public service announcement: christmas tree decorating

I've seen a lot of dope Christmas trees on instagram and blogs lately and I keep wondering what makes the difference with a well decorated tree and a not so well decorated tree. I think some people just don't know how to properly use garland which can mean the difference between a tree that looks like this:

Which is you know, fine but we don't want "fine" we want PRETTY. Which is what this tree is:

Actually all the pretty trees here belong to a male blogger that owns the cutest house and boy does he go all out for the holidays. He subscribes to my belief in the multiple trees for multiple rooms theory.

Here's his tips for using garland: "A couple tips about ribbon: First, get more yardage than you think you’ll need. For this tree, I used about 25 yards. Second, start at the top and let the ribbon flow as you work it down and around the tree. In some spots, tuck it in, and in other places, let it billow out. Twist the ribbon as you work around the tree to give it some dimension. Work in a pattern around the tree, but let the ribbon do its thing. This will give you a much more natural look rather than having horizontal stripes across your tree." -Inspired by Charm

Also I think people decorate their trees a little sparingly which if you really want that wow factor, gotta go with the more is more thing. I spend a long time on the tree because I keep tweaking it. I don't want to put similar colors together and I try to space things out evenly.

Having the usual round ones is great but mixing it up really helps.

I hope these pretty trees inspire you to take yours up a notch.