Holiday decorating is a business. I still find many people that still have never heard of it. My business started from my love of Christmas and trees.
When we moved here 26 years ago I still did a Christmas tree in every room (that no longer applies). I always had a love for the season. One night we hosted a party and a man came up to me and said “you should do this for a business.” In a few days I had a call from a lady asking if I would DECK HER HALLS. And that was the beginning. The first year I did two homes; the second year 5 homes and here we are 25 years later doing 70 plus trees…..We begin working the first week in November. I now have many elves that help and some days we are able to do 2 houses. Our greatest desire is that the client would leave that morning and come home that night to a magical home filled with a glow and happiness that only Christmas lights can bring. All boxes are put away and there is no trace of us working our magic. As much as our aching bodies hurt, there is a satisfaction in bringing Christmas joy to others. We also do mantels, tablescapes, staircases, vignettes, and hang a wreath on your front door. We will even come back in January and take it down
We often hear questions like “How do you start decorating a tree?” or “How do you get so many ornaments on a tree?” or my favorite is “Why do your trees look so different than mine?”
So I will give you some of our best tips for creating a beautiful tree. We brainstormed a little to come up with these as after so many years they just seem rote to us.
Most of these will apply to an artificial tree, as most of our clients have moved to one so they can leave it up longer and don’t have the hassle of needles dropping, but in my opinion there is still nothing quite like the smell of a fresh tree. Another great and inexpensive way to bring the smells of Christmas into your home when using an artificial tree is to go a few weeks before Christmas and get a package of cut greenery. Add sprigs into your garland on your mantel or staircase, even in your tree and instantly you get that REAL CHRISTMAS SMELL.
- Always have the right height tree for your room. This is a must for a good look. The rule of thumb is to always buy a tree that is at least 6 inches lower than your ceiling height. So if you have 8-9 foot ceilings, you should buy a seven and a half foot tree. We run into problems occasionally when someone has moved and their tree does not fit their new place. If you need more height to your tree, you can always put it on a wooden box and cover the box with a beautiful tree skirt.
- ALWAYS check to be sure the tree is properly in the stand and all screws are tightly screwed in before you begin to decorate. This will save you many headaches. Another help would be to set up your tree a couple of days before trimming it, so the branches can fall out – a huge time saver. Trust me on this one.
- LIGHTS – one of the hard things in life. There are so many different ones to choose from now. After you choose the kind that fits your look, be sure you have enough. My rule is 100 lights per foot on the tree. Some people put less, but if anything I would put more. So on a 7 foot tree, I would have AT LEAST 700 lights but probably 1,000. I also suggest you never attach more than 3 strands end to end. Starting from the top or bottom is just a matter of preference. If a strand is burned out, we do not take it off, we just cover it up with a new strand. People spend hours trying to untangle a strand of dead lights when in the end no one will ever see the dead strand. And my best tip is THERE IS NO SUCH THING as TOO MANY LIGHTS.
- One of our most inexpensive tips I have where you get lots of bang for your buck is taking the tops off of cheap shiny glass balls and sticking them on the limb all thru the interior of the tree. You will get a fuller tree and lots of light off these balls. Use multi sized ornaments and multi colors. We do this before we start hanging the beautiful ornaments. I can promise this will make a more beautiful tree with lots of shimmer.
- The more textures on a tree, the more beautiful your tree will be. Use any and everything. By that I mean lots of different ribbons, sticks, holiday floral stems, floral mesh, feathers, and ornaments of all shapes and sizes. Use things from nature like pinecones, berries and greenery as fillers. Add crystal and shiny glass ornaments. Vary the weight of ornaments. Anything light can bounce off will enhance your tree. Nothing has to be symmetrical. Sometimes we will wire several ornaments together to make a statement. We do so many different theme trees throughout the season. One filled with old stockings, one filled with gorgeous velvet fairies, snowman trees, gingerbread trees, Christopher Radko trees, trees filled with collected Santas, iced fruit trees, Mickey Mouse trees. Metal ornaments and decorations have become very popular. Ornaments DO NOT have to be expensive. Some of my favorite ornaments came from Walmart or Big Lots. Look everywhere. One of our favorite trees comes from the look of Chip and Joanna from Fixer Upper. They have a style of their own. But by far the most popular tree is just an old fashioned tree full of ornaments from over the decades. We mix all colors, some that you would find strange. One of my favorite trees is full of bronze and turquoise accented with gold and silver. That touch of blue is stunning. We also suggest if you have small children, to them do a separate tree of the theme they choose on a smaller tree. There are some cute options.
- Here is probably the tip that makes our trees stand out THE MOST. We use no hooks, as we wrap the ornament to the branch, so there is NO DROP. The no drop look totally changes the look of a tree. You see no string, so you see the ornament. As for ornament placement, there is no set rule. We just start, stand back, and keep adding. I know that sounds random, but to me that is part of the beauty of the tree. Classy clutter.
- Always decorate the sides full and go around through the back. The back does not have to be as heavy, but nothing is uglier than the back of the tree being empty.
- Toppers are quite controversial. Some people still want the standard angel or star. Just be sure it’s the size that coordinates with your tree. Many times we do a bow of as many as 10 different ribbons. Some people like no topper and want us just to work the tree to the top. This is really just your preference.
- Always color coordinate your wrapping paper and ribbons for a super classy look. If you don’t have a tree skirt you can use fabric or a throw.
- Do not STRESS. Start early so you can enjoy the REASON for the SEASON.
One of my favorite parts of my business is I can make the rules…Several years ago I decided that each year we would do one house totally free to someone fighting a horrible disease. This year we have a very special lady fighting leukemia. I am so excited to be able to lessen her load and hopefully make her home as beautiful as she would if energy allowed.
Make your tree your unique look. If you need help to make some MAGIC you can always call Teresa’s Trees, and the elves will suddenly appear. We can use your ornaments or we can add to your things and give you a new look. Making magic is our specialty.
Contact me at 318 426 4695, email me at annah99@aol..com or message me on Facebook. Pictures of some of our trees are on my FB page Teresa’s Baskets and Bows. We only have a couple of spots open. Some homes we have been decorating for 20 years. We consider each client FAMILY.
