Something about 2020 has me starting Christmas early, but the good news for you is that I can share all of my inspiration and research before most of you get your trees up! Now that we have moved up to Colorado and are surrounded by snowy woods, I have been really inspired to go for a natural and more neutral Christmas tree. We got all of our supplies in and quickly got to work decorating! What do you think?

I just love how it turned out! The tree itself is amazing quality, and even though I had to string the lights myself it didn’t take that long since it’s so slim! The decorations were almost all DIY, and the theme quickly spread to the mantle as well. We are just living having it in the corner of the room. Take a look at my inspiration picks below and how you can decorate your own tree in a natural style.

1. Spruce Cashmere Tree 2. Balsam Fir Tree 3. White Snowy Pine Tree 4. Clear Mini Lights 5. Pine Cones 6. Wood Bead Garland 7. Dried Orange Slices 8. Wooden Stars 9. Pom Pom Garland 10. Paper Mache House Ornaments 11. Cinnamon Sticks 12. Wooden Ornaments 13. Brown Basket Tree Collar 14. Tree Skirt with Tassels 15. Natural Basket Tree Collar 6. White Rope Tree Collar

The Tree

Starting with the tree, the best way to achieve a natural Christmas tree look is by having the most natural looking tree possible. If you can’t get a real tree (or the thought of scouring tree lots and farms in the freezing cold doesn’t sound like your cup of tea), there are a few artificial looks you can go for which will all achieve a natural look. A full, artificial tree with textures and features similar to the real thing is the best way to go for a classic look. Stay away from the extremely plastic ones, or ones where the pines look like tinsel. Another fun option is to go for trendy flocking to give the tree an outdoor look, but make sure it isn’t TOO white. Some green popping through makes it look more snow kissed instead of burried in a snowstorm. A tree like that shown above is what some consider the Charlie Brown Tree look. This look is harder to achieve in a fake tree because you can see the trunk and stems more clearly. Make sure these features are not too metallic or plastic looking.

I went for the first style from the list this year and it turned out SO GOOD. This is the tree I picked up from Walmart because I thought it had a great, natural look (for a very good price!) and also was the perfect size for our space. Note: A skinny tree never looks incredibly natural, but try to stick to one that is at least 3 feet wide if you are going to make it 6 feet or taller. This will help the proportions to look closer to normal.

The Lights

A Christmas tree isn’t designated a Christmas tree without lights, so make sure to grab these too if your tree doesn’t already come pre-lit! I recommend choosing soft, warm lights to make the light look most like a natural flame color. The colored and blue LED types are very harsh and take away from a natural look. My tree took two packages of the lights I linked above.

The Decorations

The next step to creating a natural tree is to pick natural materials to decorate with. I went with wooden decor and items which are naturally found in a tree, such as pinecones. I love the look of wooden beads wrapped around the tree, and found these really cute 12 foot ones from Target. I ordered 3 which wrapped nicely around the size tree I purchased.

Other fun, natural items are dried fruits or woven materials like yarn. I dried orange slices to hang from the tree to add a little color and made pom pom balls in off-white and gold hues. These DIY’s are a fun project to do with family the day after Thanksgiving!

Other great additions include bundles of cinnamon, cranberry garland, popcorn garland, gingerbread men (baked with a hole at the top so you can hang them like ornaments!), and finally any of your traditional ornaments in a neutral color combination. It’s nice to include some of your special ornaments each year – this is what makes the holidays more personal!

The Finishing Touches

Finally, to complete your tree, don’t forget a tree skirt or basket to cover the legs! So far I found some extra sequin white fabric in my stash and wrapped it around the base, but I also love the look of a tree basket! The natural textures in a basket work perfectly with this look. Another really cute trend I’ve seen this year is a sweater skirt. It just makes you want to curl up under the tree!

If you decorate your tree this way, make sure to tag me on Instagram @sewbakedecorate if you share a photo!