How To Decorate A Shabby Chic Christmas Tree

You know I love all things shabby chic. Just check out my article on my favorite shabby chic decor, or 15 Fabulous shabby chic kitchens. Shabby chic one of my favorite looks and I have so much fun decorating in this romantic and feminine style. This year we decided to have two trees. Since we don’t get our tree until after Thanksgiving, this year I decided to get a mini tree a little early just so I could show you how to decorate a shabby chic Christmas tree. This tree is now sitting in my piano room (den..ish), and this weekend we’ll get our grand, giant Christmas tree for our living room.

While a lot of people like the ease, predictability, and look of a perfectly shaped artificial tree, I’m a sucker for a real-live Charlie Brown tree. The natural look with all its imperfections, the smell, the feel of bringing the outdoors in, and the hunt for the perfect tree; I love everything about a real Christmas tree. I don’t even mind the hassle of having to actually find one, cut it (who am I kidding, Home Depot has gorgeous fresh-cut trees every year), and transport it home. Getting our real-live fresh tree is a Christmas tradition that I hope my kids will appreciate some day.

Today I’m going to share with you how to decorate a shabby chic Christmas tree. If you love a pretty, elegant, and feminine look, this tree is your perfect match. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out exactly how to choose the right decorations and colors and how to put it all together. So here’s my step-by-step tutorial on how to decorate a shabby chic Christmas tree:

1. Choose your tree

As I explained above, I’m all about a real tree, however, there are lots of artificial options that go well also. A traditional green tree, a silver tree, pink tree, white, gold, or even rose gold. Also, check out this pretty flocked tree.

2. Choose your colors

The type and color of your tree will play a huge factor in deciding the color scheme of your tree. Traditional shabby chic colors are soft pinks, white, silver, gold, baby blue, mint green, and even a black & white buffalo check can look amazing on a shabby chic tree. You don’t need to (and shouldn’t) use all these colors together. Choose three or four and stick to them. For my live green noble fir, I chose pink, white, silver and gold. If your tree is silver, maybe use white and pink. For a pink tree, try green and silver.

3. Gather supplies

Your supplies will be what you want to decorate your tree with…i.e. lights, ornaments, flowers, star, angels, garland, etc. For a shabby chic tree, I recommend white or pink lights (if you’d like to use lights at all). Some of the supplies I found to decorate my tree include mini white lights (2 strands) from Target, white, gold, silver, and pink ornaments, pink ribbon (as garland), pearl strand garland, faux roses, a silver crown, white star tree-topper, various other ornaments including a silver Santa head, angels, a gold cross, and more vintage and color-coordinated ornaments. I should note that I got nearly all of my decorations for this shabby chic Christmas tree at thrift stores. Many thrift stores have a great selection of holiday items. I knew I wanted a shabby chic tree this year so every time I’d stop by a thrift store I’d browse their Christmas section to see if they had any shabby chic friendly decorations, and I usually found something.

4. Flock tree (if desired)

I clearly didn’t flock my tree, but doing so can give your shabby chic tree a really pretty touch. If you’re interested in flocking but not sure how, check out this tutorial.

5. Apply lights

If you’re using lights, you should put them on first. Start at the bottom, wrapping the strand loosely around the tree, making sure to let the lights lightly rest on the branches. You don’t want them too tight, but they also shouldn’t be hanging off the tree–they should look natural. Depending on the size of your tree, you will probably need more than one strand of lights. My little tree required two strands. Just plug the next strand into the end of the first strand and keep going up and around the tree until you get to the top. I always try to space my lights so I don’t have a lot of extra at the top. Once at the top of the tree, tuck the end of the light strand into the branches of the tree so it’s hidden. If you’re using a light-up tree topper, you can come back to the lights to plug in the topper once you’re ready to add it.

6. Apply garland

You want to apply your garland after the lights. It will be easier to decorate with the garland if you do it before adding any ornaments. To apply the garland, I like to (again) start at the bottom of the tree. If you have a long garland, you can go all the way around the tree, but again, make sure not to pull it too tight, you want it loose and natural-looking. I used shorter strands of ribbon and pearls so I was not able to go all the way around my tree. I just alternated the garland, making sure the ends were at the back of the tree where they wouldn’t be seen. It’s important to allow your garland to fall naturally on the tree and not be straight-across. Applying it at an angle is best.

7. Add ornaments

After the garland, it’s time to add the ornaments. This is my favorite part. Just disperse the ornaments evenly across the entire tree. Don’t worry about it looking “perfect.” Shabby chic is imperfect. I like to use smaller ornaments towards the top of the tree, but there really are no rules. Decorate to your liking using the ornaments you have chosen. Some other shabby chic ornament ideas I love but didn’t use include vintage post cards, bows, costume jewelry, burlap, lace, and faux candles.

8. Top your tree

Add your chosen tree topper to the top of your tree. I technically have two tree toppers on my tree. First, I added a sparkly crown around the top (branch?) and then my white star went on top. Some other pretty shabby chic tree toppers include angels, top hats, bow, Santa, and flower.

9. Tree skirt/collar

I always apply my Christmas tree skirt last, although some people may do it first. I find that with a live tree, pine needles tend to drop off while I’m decorating my tree so I like to clean them up and then add the skirt. There are lots of pretty Christmas tree skirts available for a shabby chic tree: thick chunky knit skirts, silver, gold, pink, ruffly, linen, burlap, buffalo check–so many options. You could also do what I did which was use a blanket as your skirt. Since my tree was so small, I didn’t want to go buy a new full-size Christmas tree skirt, so instead I found this glam pink fleece blanket at Walmart and wrapped it around the base of my tree. It turned out beautifully and I wouldn’t have chosen anything else. Plus, it was super inexpensive. 😉

10. Gifts

This last step is really fun. Choosing some shabby-chic wrapping paper, wrapping your presents, and putting them under the tree is really the last step to a completed shabby chic Christmas tree. Even though I live in a house with all boys, I love to use pretty feminine wrapping paper, especially under this tree. Anything with traditional shabby chic colors including pink, gold, silver, white, baby blue, and also floral, burlap, sheets of music, vintage paper; the possibilities are nearly endless. I will link to some great shabby chic wrapping paper choices below. Don’t be afraid to use lots of ribbon and vintage gift tags. Once your gifts are wrapped, arrange them under your shabby chic Christmas tree. I like the bigger gifts around the back and sides of the tree with the smaller ones placed on top and in front.