DECK THE BOUGHS

One of Home & Garden director Sarah Gunn’s favourite things about this time of year is trimming the tree. Whether your holiday style is modern, romantic or more on the traditional side, she has a new take on Christmas-tree decorating just for you.

Number each gift and turn the tree into an Advent calendar.

Wrap your tree in mini gifts. TREE The Giving Vary the size of the packages for visual interest, but keep the look unified by sticking to a simple colour scheme; in this case, we were inspired to create a traditional red-and-white palette. Once wrapped, presents were tied to branches using coordinating ribbon and twine.

High Park seven-foot lifelike pine tree (throughout), canadiantire.ca. Marcel sofa, Woodford coffee table and Hugo rug, urbanbarn.com. Cushions, tonicliving.com. Essex mantel, hearthmanor.com. Simply White OC-117 paint (on wall), benjaminmoore.com.

Remove flowers from stems when placing them at the top of the tree.

Switch up textiles to tie in with your tree theme.

Modern FAMILY

Adorn your tree with your favourite family memories. Flip through photo albums together (or scroll through images on your phone) to make choosing pictures part of the fun. Scan the images, print them in black and white on sturdy matte paper, then cut them out, leaving a white edge. Next, perforate each one with a hole punch, and use twine to make a loop through the opening to hang on a branch. It’s sure to be a conversation starter!

Malsjö glass-door cabinet, ikea.ca. Footed serving bowl, potterybarn.com. Bunny Gray 2124-50 paint (on wall), benjaminmoore.com.

Holiday ROMANCE

A fabulous floral tree sets the scene for a pastel Christmas. Simply place several large faux blooms in shades of the same colour throughout the branches. The best part? The flowers can be popped into a vase when the tree comes down!

Faux flowers, michaels.com. Blåregn throw, ikea.ca. Forever Frenched art print, annawithloveshop.com. Cushion, tonicliving.com. Wispy Pink 2005-70 paint (on wall), benjaminmoore.com.

TRYING TO DECIDE BETWEEN A REAL OR FAKE

TREE? WE BREAK DOWN THE PROS AND CONS AT canadianliving.com/christmastree.

Fill a bowl with painted pinecones for a chic seasonal display.

Wrap gifts in kraft paper and add graphic black-and-white ribbon for a modern look.