My family gets a great deal of amusement over my finicky nature about the Christmas tree, and that, even after the tree is decorated, I can still sometimes be found in the living room, rearranging ornaments.
(This is actually something I do during phone calls; it’s a way to occupy parts of my brain that don’t get engaged in aural communication. And, yes, there’s probably a bit of CDO involved, too.)
Contrary to popular belief, I do actually have some internal aesthetic rules I follow in this process; it’s not rearranging for the sake of rearranging.
(And, as a baseline, we have an artificial tree, because live trees don’t work well in Colorado and cut trees don’t last long enough for how long we keep the three up. Your mileage may vary. Ours has integrated lights on it, too. And I’m not a garland guy, but I can understand the appeal.)
Rule the First: Ornaments Hang
Okay, that sounds pretty simple, but you’d be amazed how many ornaments end up draped over lower branches. Or sitting on branches.
One of the reasons to get an artificial tree is that you have some control over the tree branches, so you can get things out of the way, so that ornaments can hang.
Rule the Second: Ornaments face outward
This doesn’t apply to balls and other geometric solids as ornaments, but to figurines, disks, and other things that have a front and back.
You’d be amazed how many ornaments get hung and then, as the hanger turns away, twist and turn (because they are hanging) so that you end up staring at the back of the ornament. Which is probably not the idea.
Fortunately, ornament hangers are usually twistable, so you can adjust them at the branch or the ornament to make the ornament face outward and appeal to the viewer of the tree (who is, after all, probably not climbing up its trunk, unless it’s your cat).
Rule the Third: Be aware of similar ornaments
If you have three blown glass dragons, consider their position to each other. Maybe you put them all together, because you want to compare and contrast. Maybe you want them evenly separated around the tree so that wherever one stands one is visible. You probably don’t want them glommed on wherever.
Ditto for any other potential groupings (balls vs icicles, candy cane ornaments, etc.). The rule here is not specific, but just awareness.
Rule the Fourth: Think in three dimensions
Particularly with an artificial tree, ornaments can be hung toward the center of the tree, to create a depth of decoration. This also helps obscure giant tags to help you plug the electric lights together.
Rule the Fifth: Ornaments and lights interact
Have a transparent or translucent ornament? Consider positioning it (or the lights) so that there’s a light behind the ornament. (A window can be a light as well.) Alternately, with an opaque ornament, having a light in front of it can illuminate it nicely.
Rule the Sixth: Proportionality is pleasing
There should be some level of consistency of ornament density from top to bottom and around the tree (you can probably get away with fewer ornaments at the back of the tree, sure). Big clumps of ornaments and big gaps are probably not a good idea, unless they are, themselves, an intentional artistic arrangement.
Rule the Seventh: You can have too much of a good thing
This one is very subjective, but, basically, just because you have six crates of ornaments doesn’t mean you need to put all of them on the tree. Feel free to be picky — put your favorites up first, whether because they are particularly pretty or particularly sentimental.
(If you like really crowded trees, more power to you. But do it thoughtfully, not because By God I will put up ALL the ornaments!)
If you have ornaments you never get to, donate them to a local charitable thrift store; they really like ornaments, and someone may get a lot of joy from them.
Rule the Eighth: Nothing is ever perfect, so don’t get hung up on it
After all of the above, this one is kind of anti-climactic, but true. That’s why I fiddle with ornaments afterward; because I haven’t (completely) obsessed about getting it right the first time, and looking at something with fresh eyes, in different light, etc., can reveal opportunities for improvement. But …
… it’s a never-ending series of tweaks. If that brings you happiness, as it does me, then go for it. If that’s not your bag, then just slam that stuff up there. I won’t judge.
Well, I will. But I’ll try to do so silently.
(But I won’t rearrange stuff on other people’s trees. That’d just be silly. And, more importantly, rude.)
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Yeah, the above is all a little silly, an attempt to codify my personal aesthetic as a way of explaining why I keep shifting ornaments around. Take it with a grain of salt as hard and fast rules (as is true with any aesthetic judgment); if you find any of it useful advice, then that’s all I could hope for.