O Tannenbaum: Themes like Christmas

A themed Christmas tree can definitely lend a designer touch to your holiday decor; plus, the possibilities are endless. Christmas tree themes can be based around a color scheme, materials, or subject matter. Here are some theme ideas:

Color scheme

Collecting ornaments in only one, two, or three colors is a simple and effective way to theme your tree. In the photo to the right you’ll see a tree I decorated a few years ago with Christmas balls in jewel-tone colors that I tucked into the tree branches in clusters of two or three. Instead of ribbon I used some wide, silver glittered net that I wove around the tree. With the addition of purple and white lights, silk ivy, and the peacock, I then it’s quite fetching.

My friend Laura has a black silk tree in her downstairs lounge. All of the ornaments, in various shapes, are glittery red with white marabou feather accents. It’s truly stunning and perfect in that room. Although her main tree upstairs has a more traditional Christmas theme, the variety of ornaments on that tree are also mostly red with some silver and white accents, with fountains of red and green wired beads cascading out of the top of the tree as a tree topper. Quite talented, that gal!

Materials

Another option is to decorate with ornaments made from the same type of material. For example, the ornaments on my mother’s Christmas tree are all made of glass (or clear acrylic). Christopher Radko ornaments of mouth-blown glass offer not only a chance to theme an entire tree but offer an excellent investment opportunity as well, as some of the earlier pieces have been retired and are now collector’s items. There is an entire series of Radko Disney ornaments, which leads me to the next theming category…

Subject matter

Thanks to Christopher Radko and Hallmark, it’s simple (albeit a tad pricey) to build an entire collection of ornaments based on a particular subject. Examples include:

Entertainment My friend Maryjo has an entire Disney tree (and you can bet that it’s loaded!). Laura loves characters from the Peanuts comic strip and has an entire tree with Peanuts ornaments. I have most all of the Star Trek space ships from Hallmark that light up and play snippets of dialogue or phaser fire sounds that hang from a small upside-down tree. Star Wars characters and vehicles are also available, as are more and more Harry Potter-themed ornaments. (I can just imagine a fun Harry Potter-themed tree sporting additional ornaments and ribbon in Gryffindor colors with a pointed Sorting Hat as a tree topper.)

Christmas characters and items Angels, snowpeople and Santas immediately come to mind and are easy to find, as are sleighs and Christmas stockings.

Music and musical instruments Several years ago I found an old violin in a thrift store and turned it into an elaborate tree topper by adding in some brass horns and ribbon. The rest of the tree sported smaller horns and musical instruments and ornaments made from photo-copies of old sheet music, folded into fans and combined with ribbon and Christmas balls. My hot glue bill was quite high that year…

College and/or Sports teams Combine your school spirit with your Christmas spirit and decorate a tree with school or team colors. Although you can generally find logo ornaments for larger schools and more popular teams, you may have to get creative if you want to show your support for the women’s basketball team at your local community college (although I have seen basketball and other sports equipment-shaped Christmas ornaments available in stores and catalogs). These days, you can probably find glass or plastic Christmas ball ornaments in just about any color, including that deep shade of orange that Auburn University uses. With some basic craft skills, you can create pom-poms, decorate handmade card stock megaphones, and even add a toy mascot as a tree topper.

et al. In an earlier post I mentioned my cowboy-themed tree. It’s decorated with styrofoam balls wrapped in red bandana print fabric, glass balls painted to look like cowhide, chili pepper lights, barbed wire garland, a buffalo plaid blanket for a tree skirt, and a red cowboy hat as a tree topper.

How about a cocktail-themed tree for your basement bar, with wine cork garlands, swizzle sticks for icicles, and stemware filled with colored beads hanging from the branches?

For you fashionistas, ornaments shaped like glittery shoes and fancy pumps or handbags seem to be popping up everywhere and would make for a fun and whimsical tree.

You could easily fill a tree with teddy bear ornaments or toys or use your entire collection of Barbie dolls posed on the branches with garlands of Barbie outfits. Go nuts!

The biggest consideration in case you decide to go with some sort of theme is what to do with the clothespin reindeer your youngest made in second grade if it no longer fits in with your new collection of Swarovski Crystal angel ornaments. Of course, my solution is to have more than one tree, but I also know that not everyone has the resources or space (or energy) to do that. But if the thought of a tree filled with carefully selected ornaments chosen to fit a specific theme appeals to you, then by all means – start collecting!

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I hope you’ve enjoyed this series of Christmas tree posts, as I’ve certainly enjoyed writing them. I hope your Christmas tree(s) and your holidays are merry and bright!

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