments in the gaps first.

Filed under Decorating

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