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Decorating your Christmas tree with bright lights, tinsel, angels and ‘quirky’ baubles is a festive faux pas, an etiquette expert has warned.
William Hanson, director of etiquette training institute The English Manner, claims ‘gaudy’ holiday decor is evidence of a householder’s ‘bad taste’.
Mr Hanson, 33 – in a bid to help make Christmas more fashionable – has taken to Twitter this week to rank user’s decorations on a scale of one to 10.
The etiquette expert, whilst highly critical of most trees, says real trees donning white lights and fixed with a star on top are the most worthy of ‘honour and adulation’.
Decorating your Christmas tree with bright lights, tinsel, angels and ‘quirky’ baubles is a festive faux pas, an etiquette expert has warned
William Hanson, director of etiquette training institute The English Manner, claims ‘gaudy’ holiday decor is evidence of a householder’s ‘bad taste’
Mr Hanson, whose clients include at least five royal families from around the globe, says a Christmas tree must follow ‘key rules’ in order to be tasteful.
First and foremost, a real tree will always be superior to an artificial tree, he told The Telegraph, saying he has never seen a fake one that looks real.
He also warned against using multi-coloured lights, alleging they are ‘incredibly retro’ and nontraditional. He instead encouraged decorators to use warm, white lights on their trees.
‘Historically, candles were used in the Victorian times, so a white, warm light also represents stars, which are, as viewed from Earth, white,’ he explained.
Similarly, he argued that a star should be used a tree topper, instead of an angel or sugar plum fairy, because of the significance of the North Star in the nativity story.
According to the biblical tale, Mary and Joseph were guided by the star on their journey to Bethlehem.
Mr Hanson noted that an angel is a more acceptable tree topper than any other Christmas figures, but still emphasised the use of a star.
Mr Hanson, 33 – in a bid to help make Christmas more fashionable – has taken to Twitter this week to rank user’s decorations on a scale of one to 10. He will be awarding the Golden Bauble accolade to the decorator with the most impressive tree
The frontrunner for the prize – which is noting more than his ‘honour and adulation’ – is this tree. Mr Hanson gave it a 9.6/10, citing its ‘very subtly curated use of colour.’ He criticised the tree’s ‘wayward branches up top’ but overall thought it was a ‘lovely’ holiday design
Mr Hanson also revealed that the ‘golden rule’ of tree decor is to avoid tinsel, which he thinks should be banished.
He argued tinsel is bad for the environment and never arranged properly – a claim he echoed for beads.
The etiquette expert offered a similar take on gaudy ornaments and claimed baubles should be charming and subtle.
He suggested using a two-colour pairing of ornaments – like silver and red – to avoid a ‘messy’ look.
He did note, however, that decorators with a ‘very, very artistic eye’ may be able to try to incorporate additional colours into their scheme.
Mr Hanson, who is still rating trees on social media, joked that he will be awarding the Golden Bauble accolade to the decorator with the most impressive tree.
The frontrunner for the prize – which is simply just his ‘honour and adulation’ – is a tree featuring white lights and coloured baubles.
He gave the tree a 9.6 out of 10 rating, citing its ‘very subtly curated use of colour.’
He criticised the tree’s ‘wayward branches up top’ but overall thought it was a ‘lovely’ holiday design. However, most others fortunate enough to receive such high ratings.
Some trees saw his applause for their use of colour and good shap
Mr Hanson ranked one artificial tree as a 6/10, saying it was: ‘Reasonably Nice For A Fake Tree.’
He gave one user a 1/10 rating for breaking his so-called golden rule, tweeting: ‘Thrown together or thrown up? This is tinsel at its worst.’
He also denounced a tree affixed with beads and red lights, claiming he looked like something out of Amsterdam’s red light district.
‘This tree looks like it could be in a window in Amsterdam. The haphazard beads add to the debauchery. 5/10,’ he wrote.
He also criticised one user’s tree topper, saying: ‘Gosh, Paul. Father Christmas on top of a tree. A maverick choice. 5/10.’
But overall, most users were met with heavy criticisms from the etiquette expert
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