Providing festive decor is a year-round job for Bevin and Veta Masters, owners of The CPS Warehouse.

Related to decorating a Christmas tree: Make your own Christmas crackers

The couple have been supplying Christmas decorations for 14 years, as well as designing and decorating shopping centres, offices and hotels. These are their tips for decorating a tree.

Step one

Assemble the tree and unfold all the branches. If you’re using lights that aren’t battery-operated, ensure the tree is placed near a plug point and there is sufficient space for all the lights to be plugged in (for this tree, the star topper and four sets of fairy lights had to be connected to an electrical power point).

Step two

Add the fairy lights. A large tree like this required four 12m sets. If you want it to be nice and full, the more the better. Start from the top and work your way around and down the tree. To  hide the cables and ensure the bulbs are clearly visible, twist the branch around the base of the bulb. “Do this with every second or third bulb,” Veta advises, “as they tend to turn inwards.” Check that the lights all work before hanging them.

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Step three

Add the baubles. Start with the biggest ones first, working your way around the tree to ensure they’re evenly spaced. Again, don’t be too sparse. “This is important when you have a simple scheme like this one,” explains Veta. Use the smaller baubles to fill in the gaps. Use a mix of textures and colours, but keep to one colour scheme. “In this case we used glamorous gold and silver, then added sophistication with black decorations.” Veta recommends using transparent baubles as well, hung close to each fairy light bulb, as they diffuse the light and add to the sparkle.

Step four

Add the rest of the ornaments. Here, glittering snowflakes were hung in between the baubles.

Step five

Put the star on the top of the tree. For a heavy, illuminated one like this, the top branch had to be doubled over to ensure it didn’t bend under the weight of the decoration. Switch on the lights. Stand back and admire your handiwork.

SHOPPING LIST

To get this look, here is everything Bevan and Veta Masters used:

1 x Rocky Mount Pine tree, 2.7m
4 x Chasing indoor fairy lights, 12m
36 x 60mm black baubles
36 x 60mm champagne baubles
36 x 60mm clear baubles
30 x 80mm gold baubles
30 x 80mm silver baubles
30 x 80mm champagne baubles
30 x 80mm clear baubles
28 x 100mm champagne baubles
28 x 100mm silver baubles
28 x 100mm black baubles
50 x glitter snowflake ornaments
1 x light-up star tree topper

Products available at CPS Warehouse