Christmas  Merry Christmas Wishes
From 101lifeStyle.com Christmas Tree Decorations / Ideas: The tradition of decorating Christmas Trees started by the Germans in 1960s. Initially people used to decorate their Christmas Trees with holiday food treats which were readily available at the Christmas markets.Today this tradition has become a global phenomenon irrespective of race, religion and nationality. People come up with innovative concepts and crafts on how to decorate their Christmas Tree in the best way possible.Today theme based decorations have become very popular. Christmas decorations start from the beginning of the month of December only. People decorate their houses with lights, Christmas tree, stars, and other shinning objects. However the most essential part of Christmas is the Christmas Tree decorations. When decorating your Christmas tree, put lights on first, then garlands, then the ornaments. The first and foremost step in the initiating of Christmas tree decorations is the placement of Christmas tree lights. Colorful lights make the tree glow in the dark. You cannot think of a decorated Christmas tree without lights. There many types, colors, styles and sizes of lights available in the market for Christmas tree decorations. Consider the size of your tree and weight of lights it can bear. Purchase the lights considering all these points in the mind. Discover how to make inexpensive, unique garlands for your Christmas tree using beads, berries, greenery, popcorn, or small decorations. After you have placed the garlands, it is now time to hang the Christmas tree ornaments. Basically the decoration should be entirely based on Christmas tree decoration themes. These themes refer to the party theme that you would be throwing. You can buy the ornaments for decorating the Christmas tree or can use the ornaments already present in your house.  Christmas Tree Decorating Tips: 1. Decide whether you want a natural tree or artificial trees. A natural tree needs a lot of maintenance. To make sure it looks green and fresh, place it in a stand that has a large water reservoir.
2. When decorating the tree, put on the lights first, then garlands and then the ornaments.
3. Don't hang all your ornaments on the tips of the branches. Place ornaments and other decorations 'inside' your tree to add depth and interest.
4. Arrange Christmas tree lights on the branches near the base of the tree first. Then weave strings of lights along the branches "inside," and move to the outer edges of the branches.
5. The color scheme of the decorations should go best with the color of the tree and should compliment with the decorations around the house.
6. When decorating with glass balls, remember to put larger ornaments at the bottom of the tree and the smaller ones at the top. This gives a pleasing proportion to the decorations of the tree.
7. The base of your tree should be covered with a colorful tree skirt so that the gifts underneath rest on a pretty background. This makes the wrapped gifts look even more festive, and looks good after the presents are unwrapped too.
8. A tree topper is a must. It can be any of the Christmas motifs-angels, snowmen, Christmas star, large bow and even teddy bears, anything you wish!
9. Theme trees are very popular these days. So pick any theme to décor your tree and personalize the decorations accordingly.  Handmade Christmas Tree Ornaments / Crafts: 1.Christmas Angel Tree Topper:
Materials Needed:
Construction paper (any color); Ribbon; Foil; Cereal box; Cotton balls; Glitter; Sequins; Empty paper towel roll; Hot glue gun and sticks; Scissors; Markers. Method:
Cut out a circle from construction paper. Using a marker draw the face of an angel. Start gluing cotton balls on to paper towel roll as many as needed. Take cereal box and draw the wings but keep both wings as one piece. Cut the wings and wrap foil around the wings. Glue wings to the back of the paper towel roll. Now glue the head on front of the paper towel roll. Cut pieces of ribbon for the hair. Using scissors curl the ribbons. Paste the ribbon on the head. Now use cotton balls to go down the wings for the arms. Once done decorate your angel with glitter and sequins and place it on top of the Christmas tree! 2.Gold And Sequin Baubles Craft:
Materials Needed:
7.2 inch (18cm) circumference styrofoam balls; Toothpicks; Gold spray paint (one that is suitable for styrofoam); Floral foam; Variety of narrow gold and silver braids or ribbon; Craft glue; Beads; Sequins; Sequin and bead craft pins; Teardrop pearls; Small gold bells; Angel charms; Needle; Yarn. Method:
To Paint:Spear ball with toothpick. Apply several thin coats of gold spray paint, insert into floral foam to dry.
