Have you ever brought out the holiday decorations and wished your Christmas tree was fuller? We’ve got the best tips how to make a tree look fuller that are SO easy you won’t believe it. Here’s a few simple tips on how to make your fake Christmas tree look fuller!

Holiday hack: Make Your Tree Look Fuller - white lights on a Christmas tree close up
Let’s make our fake Christmas tree look fuller…it is easy!

How To Make Your Christmas Tree Look Fuller

One of the main reasons why an artificial tree doesn’t look like a real tree is because you can see the fake tree trunk of the artificial tree through skimpy branches or uneven fullness. Our goal here no matter the size of your artificial Christmas tree is to fill out your holiday tree branches to give it a natural look and visual appeal.

Related: How to Make Your Fake Christmas Tree Smell Like a Real Tree & Elf On The Shelf Coloring Pages: Elf Size & Kid Size Too!

Don’t let your faux tree detract from the Christmas spirit. With a few simple tips, you can fix artificial tree branches!

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How to Make Your Christmas Tree Look Fuller by varying the light size - mini lights plus larger lights
This one Christmas tree hack can change everything!

1. Vary Your Christmas Light Size

The first trick is really simple to fill in gaps in Christmas tree — all you have to do is string two sizes of lights on your tree.

The Christmas tree lights can both be the same color scheme like white lights , but one string should be the mini lights while the other a more traditional size. I like the incandescent bulbs as one of the light strings just because it gives a traditional tree look.

How to Make Your Christmas Tree Look Fuller - top of the tree shows one size of lights and bottom of the tree shows two
Look at the difference a strand of white lights can make…

We have a pre-lit skinny Christmas tree, so I just added a couple of strands of these large bulbs around the tree and the difference is astounding! It gives an artificial tree that looked sparse to begin with a lot more body and branch fullness.

How to Make Your Christmas Tree Look Fuller
Before and After our two-size light makeover!

The second set of lights adds dimension to the tree, making it beautiful and bright. You could even do this with colored lights if wanted. The secret is in the bigger set of lights.

Solve a sparse tree with more evergreen garland - Kids Activities Blog
Cheat a little by adding some additional greenery!

2. Wrap Sparse Areas with Garland

Another way to make your fake Christmas tree look fuller is to wrap your tree’s particularly sparse areas with evergreen garland to fill the gaps in Christmas tree.

If you just have a hole or two in the branches of your uneven Christmas tree, adding a little fullness to the greenery can increase the natural elements look of the area and make a huge difference.

If you are filling in throughout the entire tree, consider using a slightly different shade of garland as a contrasting color to give depth. <–Just a little Christmas tree hack to make artificial tree look real.

3. Decorate Christmas Tree with Wide Ribbon

Decorate a Christmas tree to look full by adding a big ribbon throughout your entire tree. This simple Christmas tree decorating how-to tip makes your fake Christmas tree with lights look fuller because the ribbon fills gaps and open areas of your Christmas tree branches. I love the look of wide ribbon because it just screams festive season!

4. Decorate Christmas Tree with Larger Ornaments

Take inspiration from window displays for your faux Christmas tree decorations. Often you will find that retail and commercial shop windows and interior designer Christmas trees will have oversized ornaments.

In my living room, my holiday tree has a layer of very large Christmas balls that I hang on the tree first back inside the depths of the pine needles covering the thin tree trunk giving the branch tips even more contrast.

5. Add Floral Picks to Christmas Tree Branches

If your tree is sparse or uneven, try adding pine picks in the more bare spots. It makes your tree look fuller and gives it a unique look. I also have a set of floral picks that have pine cones so they are part Christmas tree decorations and part branch filler-outer (totally a word).

6. When in Doubt, Let it Snow!

Adding snow to your artificial Christmas tree can also make it look much fuller as well. It doesn’t have to be a full flocking on the Christmas tree, but strategic placement of the white wintery look.

Using Reflective Christmas ornaments can make tree look fuller - Kids Activities Blog
Add a little sparkle to your tree!

7. Reflective Ornaments to the Rescue of Fake Tree Decor

Your ornaments play a big part in how fall your tree looks too. Shiny and reflective ornaments will make it look fuller while reflecting the lights of your lit Christmas tree.

8. Big Bows Make a Big Impact on Christmas Tree Decor

You can also make your tree look fuller by placing bows in the sparse spots depending on the look of your Christmas decorations. I also like using several different sizes and colors of bows adding to the visual depth.

9. Cover the Artificial Christmas Tree Trunk

Use a tree skirt or liberal amount of fabric to fully cover the tree stand and the fake tree trunk at the bottom of your Christmas tree. Even expensive faux trees have thin tree trunks and it is very obvious at the base of the Christmas tree.

Even before Santa delivers the Christmas presents, you want this area fully covered!

How to Make Your Christmas Tree Look Fuller

Transforming a Cheap Christmas Tree to Look Real

Sometimes we have to make due with what we have, but there is no reason we can’t make what we have look its best!

We can make our sparse slim trees, real or fake, look full and amazing with very little expense or effort!

30 ornaments to make

Let’s Decorate Your Tree with Homemade Oranments!

Do you have any other tips and tricks to making your fake Christmas tree look fuller? Please let us know in the comments below!



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3 Comments

  1. I’m a visual person. You have so many ideas. Also for people who aren’t as creative a picture or video would be great!

  2. Genius ways how to decorate a Christmas tree to look full! Cheap trees to the rescue {giggle} – our artificial tree always is sparse.