Do you load your Christmas tree with angels the kids have made out of loo rolls and multi-coloured baubles that have been hanging around in the loft for the past 20 years?
Or are you determined to go for the latest and chicest look? And can anyone tell the difference between them anyway?
We asked top Christmas tree decorator Sharon Creates — who has dressed trees this year for one of London’s most iconic buildings, The Shard — to decorate three different trees for us with three very different budgets.
The Woodland Tree (above left) is decorated with pine cones, ribbons, bits of artificial Christmas trees taken from the local dump and the very cheapest baubles available from a pound shop.
The secret ingredient? A £1.70 can of gold spray paint.
Sharon says: ‘The natural look is bang on trend this year. So getting a great-looking tree for next to nothing is much easier than you would imagine.
‘Everyone’s eye goes straight to the top of the tree.
‘I didn’t want to shell out on an expensive star or fairy. Instead — in keeping with my theme — I used three branches from old Christmas trees that I found at the dump.
‘Then I added a handful of dried poppy heads. I collected these in the summer when the flowers fell. But you could use twigs or — if you want to shell out a bit — dried flowers, which you can pick up for £1 a bunch from most craft shops.
‘I bought a 150ml can of gold paint for £1.70 from Amazon, sprayed the whole lot, then tied them together with red ribbon that I’d bought from the market for £1 for five metres.
‘I got two rolls (£2 in total) and used the rest to make ten big bows, which I tied on the tree. Once they were tied, you honestly wouldn’t know the ribbon wasn’t an expensive silk.
Knowing I wanted a natural-looking tree, I had collected pine cones over the past few weeks from fields, playgrounds and even car parks.
‘I selected 30 of the largest ones. Then I got my trusty spray can out again and turned them all a shimmering gold.
‘I popped them between the tree branches. My final touch was 20 cheap gold 60mm baubles, which I bought from Pound Stretcher for £1.50 a box — £3 in total.
‘Sticking to one colour has a much more dramatic affect.
‘And my other tip — if you are on a budget — is to go for quantity rather than quality.
‘A sparse tree will always look cheap. But if you load it with baubles, it will instantly appear luxurious.’
The Winter Wonderland Tree (above centre) is decorated with a mixture of silver bows, sparkling white twigs (£16 for 25 stems) and white pom-pom flowers (£15), white silk clip-on poinsettias (£24), diamante butterflies (£10) and turquoise and silver baubles (£12 and £10).
Sharon says: ‘One of the best ways to give a tree pizzazz is to give it a huge topping.
‘I transformed my tree from 7ft 5in tall into an impressive 9ft simply by adding a bunch of white twigs I’d tied together and three huge white pom-pom flowers, which I’d bought from Amazon.
‘My iridescent silver ribbon cost £5 a roll from thechristmas decorators.com. It’s studded with holes — which means the lights from the tree shine through, giving a gorgeous glittery effect. There’s a big trend for white Christmas flowers this year. I loaded my tree with 12 clip-on silk poinsettias.
‘A pack of six costs £11.99 on Amazon. Using my lovely ribbon, I made 30 bows, which I tied on the tree where the light could catch them. I then added two packs of 5cm diamante-covered white butterflies (£5 for six) from John Lewis.
‘To give the tree extra depth and make it look even more grand I mixed large 100mm baubles with standard 60mm baubles. I chose a mixture of matt and shiny balls — I love the way the light bounces off the shiny balls to make the matt ones glow, too.
‘In keeping with my Winter Wonderland theme I stuck to silver, turquoise and very pale blue. I used 12 large baubles (£12) from John Lewis and 30 smaller ones (£10) from my local garden centre.’
£1,000 TREE
The Copper and Cream Tree (above right) is the ultimate in luxury. From the Swarovski crystal baubles (£10 each) to the silk and organza swag (eight metres at £60), it oozes decadence.
Sharon says: ‘Cheap, shatter-proof baubles look lovely, but for real eye-stopping beauty glass baubles are unbeatable.
‘Going for an antique look of copper and cream, I dressed my tree from top to toe in a huge swag of copper-coloured organza which I embellished with cream silk (£60). I used the same look to decorate the Christmas trees in The Shard building this year. It’s a real show-stopper.
‘My baubles are a giant 150mm. They are £5 each from thechristmasdecorators.com but you can buy similar ones at John Lewis or Selfridges, for example. I used 50 baubles in muted gold and 50 in shimmering gold — to give a really deep effect. I didn’t want to leave any twig uncovered.
‘My piece de resistance, however, were 40 large (100mm) Swarovski crystal burgundy baubles at £10 each. I bought mine from a specialist wedding company.
‘The deep red complemented the copper beautifully and gave a real sense of 19th-century decadence.
‘Once again, I used butterflies. But this time I chose bigger ones (10cm), with wings made from feathers, for a really elegant look. I bought 20 at £2 each.’
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