Decorating the Christmas tree is an age-old holiday tradition. There are so many fun ways to embellish it, that your imagination is the only thing stopping you.

The first thing to do is string the lights and hang your garlands. Then start filling in with ornaments. For a more uniform look, hang the smaller ornaments near the top and the larger ones as you go down toward the bottom. However, don’t be afraid to mix and match sizes throughout the tree.

There are many ways to decorate your Christmas tree besides using typical Christmas related ornaments. Listed below are a few fun themes to consider for your tree trimming this year.

Sports Theme
Decorate your tree with balls of every kind – golf, tennis, ping pong, baseball and even small kiddy sized basketballs and footballs. You can display them as they are or paint and decorate them with glitter for added holiday pizzazz. Screw in an eyehook and attach ornament hangers. Or just try tucking them into the tree.

Make paper or felt pennants of your favorite team, and hang garlands in your favorite sport’s colors. A few well-placed cheerleader pom poms add to the sports spirit, too.

One Color
For an elegant look, trim your tree with ornaments from one color family along with silver and gold accents. Imagine a green pine tree with red apples, red carnations, red garlands, red & white candy canes, red and white ornaments and white glittering lights. Substitute red with all purple, blue, gold or whatever color you love.

Dance Theme
Wrap your tree in pretty colors of airy tulle. Hang tap shoes, ballet shoes, jazz shoes, figurines of dancers and anything in your home that complements dance.

Nature Theme
String popcorn and cranberries. Tuck in flowers and pinecones. Hang animal ornaments or figurines of birds, squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, and twiggy little nests. Tie 2 sticks together to form a cross as a tree topper.

Tea Party Theme
Wrap your tree in silver garlands. Hang homemade cookies and gingerbread men. Display with tea cups, saucers, miniature tea sets and plenty of silver spoons.

Homemade Theme
A tree with homemade items provides a cheery coziness to Christmas. Make garlands of paper rings or string popcorn. Add cookies, paper snowflakes, angels, painted glass or wooden ornaments.

Tropical Theme
Bright colors of orange, hot pink and aqua of the seas work well for this theme. Choose complementary colored lights and garlands. Tuck in flamingos, flip flops, and seashells. Put a large starfish on top of your tree.

Wrap presents in colors that complement your room or your tree theme. White paper accented with ribbons and bows will go with most themes. Look for paper in the non-holiday aisle, too. Solid pinks, blues, greens, reds, purples can all work at Christmas time if you add holiday ribbons and bows.

During this time of year, trees work well in most areas of the home. A tree dressed only in lights provides a romantic feel to a master bedroom. A child's playroom can be quite charming with a tree full of stuffed animals.

Set a small 18” tree as a centerpiece on your dining table. Place miniature wrapped packages under it or surround with fruit and nuts. A brightly-lit tree on your front porch is perfect for greeting visitors and to twinkle merrily at all those passing by.

However you choose to decorate your tree this year, be sure to do so like you would the rest of your home by having it truly represent your individual taste and style. That way you'll always have a tree that is uniquely you.

Happy Holidays!