The Easy Way to Decorate a Black and White Christmas Tree

Have you noticed a trend of more black and white Christmas tree decor in the last few years? I’ve seen several completely decorated for the holidays in black and white. I’m not ready to do that yet but just by adding some black and white with traditional Christmas colors, you can easily update your decor.

This is gonna be a long post… here’s what we’re going to cover today:

Where to Buy Black and White Christmas Ornaments
Steps to Decorate a Christmas Tree
Examples of Green Trees with Black and White Ornaments
Examples of White Christmas Trees
Examples of Black Christmas Trees

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Where to Buy Black and White Christmas Tree Ornaments

I’ve been seeing black and white ornaments EVERYWHERE… even the dollar stores! But here is a list of places to buy Christmas ornaments, from my favorite to my least favorite.

Etsy

Etsy is my favorite place to buy a black and white Christmas tree bauble. You can find many more unique and handmade decorations there.

Amazon

Amazon is the easiest place to shop, especially if you have Amazon Prime. There is a WIDE variety of quality here though, so make sure you read the descriptions AND the reviews. Did you know that Amazon has a handmade section? Yep, we sell there along with thousands of other small US businesses! Support small!

Target

Make sure you check out Hearth & Hand for black and white items that may not be designed to be Christmas decorations but would look great in your holiday decor. Target is a great place to buy pillows, wall decorations, and other accessories, too.

West Elm

West Elm has some very modern black-and-white Christmas decorations! Look for a Christmas stocking while you’re here.

Other Places to Buy Black and White Christmas Decorations

craft shows, farmers’ markets, craft malls — Support those small businesses!
Hobby Lobby — They have a great selection but they’re made in China… My one issue with HL is that they don’t have more made in the USA.
Walmart — Not the best quality but for a fad ornament, you’re only going to use 1-3 years, it’s ok. Or add WM ornaments to a larger wreath or alter it in some other way.
dollar stores — Same as above.
other discount stores like T J Maxx, Ross, etc — You may or may not find something here.

Steps to Decorate a Black and White Christmas Tree

You can literally just stick everything on your tree in any order and come out with a Christmas tree that’s very personal because your kids decorate it themselves or because the ornaments are sentimental. But if you want to up your game for a gorgeous tree that your family can sit and stare at for hours, follow these steps to decorate your Christmas tree:

Fluff

First, if you’re using a fake tree, set it up and fluff out each individual stem on the tree. Look at the tree from all possible angles. There’s no need to fluff the back, but can it be seen from someone walking around the corner or from across the room?

Lights

Next, add strands of Christmas lights. Even if your tree came with lights you may want to consider adding more.

Topper — Now or Later???

Designers recommend adding your Christmas tree topper next. That way you can blend it into your tree as you decorate.

We grew up using a star as our topper and had a tradition of “Bumble” (from Rudolph) putting the star on the top of the tree as the last touch when everything else was finished. I’ll let you decide…

Garland and/or Ribbons

It’s much easier to add garlands and ribbons before adding the ornaments. Plus, there’s much less chance that you’ll knock off an ornament and break it.

I’ve always loved the look of ribbons on a tree but have never been able to make it look right in my home. Last year I learned a trick… instead of creating one long ribbon coming down the tree, I cut pieces and make individual loops. Then I just attach them with pipe cleaners.

Floral Sprays

Floral sprays are a great way to fill up large trees, especially if you don’t have many ornaments. Watch Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann for after-Christmas clearance sales and stock up on these for next year.

Ornaments

Add the largest ornaments first. If you have multiples of your large ornaments, think about triangles on your tree. In other words, don’t put all the similar ornaments together, stagger them down the tree. That will draw the eye back and forth.

Next, add novelty ornaments. Those would be the ornaments you only have one of… think Hallmark ornaments, handmade ornaments from your kids, etc.

Your final ornaments could be small, plain solid color Christmas balls. These are inexpensive ways to fill in any gaps that are left.

Filler Picks

Filler picks are another inexpensive way to fill in gaps. Walmart is a great place to find these. They can be pine stems, holly leaves, or any other design you want. They’ll also make the tree look fuller.

Tree Skirt

There are a lot of great black-and-white tree skirts out there. Or use a neutral burlap tree skirt. Another option is to just wrap a white sheet or a rug around the bottom of the tree.

Examples of Evergreen Trees with Black and White Ornaments

Lemon Thistle

Lemon Thistle created a very subtle, almost woodland-themed, black-and-white dream tree. I love the texture and layers!

Examples of White Christmas Trees

I found a variety of ways to decorate a white tree:

Black and White Woodland Christmas Tree –

This white Christmas tree from Taryn Whitaker is also a woodland theme. (Even though I would prefer an evergreen for that theme.)

Flocked Christmas Tree — Hymns and Verse

And check out Doreen’s tree over on Hymns and Verse. See, black and white doesn’t have to be harsh. This Christmas tree is very soft and “vintage-y”.

Examples of Black Christmas Trees

Black Christmas trees with white decorations proved to be much harder to find than white Christmas trees with black decorations! But I did find this one… still looking for its designer.

Try adding white bows and snowflakes to a black tree! I think a black and white buffalo check ribbon and wooden ornaments would show up well, also, with a beautiful angel on top. Once you find a black tree, white Christmas tree decor isn’t hard to find at all.

My tip for this would be to start looking for a Christmas tree in the early fall. I’ve seen some in stores that were meant to be Halloween decorations.

Ombre Christmas Tree

This one is so much fun! I wasn’t expecting to find an ombre Christmas tree . I’m still looking for the designer of this one.

More Christmas Decor Ideas

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like these:

What other Christmas tree themes do you like? — Candy cane? Gnomes? Deer? Everyone’s favorite old red truck? Snowman? Gingerbread man?

I hope this article inspired you to get ready for Santa and all the seasonal holidays this winter.

‘Til the next project,

Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim