Minimax
Nov 17, 2022

How To Decorate Your Christmas Tree

by Minimax Digital

Rejoice! The holiday season is here, and Minimax wants to help you transform your home into a Christmas wonderland. Since we’ve already covered a bunch of Australian Home Christmas Decoration Ideas, plus how to set the perfect Christmas table, the next stop is decorating your Christmas Tree.


Christmas is a time for family, friends, and, of course, some decorating. The Minimax Christmas collection includes everything you need to prepare your home for the holiday season. Nothing is too much when it comes to decorating your Christmas tree. Make it lit, make it glitz, or pull a few of Santa's festive tricks to make your Aussie Christmas truly magical!


Discover how to decorate your Christmas tree with the help of the Minimax Style Guide to get those sleigh bells ringing!


Choosing a Christmas Tree

Before you start decorating your Christmas Tree, your first decision is: natural or artificial. Beyond personal preferences and environmental choices, there are many pros and cons to consider between artificial and natural Christmas Trees before Santa arrives.

Natural Christmas Trees

Christmas is a traditional holiday; as such, there are plenty of traditions to accompany the celebrations, namely your Christmas tree. Those who grew up before artificial Christmas trees will look back fondly on the trips to tree farms or the local nursery to pick up a fresh pine tree for Christmas. The smell of fresh pine needles is enough to conjure up several nostalgic memories of yesteryear.


For many, this tradition is the most beloved part of their Christmas celebrations and an opportunity to get the whole family involved in picking the perfect tree.


Fortunately, planting and harvesting Christmas trees is a relatively sustainable industry since the trees are completely biodegradable and recyclable and are often repurposed for mulch. Moreover, a customer would need to use their artificial tree for more than five years to make up for the environmental impact of manufacturing.


Still, the effort required to maintain a real tree over Christmas may be a bit too much work for some people.


Artificial Christmas Trees

The most significant benefit of owning an artificial Christmas Tree is that you won’t have to worry about sweeping up leaves or watering the tree throughout the 12 Days of Christmas. You won’t have to worry about disposing of your tree come January.


Moreover, modern artificial Christmas trees are made using fire-resistant materials, unlike the easily flammable natural version.


Minimax offers a range of artificial Christmas trees to suit a range of styles, celebrations and budgets. Ranging from cheap and cheerful to exquisite, we offer twelve different options to make your Christmas more remarkable than ever. And while it may not be as merry as driving out to pick up a natural tree, the cost recouped from regularly using a faux tree will allow you to spend more on the decorations–the best part of decorating your Christmas tree!


Plus, some of our artificial trees come pre-lit and pre-decorated, like our Pure Christmas Cashmere Pre-lit Mixed Pine Tree with 300 clear lights, so you can plug it in and enjoy the holiday cheer! As for the rest of the collection, here are a few of our best-selling artificial Christmas Trees.


And if you’re missing the smell of fresh pine leaves, grab an Ecoya Madison Fresh Pine Candle to experience rich newly sawn forest woods, perfectly rounded with citrus and rosewood. Check out our Christmas Candles and Candle Holders collection for a plethora of Christmas scents and fragrances.

How To Put Lights on a Christmas Tree

We love pre-lit artificial Christmas trees because they eliminate the need to untangle the leftover birdsnest of fairy lights from last year's Christmas celebrations. However, pre-lit trees are often restricted to only one or a few colours. 


If fairy lights are going on your Christmas tree, make sure you arrange them before adding baubles, garlands or tinsel, as it's far more challenging to do it afterwards. Of course, every Christmas tree is different, so here are a few handy tips to help light up your tree.


  • Plug in your Christmas lights to ensure all the bulbs are working.
  • Start from the top of the tree and work your way down the tree’s cone.
  • Avoid crossing cords over each other to prevent tangles.
  • To find empty spots, look at your tree with your eyes crossed or squint until the lights are blurry–rearrange your lights to fill in any dark spots.
  • If your lights aren’t staying where they're supposed to, we recommend using twist ties or string to hold your lights in place.

Fairy Lights or String Lights

Fairy lights used to be the only option for Christmas lights before the rise of string lights and LEDs. Fairy lights are typically longer. However, the actual LED bulbs can get caught in the Christmas Tree, making it difficult to remove them after the festivities are done. Some string lights also have the benefit of battery power, avoiding the need to position your tree near an outlet.


Whatever you decide, here are our best-selling options for Christmas tree lighting.

How Many Lights Do I Need?

The height and size of your tree will determine how many lights you need to decorate the tree. Thanks to this handy online tool for determining Christmas Tree Light Spacing, you won't have to do any calculations other than converting metric measurements to imperial. Silly Americans.


