The Perfect Pencil Christmas Tree

Oh Pencil Tree, Oh Pencil Tree

Minimalistic Perfection!

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The Christmas season is upon us 🎄🎁. It’s quite surreal to realize just how quickly this year has flown by, but here we are at one of my favorite times of the year. Todd and I have an agreement to alternate between a real tree and then the next year our artificial tree. My choice is a real tree, and a Douglas Fir at that.

I Love the Smell of a Real Tree

I love the smell of a real tree. I will wake up in the morning, turn the lights on, grab my coffee and just sit there drawing on many memories from childhood with my mom and dad and siblings. The lights dancing on the ornaments just sends me to a place where peace and joy abide hand in hand. I feel God’s presence with me, His warmth. It’s the most amazing feeling.

Todd prefers the artificial tree. He doesn't want to mess with dried out needles, having to water the tree, the potential fire hazard (as he says), and he also likes the fact that the artificial tree is the same size, and you don’t have to figure out how to position it each year and move the furniture around accordingly to accommodate a real tree’s differing sizes.

The Pencil Tree

Over the last few years, we’ve embarked upon a journey of simplifying our lives, decluttering and organizing, and in this spirit, we decided to try something new this year. Something easier to position and that does not require us to move any of our furniture around. Something easy and quick to decorate. Something easy to store. Our solution; a Pencil Tree.

After a bit of discussion, Todd and I decided on a natural theme with forest colors of white, wood tone, and muted silver and gold.

As per usual, I hopped onto Pinterest to get some inspiration and in a very short period, I had a plan and a template to work off of. I read through the steps on what goes on first, how to cut the ribbon, how to place it, and in what order the ornaments should be placed in. I really had no idea to be honest and Todd knows one of my many finer qualities is not following instructions or directions, so this was new for me.

The Ribbon:

Here’s a rough draft of the process & order I followed:

Pick your theme:

You’ll want to pick 2, maybe 3 colors.

• • Ribbon: Pick 1-2 patterns that match your color themes and purchase a ribbon with wire edges so it will hold its shape on the tree. This will be your first step. Cut the ribbon into 3-ft strips, then start in the middle of the tree, tuck it in, then loop the ribbon outside the branches at an angle without touching the tree branches underneath it and tuck back into the tree. Repeat these steps until it looks just like you want it.
  • Stems/florals or picks: Since we have a skinny pencil tree, I bought 2 stems and then used wire cutters to separate each branch out, so they fit better and more proportional on our tree. For the price of 2 stems, I got 8 usable picks. You’ll only need 8 stems for a very skinny tree. Strategically tuck in each pick throughout the tree per your personal taste.
  • Ornaments: I used 2 different sizes or ornaments and I also used a white hydrangea looking pick that went into the tree very smoothly. I placed the assortment of ornaments throughout the tree, weaving around the ribbon and sometimes underneath, then added a couple of additional unique elements such as some white light up church steeple houses and some small, muted silver pinecones with a touch of glitter.
  • Unique Elements: In staying with our woodsy theme, I picked a personal favorite, owls. Again, as this is a skinny pencil tree, I purchased 6 to tuck away in various parts of the tree. They are adorable. As with the picks, strategically place your unique elements throughout the tree per your personal taste.

Unique Element:

I have to say, this tree is the best I’ve done. I didn’t know I had it in me to make a Christmas tree look as nice as this tree ended up. I surprised myself and Todd. It’s the perfect tree in every way. It takes up very little space while still being the beautiful focal point I was looking for. It’s getting us into the spirit of Christmas

I am so thankful for all God has done for me and can’t wait to celebrate the birth of His only son Jesus.

If you have any questions about any of these steps, feel free to reach out and ask at [email protected] ...

Merry Christmas,