There are many ways to decorate a pre-lit Christmas tree, such as: using themes, color schemes, ornaments, and embellishments. I often combine two or three of these categories to decorate a pre-lit Christmas tree. Artificial trees come in different varieties of Christmas lights. All you have to do is add your 2 cents of decorative creativity, and you’re good to go for the Christmas season.
Let’s get into the details on how to enhance the look of a pre-lit Christmas tree.
Pre-Lit Christmas Tree Color Schemes
The Classic Color Scheme (White, Green, and Red)
This is the most popular and commonly used color scheme for Christmas trees. The color scheme consists of white, green, and red. You can add some tinsel late on to make the tree sparkle.
Sometimes, artificial trees are already lit with white lights to get your classic scheme. Simply wrap some green and red string lights around your Christmas tree. You have to be stylish about it. Just wrapping these colored light bulbs around your tree won’t cut it. It can seem somewhat out of place if done carelessly.
You have to do it in a way that makes the colors pop out and complement the default lighting on these artificial trees. In other words, use all the bulbs like they are ornaments.
Metallic Colour Scheme (Silver, Gold, and Bronze/Copper)
Like the classic color scheme, you can use two, three, or all colors on your artificial Christmas tree. You may want to have many colors on your artificial tree and attempt to combine different color schemes. While the overwhelming catalog of colors on a tree may seem overkill, it can pop if you pull it off. You can always take some of these colors down if it doesn’t. No harm, no foul.
I like to combine complementary metallic colors such as gold and bronze with green and red lights. These four lights with the default white lighting can sparkle your tree. You should try it!
Winter Colour Scheme (White, Silver, and Blue)
This is the go-to color combination if you want your Christmas tree to have a winter or snow-capped look. Get your blue and silver light strings and hang them on your pre-lit Christmas trees above the white lights to give that shimmery effect. This color scheme works best with snowflake ornaments and crystal picks.
You can also opt for embellishments such as small snow-covered branches. If you can pull off this color scheme perfectly, your artificial tree may look like a natural winter plant bar the lighting.
Pre-Lit Christmas Tree Themes
Depending on the kind of accent you want for your Christmas tree, you can try any of the below themes:
The Rustic Theme
The rustic theme itself comes with several decorating ideas for your tree. There’s the popcorn garland. You can make this yourself at home. Hang it the way you’ll hang a light string on your Christmas tree. You can add other touches, such as large light bulbs to your tree. Moreover, can place your tree in a wooden stand.
Get creative and mix different elements to achieve a rustic theme with your Christmas tree. For instance, you can mix a tree topper (I recommend the rattan star trooper because of its visual appeal), a classic element, and a natural element. I recommend using plaid accents and/or red bells as classic elements for your tree. For the natural element, a dried citrus garland is about right.
While you attach the plaid accents and red balls to the branches of your Christmas tree, wrap the citrus garland like a light string around your Christmas tree. Then place the rattan star topper on your tree to round it up. Cute, right?
Another rustic theme idea can be executed by getting a quilted tree skirt (to give your Christmas tree a unique look), electric candles (to add rustic charm), a gingerbread garland, and a straw star topper. The tree skirt will be at the base of your tree while the garland goes around the tree. Attach the electric candles to the branches of your tree and round off the look with the straw star on top. Voila!
Snowflake Theme
You can pull off this white-colored theme by getting a white mesh ribbon, snowflake ornaments such as sparkly white crosses, a white country church, and a white consumer craft tree topper. The ribbon goes around the tree.
Whichever ornament you choose between the country church and white crosses will be attached to the tree branches. Finally, the tree topper goes on top. A white tree skirt can round off the look, but not necessarily. A flocked Christmas tree would be the ideal tree for this theme.
Animal Theme
Adding a touch of wildlife to a Christmas tree never gets old. It seems just right. There are several animal figurines or ornaments that you can select from. It comes down to your preference. For a typical Christmas look, you can stick to reindeer, polar bears, owls, and squirrels.
On the other hand, you can go all out and include any animal ornament that catches your fancy. Take care not to crowd your tree with too many animal ornaments, though, especially if you intend to decorate the tree with other things further.
Candy Cane Theme
This is the classic theme for a Christmas tree. Get several white and red candy cane ornaments and hang them on the branches of your tree. You can go for artificial candies or real, edible ones. This theme goes best with twinkle lighting.
Embellishments
There are two rules to using embellishments on a Christmas tree. The first one is to use embellishments according to the color scheme or theme you adopted. The second rule is to use embellishments according to your taste or preference. Below are some of the embellishments you can use to decorate your tree:
Using Garlands to Decorate your Tree
Garlands come in varieties. It can be used as an alternative to a ribbon. The ones I mentioned earlier in this article (gingerbread, popcorn garlands, and dried citrus garlands) are edible garlands. There are also artificial garlands, tons of them. Good examples are the silver icicles garland, gold bead garland, and classic bead garland.
Pick your preferred garland. Like a ribbon, begin at the top of the tree and hold the garland in place with a clip. Weave the garland slowly while working it down and around the tree.
Using Ribbons to Decorate your Tree
I recommend using wired or mesh ribbons. If you’re going for a snowflake theme, the white mesh ribbon I mentioned earlier is the ideal ribbon to use on your tree.
On the other hand, a common choice is a red ribbon. It’s popular because red is a primary color for Christmas decorations. To hang ribbons, I recommend you start from the peak of your tree and slowly work the ribbon down by spiraling it. You can work the ribbon clockwise or use any other technique you prefer.
While at it, ensure that the ribbon appears like a natural part of the tree. Avoid pulling or stretching the ribbon on your tree. Tuck it in, billow out, and tuck it in again. Working the ribbon in a spiral adds a curling effect and aesthetic appeal. Ensure the ribbon you want to use is long enough.
Decorative Picks
Decorative picks come in varieties. You can go for red berry picks if you want to stick to the classic color scheme. A snowflake theme should go with white magnolia picks, white berry picks, or frozen branch picks.
If you’re using a gold bead garland on your tree, you can pair it with gold magnolia picks. For enhanced color vibrancy, pair the gold bead garland with burgundy and gold magnolia bouquets.
Ornaments
Choosing the right number ornaments for your Christmas tree decorations is the icing on the cake. There are matte ornaments and shiny ornaments. Some are bulb-like and can be clipped on the branches of your tree. There are other kinds as well, precisely tree toppers. As their name implies, they go at the top of the tree and are usually the last decorative piece of a tree.
Like other decorative elements, your preference, theme, or color scheme should determine the tree topper you’re going for. I have given some examples earlier for the snowflake theme. A ribbon bow topper will look great on a tree decorated with a classic or multi-color Christmas tree. You can also opt for angels and stars as well as floral picks.
When it comes to ornaments, you can decide to do it moderately or go all in. If you can pull it off, combining two or three ornaments on your pre lit tree will make it the focal point of your home.