Anyway, to figure out how to put lights on a Christmas tree, measure the bottom diameter of your tree, its height and the total length of your light strand.


The calculator will then determine the optimal spacing between each light rotation, ensuring your tree is uniformly covered with lights.

Christmas Themes

There are two ways to decorate your Christmas tree–hope for the best or design around a theme. To help set the tone for your decorations, we have a range of Christmas themes to take your tree from good to great!

Christmas is a season of tradition, and no other colourway trumpets these cultural customs than classic green, red and gold tones. Our selection of truly traditional Christmas decorations will be in fashion forever.

We might not have much snow during Christmas, so Aussies embrace the sunshine down under. Our Red Tractor range of nostalgic Australiana-themed Christmas decorations and gifts is sure to have you singing How To Make Gravy.


Some of our favourite Australian-themed Christmas decorations are from Vixen & Velvet. We have a particularly soft spot for their Fairy Bread Sequin Hanging Decoration. However, you’ll need to head in-store to grab the whole collection, which includes Vegemite, Luna Park, an Aussie Prawn and a Kookaburra, amongst other classic Aussie icons. 

Our collection of Festive Fuchsias Christmas Decorations features myriad pink and gold ornaments. From ombre baubles to rainbow-tinted stars, your Christmas tree will be an eyecatcher and a conversation starter this season.

Before the gold age, bronze was the glitter humans desired. Our opulent collection of metallic Bronze Age Christmas decorations mixes in gold and copper tones to create a range of ornaments and accents that will make your tree and home shine.. 

After something softer and less intense for your celebrations? Our Pretty in Pastels Christmas Decorations features natural accents and metallic sparkle, making them ideal for a more classically feminine, playful tree.

Christmas Decorations From Minimax

With your Christmas theme chosen, it’s time to decorate the tree with baubles, ribbon, garlands, and tinsel before topping it all off with a Christmas topper.

How to put tinsel on a Christmas Tree?

Make Tinsel Town proud by decorating your Christmas tree with multi-coloured garland tinsel that matches your chosen theme. Then, start by horizontally (not vertically) draping one strand of tinsel across each level of branches from either the top or bottom.

How to put ribbon on a Christmas Tree?

Figuring out how to wrap a ribbon around a Christmas tree doesn’t need to be a practice in futility. First, determine how long your ribbon is, as you may need more than one type of ribbon, depending on the size of your Christmas tree. Using multiple, shorter lengths of ribbon will also make wrapping your tree much more manageable. We recommend choosing a range of coloured ribbons to match your chosen theme.

With that sorted, it’s time to start wrapping your ribbon. Start by pulling the ribbon from the top of the tree at an angle. Tuck the ribbon into the middle before coming back up again. Go down again for another swoop and repeat until you run out of ribbon. Ensure you don’t pull the ribbon tight, as you want your garlands loose.

Ornaments and Baubles

We’re confident you’ve already got a hefty stash of Christmas ornaments and baubles sitting in storage, just waiting for the Christmas tree to go up. Of course, if you need more or want to update your collection, Minimax is your one-stop destination for your Christmas decorations, including plenty of clip-on and hanging decorations with your baubles.

Baubles

Hanging Decorations

Clip-On Decorations

How to put a star on a Christmas tree?

The final decoration for any Christmas tree is a tree topper. Typically in the form of an angel or a star, positioning a Christmas tree topper can be tricky since they don’t hang from a hook, nor are they secured with string. Setting your tree topper requires patience to keep it straight, so we’ve got a few tips to help you with the finishing touch.
  • The weight of your tree topper will determine how much anchoring you need to keep things stable.
  • Depending on the position of your tree, you may be able to hide your mounting methods from view, especially if they're positioned in the corner of the room.
  • Most tree toppers come with either a spiral or conical mounting method that attaches to the top of the tree. You can anchor these mounts more securely with twist ties, pipe cleaners, string or ribbon.
  • If there is no mounting anchor for your tree topper, try using twist ties, pipe cleaners, string or ribbon to secure it vertically to the tree's top branch.
  • If all else fails, hot glue or staples will ensure your topper stays in place.
Top off your tree in style with an entire range of Christmas tree toppers, from classic stars to more contemporary designs. Here are some of our favourites:

A Minimax Christmas

With so many options available, knowing where to begin is a challenge, even for the most confident Christmas curator. If you're stuck for ideas, browse our Christmas catalogue. Minimax's Season to Celebrate Catalogue is jam-packed with fantastic suggestions and red-hot deals, so take a look today and start planning your Christmas shopping. You will not be let down!

Back to Minimax Blogs