Totorus

Photo credit by ShedBOy^

If you celebrate Christmas, then there's a good chance that you will be putting up a Christmas tree this year. It's a holiday tradtition. Most Americans either buy a real tree or just decorate an artificial one that they have had in previous years. Everyone decorates differently, and one of the latest trends in the past couple of years is to have a theme for your Christmas tree. Will you use a theme to decorate your Christmas tree this year? Well, let's find out.

So what do I mean by a themed Christmas tree? There are many ways that people interpret a Christmas tree theme. Some people use color to define their theme. They may have a completely white Christmas tree with silver garland and white or silver ornaments. Or maybe a different color of green a little less traditional, but then all of the decorations on the tree are in red or gold. Sometime people take it a little further than this and build a theme around a cartoon character or something their kids would enjoy.

The type of theme you choose will determine what you need to do and when if you want to be able to decorate your Christmas tree that way. If you choose to go with a particular theme, for example a color or set of colors, then this is easier than a theme around a particular character or object. Especially if you choose traditional holiday colors, you should be able to find plenty of red, green, gold, and silver decorations for the tree, even if you wait until the last minute to decorate. Just remember that the longer you wait, the greater chance there is that even the traditional colors will be hard to find. Of course, it depends on what you are looking for - garland, ornaments, tree toppers, icicles, etc. Try to come up with a theme and what you need and then go out and find what you need.

Once you have decided on your theme and what kind of decorations you need, try to shop early for everything. November, especially before Thanksgiving, you should be able to get a jump on the majority of Christmas shoppers and find exactly what you want. The longer you wait the less chance that you'll find the perfect decoration for your themed Christmas tree. That's why it is best to have a clear idea of exactly what you want. You don't want to waste your time wandering around from store to store, looking for something that catches your eye for you to use on your tree. Use the internet to search around and I'm sure you'll find plenty of ideas before you ever leave your house.

If you did your homework and know exactly what you want but the local stores don't have what you need, then try shopping online. Honestly, if you are doing some research and trying to come up with ideas online, there is a good chance that you might already be at an online store that has exactly the decorations you are looking for. Sometimes if you have a very specific theme, local stores may not have exactly what you need anyway. For instance, if you want to do a Grinch themed Christmas tree, I'm sure you'll be able to find much more online as far as ornaments and decorations than at one particular local store.

Since everyone is always busy during the holidays, it is important to remember that a themed Christmas tree takes time. Many times you have a perfect plan of what your tree should look like, but after looking in the local stores and online, you just can find what you want. So you change your theme and start the search over again. This can take time. So if you really want to decorate a Christmas tree with a special theme, be sure to start the process early and look at your schedule to see if this is something you can really accomplish. If it is, you'll find that it will be one of the more memorable Christmases that you've ever had.