The Brilliant Ribbon Hack You'll Want To Know Before Decorating For Christmas

There is one element you'll find on nearly every professionally decorated Christmas tree that ends up being skipped on most home trees: ribbon. The beautifully cascading ribbon wrapped around the Christmas trees you see in stores like Macy's look so perfect that they can actually dissuade people from trying to replicate the aesthetic at home out of sheer intimidation. If you've ever been brave enough to try to wrap ribbon around your tree, you know how difficult it is to get it right and how frustrating it is to have to pull it all down and start over.

As it turns out, you can get the professionally decorated, ribbon-wrapped Christmas tree look without having to go through the hassle of actually wrapping your tree at all. The secret is simple: cutting your ribbon into strips. TikTokkers like Andrea Perez have been sharing their methods for using ribbon strips to create the illusion of a tree wrapped in one strand of ribbon, and frankly, we can't tell the difference. 

The great thing about this hack is that it works on artificial as well as real Christmas trees. If you have an artificial tree, all you'll need to decorate with ribbon strips is wired ribbon. If you're decorating a real tree, you may also need to pick up some floral wire. For a 6 ft. tree, you will likely only need one 30 ft. roll of ribbon. For a 9 ft. tree, plan on at least two rolls, and for a 12 ft. tree, at least three. You can currently purchase a two-roll pack in coordinating colors for $9.99 on Amazon.

When it's time to decorate your tree, cut your first strip of ribbon to a length of about 3-4 feet. Shape your ribbon strip into a billow and tuck each end into the tree's branches. Wrap each end with a wire tree branch to secure (or use floral wire, if necessary). If you like the way the billow looks, cut the rest of your ribbon into strips around the same length. If not, experiment until you find the length you want. Then, simply place additional billows down and around your tree to create the illusion of a continuous ribbon weaving in and out of the branches. And voilà – you have a Christmas tree worthy of a Hallmark movie.