{"id":23039,"date":"2023-12-08T14:25:32","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T14:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodhomesmagazine.com\/?p=23039"},"modified":"2023-12-08T14:25:33","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T14:25:33","slug":"christmas-decorating-hacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodhomesmagazine.com\/inspiration\/christmas-decorating-hacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas decorating hacks to bookmark every year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s December, which means it’s officially time to deck the halls and start your Christmas decorating – if you haven’t already, that is. Trouble is, it’s not always as easy as it looks to get an Insta-worthy festive home. In fact, recent research from YouGov<\/a> found that over a fifth of Brits (21%) find putting up decorations stressful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A further poll by Tesco<\/a> lists many of the aspects of festive decorating as some of the hardest things to master at Christmas. Untangling fairy lights appears in the top 10, while decorating a tree tastefully and keeping it alive also feature highly in the list of festive stressors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, however, there are some simple shortcuts to creating sparkly, stress-free Christmas d\u00e9cor you can turn to every year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let there be (extra) light<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nothing says Christmas more than the magical twinkle of fairy lights, but why stop at adorning the branches?<\/p>

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\u201cWrapping a set of string lights around the trunk of your Christmas tree is the ultimate hack for achieving optimum brightness,\u201d explains Marlena Kaminska, designer at ValueLights<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInstead of just resting your lights on the tips of the branches, begin by working your way up the trunk, all the way from the base right to the top. Doubling up on your lights in this way adds depth and a fullness to the glow of your Christmas tree, giving it an impressive, professional look.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hanging the perfect number of baubles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Image credit: Resident Artisan \/ Caroline Martin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Too many and you run the risk of overkill, too few and it could look sparse. It turns out there\u2019s a formula behind the correct number of baubles to use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first attempts to introduce some sparkly science<\/a> into tree-decorating proceedings dates back to 2015, when a group of maths students at the University of Sheffield proposed a calculation for the ideal amount of baubles and tinsel depending on the tree\u2019s height. <\/p>

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According to the formula, a 152cm (five foot) Christmas tree would need 31 baubles, around 776cm of tinsel and 478cm of lights, with a 15cm star or angel to top it off. That’s about 6.2 baubles per foot of Christmas tree (30.4 cm). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

M&S<\/a> home experts have their own theories about the number of decorations needed for the perfectly adorned Christmas tree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But first it’s important we know the three different type of decoration: fillers for a beautiful base layer, statement to theme your tree, and collectables for the final flourish and to add personality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to how many of each your tree needs, the experts have divided it into tree size: <\/p>

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