‘As soon as Halloween is over, my tree is up!’
Kristy Theodore has turned her passion for decorating Christmas trees into a full-time job as a Christmas tree stylist.
Iris Huizinga takes decorating advice from a professional
Kristy Theodore has turned her passion for decorating Christmas trees into a full-time job as a Christmas tree stylist.
I met the enthusiastic decorator at Tahnee Social in Thirroul, where she had just put the finishing touches on a splendid tree. Kristy describes herself as “Christmas-obsessed”: each room in her Campbelltown house has a Christmas tree. The living room and the lounge room have the big ones, and the children each have a tree in their room. Kristy’s youngest child has a pink version with unicorns and ballerinas.
When do you start decorating?
Kristy: As soon as Halloween is over, my tree is up. Once I have the tree up, I can start shopping. If I see anything, I can just add it onto the tree.
My main tree has the traditional colours, a very buffalo-check, USA-inspired tree. The tree in my dining area has a snow Wonderland theme. It’s very Arctic. It has woodland animals everywhere. My kids love it.
For this tree [at Tahnee Social] I picked out these gold-like ornaments, because it matches the gorgeous vintage couch. I wanted that old gold to pop through in sections of the tree. For the rest of the tree I stuck with whites and champagne.
It’s important to have a lot of different texture. So we’ve got our fur, glass, plastic, chrome, glitter, pearls. A lot of texture creates a lot of interest
in a tree.
What kind of tree do you recommend, artificial or real?
Kristy: Definitely artificial. With an artificial tree, once it’s up, it’s up. It will not drop any leaves. You can manoeuvre the branches and you can fluff an artificial tree. When a tree is fresh, the pine smell is amazing but after a while the branches on the inside start to rot away. You can’t keep it up as long.
How do you fluff a tree?
Kristy: Fluffing it up means you’re spreading each branch in pretty much all different directions to make it look as full and fluffy as possible. That way it looks more luxurious, not as cheap. These trees don’t have to be super expensive. They can be cheap trees, but the way you fluff them will make them look nice and full.
What are the trends for Christmas trees this year?
Kristy: I’m doing a few rose blush trees this year, so am excited about them. Traditional is coming back. For a while everyone was really obsessed with the champagnes, the whites and the rose gold. There’s also a theme called peppermint Christmas, which is red and white on a completely snowflake tree, which is gorgeous. It has candy canes and big lollipops, a lot of red and white stripes.
What do you do with all the kids’ arts and crafts that don’t match the theme?
Kristy: My kids want to put them at the front of the tree, but I put them at the back. I ask people if they want to see the kids ornaments and take them to the back of the tree. My kids understand, they know that mum is Christmas crazy.
With a family, it’s important to make the tree look fun. So in my house, I’ve added many stuffed animals that aren’t even real ornaments.
Kids can make things out of wood or leaves and you can incorporate that into a Woodland theme. Or use clear plastic baubles and let them fill it up with whatever they want.
If you have small children or pets, there are little picket fences available to put around the tree. They act like a barrier and are actually really cute. 2508
Find Kristy on Instagram @Thechristmasedit_
