Dust off your ornaments and pull your tree out of storage! December is almost here. Decorating an artificial Christmas tree is a holiday tradition many people cherish, but it can also be stressful when you consider all that goes into it. From untangling wires to finding the perfect spot for heirloom ornaments, there is labor behind the love, but you're not alone! Whether you're going for a minimal look or embracing a maximalist, ornament-rich tree, here’s our comprehensive guide to setting up, fluffing, and decorating your faux Christmas tree for the season.

These days, evergreens grace every room, so think outside the box! An entrance tree, also known as a Christmas tree under 4.5 feet, can go anywhere. Place one on your bathroom counter, in a guest room, and even on your fridge. No flat surface is safe during the holidays! Have fun with it, but don't forget to save room for your main Christmas tree! We recommend finding a prominent or high-traffic location near an outlet for ease and visual impact. The living room and entryway are both popular spots for a full-size Christmas tree but for safety reasons, avoid placing your tree too close to fireplaces or heating vents. The fire department deserves a holiday too.

If you decorate with string lights, test each strand before you begin decorating. Plug each strand into an outlet and swap out the burnt-out bulbs for new ones. To replace a burnt-out bulb, unscrew the light from its socket, replace it with a compatible bulb, and recheck the light strand. If you find yourself replacing a lot of bulbs every year, consider swapping to LED string lights for more longevity or opting for a pre-lit tree with twinkle lights and a Power Connect Pole.

Pre-lit Christmas trees with Power Connect Poles make testing lights a breeze. With a Christmas at Fortunoff Backyard Store tree, each segment's lights will turn on as you connect them to the center pole. This feature streamlines the setup process and eliminates the risk of tangled wires, letting you focus more on decorating and less on troubleshooting. Our pre-lit Christmas trees also come with a range of light functions like twinkling, flashing, changing colors, and in some cases, syncing to music. Read the tree description for more information about what your tree's lights can do.

Once your tree is put together and the lights are hung, it's time to start decorating. The size of your tree influences how many branches you have to work with. A 12-foot Christmas tree will have more branches than a 7-foot tree, so as a general rule, we recommend:

• 20 ornaments per foot of tree
• 100 lights per foot of tree

Hang your ornaments in a diamond pattern and work your way out and around, filling in any gaps. Now, you wouldn't decorate a Charlie Brown Christmas tree the same way as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, so pay attention to your tree's proportions in relation to your ornaments and have fun with it. Whether you're a maximalist or a minimalist, here's how to decorate the tree of your dreams:

When it comes to minimalist design, less is more, so begin the process by choosing a color palette. Select one to three complementing colors and opt for simple ornaments. Think glass balls, ribbons, understated picks, and common shapes. Place larger ornaments deeper inside the branches to add depth, and hang smaller, more decorative ones closer to the branch tips, but give each decoration some breathing room. A minimalist tree isn't overcrowded and plays with negative space, so avoid cluttering the branches. Try ten ornaments for every foot instead of twenty to accomplish this look.

Unlike minimalism, maximalism subscribes to the idea that more is more. It favors bold colors, patterns, textures, and shapes. Everything and anything can go on a maximalist tree, so cluster your ornaments together. Layer them from the base of the branch to the tip. You want to leave a little bit of space, so the tree can peek through, but not too much. The goal is to over-decorate in a way that sparks joy and reactions from everyone who sees it. Try thirty to forty ornaments for each foot to accomplish this look.

Let's talk about energy efficiency. If your tree uses LED lights, it's already consuming significantly less power than traditional bulbs and emitting less heat. If your tree has traditional lights, consider using a light timer to save energy and turn the lights off overnight or whenever you’re away from home. Smart plugs can also make controlling your tree’s lights effortless with the convenience of an app or voice commands.

With your tree assembled, fluffed, decorated, and glowing, you’re ready for Christmas. Want to make your holiday setup easier this year and next? Shop our pre-lit Christmas trees with PowerConnect poles online and in a showroom near you.