Peyton Wolff
“How do you get your Christmas tree ribbon to do that?” is without a doubt, the number one question I receive during the holiday season. Today, sharing my secrets and how to decorate a Christmas tree with ribbon, in a step-by-step tutorial. I used a few methods over the years before deciding on one Christmas tree ribbon technique that I use most often.
Click HERE for full disclosure* You can find a recent video with step by step instruction of how to put ribbon on a Christmas tree here: HOW TO PUT RIBBON ON A CHRISTMAS TREE The number one rule when considering how to put ribbon on a Christmas tree is knowing — there are no wrong ways.
If you’re looking for something more organic and minimalistic, you may prefer a thinner ribbon, fewer tufts, and not as many embellishments. I love them both but the dining room tree takes a fraction of the time to fluff and prep.
I can always add a little more at the end if needed but using Christmas tree ribbon first gives a good base and starting point. My favorite places to shop in-store for ribbon are Costco, At Home, Hobby Lobby, and HomeGoods. Costco has wide ribbon with 50 yards on the spool for $9.99, so that’s a good place to start ;).
I use my hands to feel around inside the tree for a good spot for the ribbon to stick. A few tips (this will make all the difference) – you don’t want the ribbon tuft to be pulled tight against the branches. Also, when you are creating your loop, kind of push the ribbon upwards (as though you are almost pinching it back to the first secured end) instead of pulling it downwards.
You can even turn it slightly sideways and have it “sit” on its side, on a branch. If not, you may need to slightly bend an inside branch to secure the ribbon. If your ribbon is difficult to work with, you can try this technique; see the image below for the result of using single “tufts”.
Once I have a pretty consistent and thorough covering of the base Christmas tree ribbon, I will choose another to go in and accent. Don’t worry, if you decide you need more of the original ribbon when you finish, you can always add more! As a warning, this is kind of a difficult tree to show as my example because I did a few things out of order and used some ribbon I wouldn’t typically recommend.
Most thin ribbon can’t support itself as well and will need to have smaller loops (I actually did three tufts here). For you, it may be large ornaments but on this tree, I had huge floral stems that I incorporated first.
I bury the big items and nestle them in the branches, closer to the tree base. I like to fill in open spaces but also, don’t be scared to cover a little ribbon.
You may need to adjust some ribbon tufts as you incorporate your big pieces. You can cluster a few like items together for an impact (think three red balls together all over), or, spread everything out evenly.
My next step was to add some moss on the branches — fitting for a meadow-themed tree. Manipulate the flower branches (don’t just leave them as a straight cluster). I spread most of mine out (the smaller blue blooms were scored as fall for .90/a stem. I saved a couple of bigger blue floral stems for the topper.
Instead of spreading them out evenly like the others, I concentrated them at the top of the tree and kind of came down from there, winding them in a diagonal to create that focal statement. Some people only use big ornaments at the bottom and smaller on top but I like to mix all over.
I also have more special, intricate ornaments that I mix with regular filler balls. STEP 7: ADD ELEMENTS TO HIDE THE CHRISTMAS TREE RIBBON TRICKS After the bigger elements, and then ornaments, I add in smaller picks — like berry sprigs (or in this case, dried stuff that I don’t really know what it is haha) — to start hiding more of the ribbon security areas.
These were really easy to use- even easier than actual hanging ornaments. STEP 8: ADD A SPECIAL “MOMENT” On this tree, once I finished everything, I added my sweet, subtle little cherry on top.
