For years, I’ve dreamed of creating a full hydrangea Christmas tree. Flowers in winter? Groundbreaking. 🙂 This beautiful flower has always been significant to me and our family.
You see, it was my (late) mom’s favorite flower. She always used to feature them throughout our childhood home. In fact, one of her favorite trips was to Nantucket with my father. In so many ways, it’s a big reason why the island remains so important to us. I still remember her coming home from the trip with a gift for me from the island. Very special.
In fact, one of my most cherished items is a painting she purchased on Nantucket featuring hydrangea. It remains in our primary residence, and one of my fave possessions.
Hydrangeas spark joy. The bloom is a reminder of happy times, great memories, and the hope for its next season to come.
Hydrangea Christmas Tree
For the hydrangea Christmas tree, we opted for faux florals vs. real hydrangeas. First, faux makes sense from a cost per use perspective. Hydrangeas (even faux) are not cheap, so it’s important to find a quality style that works for your home.
Additionally, we’ve heard real hydrangea flowers wilt quickly when Christmas lights are turned out due to the heat. Trust me – faux is the way to go. Plus, we can repurpose the faux blooms for other decor throughout both our primary residence and lake home.
Today, I wanted to share a step-by-step guide to create a faux hydrangea Christmas tree to spruce up your space.
Select Your Christmas Tree
Since I can remember, we’ve been a faux Christmas tree-type of family. Please don’t judge lol! 🙂 Growing up, my Dad purchased a faux tree, and I love that we reused it year-after-year. Sure, many families love real Christmas trees. I love that! We’ve just always adored faux trees. 🙂
For the purposes of this project, we ended up spending only $120 to purchase a 7.5″ pre-lit tree that will stay with us for some time. I highly recommend this one. It tends to sell-out quickly every season, so you need to move quickly. In fact, Bob had to travel to a nearby retail store to pick ours up since it was sold out in store. It’s worth every penny!
Also, we chose a green tree (no flocking) since our faux blooms have green leaves on them. It was the perfect way to blend everything together. Originally, I thought about purchasing a blue or white tree. I’m thrilled we chose a green non-flocked version.
Select Your Faux Hydrangeas
One of the toughest decisions was selecting which hydrangeas to pick. At first, I wanted to opt for all-white hydrangeas. They’re sleek, sophisticated, and would work well in any room in our home. However, blue hydrangeas were always my mom’s favorite, so we opted for those instead.
Thankfully, we worked with Debi Lilly of A Perfect Event to source the most beautiful faux hydrangeas. After searching online for many months, I felt like there was a better price point to be had. Be sure to reach out to Debi if you’re interested in re-creating the tree. The price was SO much better than any retail option (and no, we did not get a discount and we paid in full).
If you prefer a retail route for convenience and ease, I’m including a few styles that caught our eyes below. For context, we ended up paying around $7/stem.
Tip: How Many Stems Do You Need for the Hydrangea Christmas Tree?
In the end, we opted for 205 faux hydrangeas. Was it an investment? Absolutely. However, we truly plan to use the faux blooms for decor around our home. Keep in mind, the 205 only filled about 80% of the tree.
To truly fill out the entire thing, we’d likely need about 300 based on the size of our Christmas tree, and the scale of the faux hydrangea we chose. But thankfully, we don’t need to show the back of the tree. 🙂 We’re fine with 3/4 of the tree being full.
Place the Hydrangeas on the Tree
Placing the hydrangeas is easier than it might look. The key is to space them properly, and to make sure the stems don’t poke out on the other side. I found it helpful to place them down at a 45 degree angle and create a “matrix of stems” that overlap. The more they overlap, the easier it is to place others as you move around the tree.
Another pro tip: take several moments to step back and check the spacing. It’s easy to want to push the altogether to create a more full look. However, give each step some space to breathe! 🙂
Cut Down a Few Hydrangeas for the Top of the Christmas Tree
As you start to place hydrangeas, remember to cut a few of the stems down for the top part of the tree. Trust me, you’ll want smaller stems for this part of the tree.
Finishing Decor Touches
Once everything is in place, consider other decor touches, like ribbons and ornaments. We’re planning to create a large statement bow for the top of the tree to bring everything together. Trust me, it wasn’t an easy decision! However, we’re excited to see how it will come together!
Hydrangea Christmas Tree – In Closing
Voila! Your hydrangea Christmas tree will be fully set! Just add your preferred tree skirt and/or basket, and you’re in a great place. I am confident that you will absolutely love the way it looks.
Part Grandmillennial vibes, part coastal, I love the way this tree brightens up any room and brings a dose of joy. Interested in seeing more Christmas tree inspiration? Check out our gorgeous Frontgate Christmas tree that we love featuring in our living room. Lastly, looking for a great Christmas skirt or basket? Check out this blog post with ideas for styles you might enjoy.
