How to Make a Christmas Tree Look Fuller and Taller

I bought a 4-foot Christmas tree and made it look fuller and taller with these tricks!

pretty Christmas tree with white lit lights in front of window

Welcome to Dagmar’s Home!

Do you want to know how you can make a sad, little 4-foot tree…

…look like this beautiful, 6-foot Christmas tree?

This is the same tree — read on and I’ll show you how I transformed it into a beauty!

How to Make a Christmas Tree Look Fuller and Taller

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First of all, this Christmas tree almost didn’t happen.

I was determined to get a real Christmas tree this year, after being frugal and using a fake tree for years. This year I wanted a wider tree, and that wonderful pine smell.

The first tree lot I drove to was closed. So was the second one — they only sold to wholesalers.

The third lot was closed as well, and every tree in the fourth lot was six feet tall and way too wide for my little cottage.

I was looking for a smaller tree I could easily carry myself and fit into my car instead of strapping it to the top of the car.

I always try to find a way to be able to do things myself the easiest way, which meant getting a small tree, not a 6-foot tree.

Home Depot to the rescue. I found a $19 tree there that was easy to carry. Finally!

When I saw the extra branches they were cutting off the bottom of the large trees so they could fit into the tree stand, I asked one employee if I could take a few.

They were throwing them out, and they were happy to give me three.

I thought they’d come in handy for extra decor — but then I ended up using them for something else :)

At home, I put together our Christmas tree stand I had bought years ago at a yard sale and put the tree into it.

This is the exact Christmas tree stand. It’s super simple to put together and perfect for small to medium sized trees.

More importantly, this tree stand, compared to others, makes it easy to make the tree look fuller. I’ll show you why in a second.

To be fair, this little tree looked a bit sad once I cut off the netting around it.

I was looking at it. I walked around it…

And then I had an idea: I added an extra branch to the top of the tree with twist ties to create a prettier top.

As an avid recycler, I save bread bag twist ties, and this is the second time they came in handy.

Remember my post about my container garden, where I used them to secure the deer fencing to the posts?

And then I simply shoved the ends of the three branches into the extra space next to the tree stump in the stand.

This looked so much better!

Very important: Make sure you water your Christmas tree. Check daily that there is always enough water in your tree stand. And you need to mist the extra branches often to make sure they don’t get too dry so they don’t pose a fire hazard.

Also, protect your floor from water stains and scratches with a small carpet or similar under the tree stand — preferably with something that is also waterproof, or put a large garbage bag under the carpet to avoid water stains.

I like using a plastic shoe tray because the raised edge makes sure extra water can’t run on the floor. These are very affordable.

My son helped me to put warm white Christmas tree lights on the tree, and then I hung these pretty mercury glass ornaments on the tree.

Here are similar ones from Amazon.

I didn’t want to use any of our other ornaments this year to keep the decor really simple and classy.

The only other item I added to the tree was our straw star for the top that we usually use every year.

I added the ornaments in strategic spots to pull down certain branches and fill in holes, and then I trimmed some of the extra branches for a round shape.

For added height, I put the tree on a little table, and wrapped the stand and table with a plaid scarf.

What do you think? Not bad for a $19 tree, right?

The little table wasn’t really big enough to hold the tree stand, so I decided safety is more important than looks and ended up putting the tree back on the floor.

You can obviously put your tree on a side table or crate — just make sure it’s stable and safe.

I’m really happy with my real Christmas tree!