Page 32 2023 Home For The Holidays Lincoln Daily News November 23, 2022 How To Choose a Christmas Tree Theme Decorating the Christmas tree should be a fun family activity, but every year around October, I find myself scrambling for new ideas. I always start by planning and decorating my tree. I look at the ornaments and decorations I already have and then decide if I need to buy anything additional to achieve the look I’m going for. Decorating the tree first helps to set the theme throughout the home and gives me a solid place to start so I don’t get overwhelmed. In my opinion, my tree models the stage of life our family is in. When the kids are little, you may find your tree full of handmade school ornaments, bright colorful lights, toy trains, and ornaments only on the top half of the tree. Remember those days? When the kids are old enough to favor a sport or a character you decorate with basketballs, or dinosaurs, or Dora the Explorer. As the kids grow, you may find that what once was a fun family activity, now seems like a chore for the teens. At first, you’ll reminisce and pine for the days the kids would fight over whose school ornament gets the front spot on the tree, but then you’ll come to the realization that you now have total decorative control. In a technologically advanced world, there are so many options for Christmas tree themes that it’ll make your head spin. Just think of me as your personal decorating elf, here to guide you through the process. Focus On A Style First things first, decide whether your style will be rustic, whimsical, traditional, or elegant. When you see decorated trees what appeals to you? If you’re not sure, look through Pinterest or browse home and garden magazines. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with the choices so make a plan before you start shopping. Make a list of the specific items you’re looking for and stick to it. As I said earlier, I start planning well before December. When going for a new look I try to spend November planning and shopping and then December can be all about family traditions and gift shopping. Choose A Color Palette Now that you’ve chosen a style, you need to determine a color scheme. This is an important step because it creates flow throughout your whole home. For this step, you’ll need to think about your existing home décor and the people you share your home with. Is your home full of neutrals, blues, gold or silver accents? A great way to start is to choose a neutral first (think gold, silver, platinum, black, or rose gold). After you’ve chosen your neutral you can choose colors that coordinate with it. Our main tree is usually a different color scheme than the trees in the bedrooms. Each bedroom tree is decorated with the color and theme that matches that person’s style. The girls still embrace more of a whimsical style with chevron ribbon, frosted glass, metallic ornaments, and lots of glitz and glamour. Our son prefers a more rustic and simplistic tree with pinecones and buffalo plaid ribbon. I prefer a warm, classic tree in our bedroom. I tend to leave the tree on at Continued --
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