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A beautifully decorated home is part of the wonder of the holiday season. We’ve rounded up the best decorating essentials for your home to make it easier for you.
While the joys of the holiday season are many, one of the top delights is a home transformed by lights, trees, ornaments, and all the other seasonal decorations. Your home becomes something just a little bit magical.
Who doesn’t feel at least a little surge of childlike joy at the sight of a fully loaded Christmas tree? Or slow down to admire a house covered in twinkling lights? And admit it — sneaking out to fill up a loved one’s stocking on Christmas Eve is one of the best parts of the holiday, right next to watching them discover what’s hidden inside the next morning.
That’s why we’ve gathered up the top suggestions for a wide range of Christmas décor. Whether you go all-out decorating for the holidays, or just stick with a tree covered with a few glass balls, we’ve got the best of the best for your holiday home. Here are the products we’ve included in this guide:
- The best faux tree: National Tree Company’s Douglas Fir
- The best tree stand: Krinner Tree Genie Christmas Tree Stand
- The best ornaments: Shop all ornaments at Target
- The best tree topper: Christmas Snowman Tree Hugger
- The best tree skirt: Wondershop Velvet Tree Skirt
- The best string lights: GE Energy Smart Colorite LED Mini Light Set
- The best wreath for your front door: Woodland Eucalyptus Wreath
- The best holiday inflatable: Inflatable Snow Family
- The best stockings: Needlepoint Stockings from L.L. Bean
- The best garland: Home Accents Holiday Pre-Lit Plaza Garland
Continue scrolling to learn more about all the best Christmas decorations you can buy.
The best faux tree
National Tree Company
Why you’ll love it: The National Tree Company’s Downswept Douglas Fir with Dual-Color Lights looks like a real tree, but without any of the fuss.
If you’ve shrugged off artificial Christmas trees as looking “too fake,” you’ll change your tune after seeing – and feeling – the Downswept Douglas Fir with Dual-Color Lights from the National Tree Company.
This 7.5-foot-tall beauty is incredibly realistic, both in feel and appearance. Like most artificial trees today, the Downswept Douglas Fir disassembles into three sections, and the branches fold up flat against the core, making it fairly easy to store after the holiday.
The tree’s lights change from all white to multi-colored at the press of the foot switch, which is a fun touch that is unusual for an artificial tree. It also eliminates the need for you to go buy more lights if you don’t want to.
Wirecutter‘s experts chose it as their top pick, saying it excels at creating “a truly convincing illusion of a living tree.” They also praise the tree’s 100-bulbs-per-square foot (for a total of 750 LED lights), which they say is the perfect ratio. Buyers on Amazon agree, so if you prefer an artificial tree, this is the one for you.
Pros: Extremely realistic, perfect size for most living rooms, pre-lit with white or colored lights, and very easy to assemble disassemblable
Cons: You’ll need to take time to fluff the branches once the tree is assembled. Expensive, but when you amortize the price over the decade or more the tree will last, it’s not so bad
Buy the National Tree Company’s Downswept Douglas Fir with Dual-Color Lights on Amazon for $ 346.99 (originally $ 779.99)
The best Christmas tree stand
Krinner
Why you’ll love it: The Krinner Tree Genie Christmas Tree Stand is easy to set up and it’s very secure even when it’s holding tall trees.
The Krinner Tree Genie has a five-claw design that holds a live tree’s trunk in place. The claws are connected with a single cable that allows the claws to apply equal pressure around the trunk whether it is thin, crooked, or thick. To secure the trunk, you put the tree in the base and tighten the cable using the foot pedal ratchet.
The Tree Genie XXL has a 20-inch diameter and is made of a plastic resin. It weighs approximately eighteen pounds without water. The base holds 2.5 gallons and features a water level indicator that tells you when to refill the water. The Tree Genie L has an 18-inch diameter, weighs thirteen pounds, holds a gallon of water, and accommodates trees up to eight feet tall.
The experts almost universally agree that the Krinner Tree Genie is the best. The Wirecutter has picked it as the best Christmas tree stand for four years in a row because of its one-of-a-kind design that is versatile, secure, and easy to set up. More than 700 of the reviewers of the Krinner Tree Genie on Amazon gave it five stars.
Buyers have reported using the Tree Genie XXL for trees as tall as fourteen feet. They like how easy it is to set up quickly and how sturdy it is. Read more in our tree stand buying guide by James Brains.
Pros: Quick and easy setup, excellent customer support, stable base, 2.5-gallon reservoir (for the XXL)
Cons: The base may crack and leak
Buy the Krinner Tree Genie XXL Christmas Tree Stand on Amazon for $ 101.76
Buy the Krinner Tree Genie M Christmas Tree Stand on Amazon for $ 196.50
Buy the Krinner’s Tree Genie L Christmas Tree Stand on Amazon for $ 81.95
The best ornament sets
Target
Why you’ll love them: Target has tons of adorable tree ornaments to please everyone’s style.
No matter what your style is, you can find the perfect ornaments for your tree at Target. Ornaments are categorized by style and theme, making it easy to find ones you’ll love.
You can buy special ornaments individually or in sets. Many of the individual ornaments would make excellent gifts. If you’re looking for unique collectible ornaments, you should also check out our holiday gift guide to the best ones.
Pros: Ornaments in all styles, buy individually or in sets, affordable
Cons: None
Shop Christmas ornaments at Target (prices vary by ornament)
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