02 December 2023 , 07:00
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A woman whose job it is to transform chic high-end houses into festive winter wonderland has revealed her top common mistakes to avoid when decorating Christmas trees. Amanda Ware, 45, of Bentonville, Arkansas, founded her business ShopHelloHolidays six years ago and has post her top decorating tips on .
Her first and biggest pointer is to never wrap ribbon around the tree horizontally - she said, “It does not look good. Take your ribbon and [follow] vertical [lines], horizontal [lines], loop it - just don’t wrap it horizontally around the tree.” She said to incorporate as much colour as you can so your tree looks vibrant, modern and magical, “Steer away from [using] just one pattern, and never use just one colour scheme. I would always mix it up.”
Buy baubles in odd-numbered sets and use triangle or diamond shapes to display them on the tree. “Most people put their favorite baubles and ornaments [by] eyesight—but if you are adding balls, I suggest buying them in a pack of three or five. Then place them on the tree in triangles, one in front of you, one to the lower right, and the other lower left. Or you could create a diamond shape using four.”
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“This is going to be controversial, I know it.” She laughed, when her next tip was to buy a high-end faux tree over a real one. “I would never buy a live tree, those days are over I did it. It’s cheaper, it sounds easier. It’s harder to make look put together. It’s doable though, I do it every year. Yes, you New Yorkers. I do it for you all.”
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Amanda explained that people often forget to fluff their trees, resulting in a barren appearance and a cheaper-looking tree. Fluffing means to either expand the faux tree's wire branches to make the artificial pine look fuller or it can mean to add real or fake tree branches to achieve a ‘hair extension’ fluffier tree look.
“Forgetting to fluff the tree and leaving holes, is a common mistake but it's an easy fix,” she said. In a viral , that has amassed over 90,000 views, Amanda explains this is the best way to make your tree “look high-end.” You should decorate your Christmas tree with greenery such as “snow-kissed, cedar, or pine” branches, she said.
Never stick to tradition, Amanda reveals as a professional she would never repeat the same themes every year. “I would never do that, I would shake it up. Bring old and new.” In keeping with her ‘non-traditional’ and ‘unorthodox’ theme, Amanda sells outlandish Christmas baubles on her online store. You can get a dangling , Harry Styles and fast food packaging baubles to suit everyone’s tastes.
“We have great new fun ornaments, for the people who don’t take themselves too seriously,” She said. Amanda explained that the size of the tree and the amount of decorations she uses all factor into how much she charges. “The service fee to have a tree decorated could be anywhere between $300 to $1500 (£240 - £1,200) per tree depending on the size and who is decorating it. If you hire me, you are going to pay a premium.
The mother of two who quit her teaching job to become a professional Christmas tree decorator - who now charges more than $1,000 ($800) per tree. “The magic truly begins whenever people put their Christmas décor up. I am in the business of making people merry.” Said Amanda in an interview with Newsweek.