How I Refreshed Our Rustic Christmas Tree
All of my life our Christmas Tree has always been about the same. Every year my sisters and I would pick out a new ornament that represented something memorable we did that year. As we got older, our personal collections got bigger and bigger, and the holiday season became a walk down memory lane as we unwrapped the ornaments to decorate the tree. As adults we took our ornaments with us, and continued the traditions in our own homes.
I’ve loved this holiday tradition, and never thought about doing anything differently. Between the beautiful images on my Instagram feed, and wanting our tree to reflect our home’s style, I decided to switch it up with a Rustic Christmas Tree. Luckily, I had this epiphany right around the week of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. I fell absolutely head over heels in love with the new holiday decor at JoAnn Fabrics, and went a little crazy ordering their ornaments. They came out with six main collections of ornaments to suit different styles.
My favorite is the Woodland Lodge collection, and that’s where most of the ornaments I picked out came from. This collection features tons of red and black buffalo plaid, aged galvanized metal, worn wood and woodland creatures to create a rustic Christmas tree. I ordered a few of the Woodland Lodge Wood Snowflake Ornaments to scatter throughout the tree. The Reindeer Ornament also caught my eye with the crackled, aged finish and glittery antlers – such a majestic little creature! Another reindeer that I had to have was this Glitter Deer Head Ornament, this guy ended up front and center on my tree.
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Reindeer Ornament
Merry Christmas Ornament
Glitter Deer Head Ornament
The main attraction towards the top of our tree is an aged galvanized metal, vintage looking ornament that says “Merry Christmas”. This ornament was larger than I expected, and I’m not mad about it! It sets the mood for the rest of the tree’s ornaments – and our decor – and I couldn’t be happier with it. A few other pieces that I chose to complete my new aesthetic were the ever popular globe ornament (made popular by Magnolia of course), a mirrored starburst that gave me all kinds of vintage feels, and a whole slew of furry woodland creatures to bring it all together.
Remember how I said I wasn’t going to use any of my collected ornaments this year? Well, I decided to go through my box of carefully wrapped up keepsake ornaments, and see if any of them would fit my color scheme. There were a few that I decided to include, but my favorite one is the framed photograph from our wedding day. It perfectly fit with the silvery champagne, light and airy feel of this rustic Christmas tree – plus I just love the picture and the memories it invokes.
Frame Ornament
Globe Ornament
Mirror Starburst
Of course, no tree is complete with ornaments alone, so I pulled in some decor I already had to get the tree ready for the main players. I started with the lights, of course, then a few lengths of burlap ribbon draped around the tree. I tucked the burlap ribbon towards the back of the branches to help fill in the empty spaces. I learned this trick from Sharrah Stevens at Live Your Style, to use larger bauble ornaments to fill the space INSIDE the tree. Faux trees especially can have large gaps around the “trunk” of the tree, and the burlap along with some silver baubles I’ve had for years, worked perfectly to help make it feel a little more full.
Once everything was zhuzhed up to my liking, I added my beautiful new ornaments, and finished with some small red berry picks I had leftover from last year’s decor. We sadly don’t have very high ceilings in our home, so a traditional tree topper isn’t an option for us. When I unpacked a large silk poinsettia clip, I knew it was the perfect way to finish off our rustic Christmas tree, like a cherry on top! One family heirloom we did keep this year, a beautiful red and burlap tree skirt handmade by my mother-in-law. Something old, something new, something handmade, and something glittery!
JoAnn’s other collections include Holiday Charm, Nautical Noel, Arctic Frost, Maker’s Holiday, and Hallmark ornaments. I mixed in a few ornaments from the other collections that matched my color scheme – you don’t have to stick to one collection! Mix and match and make it your own!
I hope these tips and links come in handy and are inspiring for you. Share your holiday decor theme and traditions below!