To Decorate:
Divide balls into quarters, sixths, or eights with braids or ribbons as desired. Secure to ball using the craft glue. Attach sequins, sequin leaves and beads with craft pins. Stitch bells and angel charms to the underside of the ball if so desired. Enjoy these easy and fun crafts.  3.Hanging fairy Craft: Materials Needed:
One gold bell; Piece of wide gold trim; Gold ribbon for neck; Gold pot scourer for hair; Fabric paints; Glue; Gold material for wings; Florist's wire; Styrofoam ball for head; Gold beads; Short length thin gold cord. Method:Push top of bell through the styrofoam ball. Glue pot scourer to head, paint face and features. Tie wide gold trim and ribbon around neck. From the gold material cut two wings. Bend florist's wire into wing shape, sandwich between two pieces material and glue together. Secure wings to center back. Secure gold cord to top of head to hang. Smaller kids love hanging their craft creations on the tree. 4.Colored Glass or Plastic Balls:
Embellishing common colored glass balls with glitter paints or aerosol flocking (fake snow) is one of the most tried and true of christmas decorating ideas. You can also glue on glitter or craft store jewels and attach braids or ribbons on a cheap glass ball and turn it into the dime store equivalent of a Faberge egg. Stickers, sequins and ribbons can also be used to make inexpensive decorations look more unique. A bit of glue and some glitter is also a great way to refresh the look of old or scratched xmas ornaments. 5.Cookies:
Decorating your tree with cookies is as old as the tradition itself. Simply make gingerbread or shortbread cookies and decorate them with icing. Make sure to leave a little hole in the confection so you can hang it from fishline or a ribbon from the tree. Gingerbread men or shortbread snowmen look great, especially on a natural green tree. 6.Glitter Decorations:
Just about any tiny object, sphere or disk can be dipped or painted with glue and then rolled in glitter. This is one way to transform "junk" into xmas decorations that can be hung from the tree. Glitter is very inexpensive and it can be used to transform everything from old antique keys to cereal box prizes to golf balls into Christmas décor. 7.Origami:
Origami is the fine art of paper folding. You can find instructions for making everything from snowflakes to storks out of Origami on the Internet. There are many sites that specialize in offering origami christmas tree decorating ideas. One idea is to make larger and smaller versions of the same design to create a balanced and minimalist look.  8.Party Streamers:
Origami is the fine art of paper folding. You can find instructions for making everything from snowflakes to storks out of Origami on the Internet. There are many sites that specialize in offering origami christmas tree decorating ideas. One idea is to make larger and smaller versions of the same design to create a balanced and minimalist look. 9.Popcorn Christmas Tree:
There is nothing cheaper than popcorn and it is a great source of inspiration when it comes to christmas tree decorating ideas. Any type of christmas tree including the real, artificial or wall mounted christmas tree looks great decorated in garlands of popcorn. Popcorn can also be shaped into balls and hung like gigantic snowballs from the branches of a tree. Don't forget too that you can easily dye or paint popcorn using food coloring.  10.Ribbons and Lace:
One of the simplest christmas tree decorating ideas is to simply tie bows made out of scraps of ribbon and bits of lace and tie them to the boughs of a tree. This is also the safest way of decorating a tree if you have a wall-mounted or upside-down christmas tree. Decorating a christmas tree in ribbons that are securely tied to a tree is also safest for a toddler. 11.Snowflakes:
This is one of those christmas tree decorating ideas that are great to do with the kids. Remember the folded paper snowflakes you made as a child? You can decorate them with any color of glitter. For the best results hang the smaller paper snowflakes at the top of the tree and the larger ones at the bottom.  12.Toys:
If you are on a budget then you can find lots of christmas decoration ideas in the toy section at your local toy store. As long as it is miniature, it will probably look great on a tree. You can wire heavier items to the branches and hang lightweight items with colorful bows. Trains, little dolls and fish look especially nice on an xmas tree. This idea is also good for a small wall mounted tree in a child's room. 13.Wired Translucent Bows:
This is one of the more minimalist christmas tree decorating ideas but the effect is absolutely beautiful. Buy wired translucent ribbon on in two colors - silver and gold are hot right now - and simply tie them to your tree. The wire keeps the bows big and stiff so they look really attractive. This look is also perfect for a tree that you don't want people to bump into such as a wall mounted christmas tree or upside down christmas tree.  14.Felt Ornaments:
For this you need to cut out two identical pieces of green felt in the form of a tree. As you stitch the two sides it will take the form of an inverted cone. Fill this cone with cotton or any discarded cloth to make it stiff. Then you can stitch the other sides, and finally sew some buttons or bells to make it more attractive. 15.Christmas Bells:
The Christmas bells adored with sequins, silk ribbons, golden strings and beads are even used to decorate Christmas trees.  | 
