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Eclectic Christmas Tree Ideas For a Unexpected, Unique Look

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eclectic christmas tree with hot pink, heart ornaments, flocked

Tired of the same old Christmas tree decorations and colors? Want to shake thing up a bit and create a real “show stopper” Christmas tree this year? Then you’ll want to check out these eclectic Christmas tree ideas for a bold, whimsical Christmas tree look!

Keep reading to learn how to create the perfect eclectic Christmas tree theme inspired by all things unique, zany and fun.

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Basic Christmas Tree Themes

Did you know that there are 8 main Christmas decorating themes? It may seem like themed Christmas trees are just a random mix of colors and creative styles.

But in reality, any Christmas tree that looks well put together will have at least one general theme. When Christmas product designers start on a new collection, these are the 8 main Christmas tree themes that they use:

Because of this, when you go to shop for Christmas decorations in the store, you’ll see items from these main themes! Once you decide on a theme or two to use, it makes shopping that much more simple.

Now you don’t have to stick with decorations in just one Christmas tree theme. In fact, the most creative Christmas trees will often feature elements from two or more Christmas tree themes.

But it helps to get started by focusing on one Christmas tree theme and building out your tree decorations from there.

Eclectic Christmas Tree Ideas

Let’s explore one of the most unique Christmas decorating themes: Eclectic!

candy cane eclectic christmas tree ideas

Now unlike the other main Christmas tree themes, the Eclectic theme isn’t just one streamlined style or look. It’s a collection of different sub themes and color schemes for Christmas trees.

Here is how to categorize your Christmas tree decor:

  • If you decorate a tree with just a bunch of random and/or vintage ornaments, string lights, topper, etc. then you have a “Vintage” style Christmas tree.
  • If your tree is more curated looking, with specific colors, ornaments & styles, then it probably falls into one of the “classic” Christmas tree styles: Traditional, Rustic, French Country, Farmhouse, Elegant & Winter Wonderland.
  • If your tree is curated looking, but doesn’t fall into a “classic” Christmas tree style then it’s considered “Eclectic”.

Here are some common features of the Eclectic Christmas tree themes:

  • Non traditional Christmas colors
  • Bold, bright colors like neon shades
  • Large, dramatic decorations
  • Non traditional Christmas decorations
  • Non traditional Christmas trees & tree colors
  • “Show stopper” trees that make people go “wow!”
  • Any decorations that read as “unique”, “unusual”, “whimsical”, “fun”, “different”, “quirky”, “funky”, “kitschy” or “eccentric”

Christmas trees can be a mash up of different styles, so don’t get too hung up on the details. It’s just a basic way to categorize many of the Christmas decorations you’ll see online and in stores.

If you can’t figure out what theme a Christmas tree decoration falls into, then it’s probably “eclectic”.

Eclectic Christmas Tree Styles

What Christmas tree styles work best for the Eclectic Christmas tree theme? To start, you can’t go wrong with a traditional, cone shaped, green Christmas tree. These classic artificial Christmas trees provide a nice backdrop for any crazy color schemes and ornaments you can think of.

Keep an eye out for traditional style Christmas trees that have multicolored LED lights or fibre optic lights for a fun look.

Traditional Christmas Trees

Additionally, flocked and frosted Christmas trees will work well for eclectic Christmas tree ideas.

Flocked Christmas trees have faux snow that covers the branches, giving it a look of a tree covered in freshly fallen snow. Frosted Christmas trees are the same, but with less faux snow. So they appear to have more of a “dusting” of snow than a flocked tree.

You can buy an artificial Christmas tree that is already flocked. Or you can buy special snow flock powder that can be used to flock a Christmas tree.

Flocked & Frosted Christmas Trees

Now if you really want to start getting unique, consider using an all white Christmas tree. All white Christmas tree are just as they sound – the branches are made to look entirely white, without any hint of greenery. You can also find silver and off white “tinsel trees” which look similar to all white Christmas trees, but aren’t a pure white shade.

White Christmas Trees

Finally, for the full eclectic Christmas tree experience, use a colorful artificial Christmas tree. These are faux Christmas trees in non traditional colors such as reds, pinks, blues, etc. You can even get rainbow and ombre toned Christmas trees.

Colorful Christmas Trees

Eclectic Christmas Tree Themes

Now let’s take a look at some of the most popular sub themes within the Eclectic Christmas tree theme!

Boho Christmas Tree Ideas

Bohemian or “boho” style has been on the rise the last few years influenced by popular designers like Justina Blakeney. But boho isn’t just limited to your living room furniture & decor. It makes for a great Christmas tree theme too!

bohemian christmas tree with ornaments, presents

This hippie style features lots of wooden beads & garland, handmade felt ornaments, paper cutouts, embroidered Christmas tree decorations and of course macrame & rattan decorations.

Boho Christmas Tree Decor

You can keep the colors neutral and earthy. Or go all out with bold, multi-colored ornaments and decorations. Either way works for this whimsical & slightly rustic Christmas tree theme.

Bright Neon Christmas Tree Ideas

One of the things that sets apart Eclectic Christmas tree ideas from other themes is the use of crazy colors. And it doesn’t get much crazier than bright neons!

unique Christmas tree with bold, neon colored ornaments, decorations

Retailers have been offering neon Christmas tree decorations for a while now and they make for such a bold use of color on your tree. Neon greens are especially easy to find due to the popularity of “The Grinch” themed decorations – see below for more info on this fun look.

But it’s not just neon green – bright pinks, purples, blues, oranges & yellows all make a real statement with your tree.

Bright Neon Christmas Tree Decor

If you like the jewel tones used in the Elegant Christmas tree theme but want to go bolder with the colors, consider using neons. You can pick a few colors for a more curated look. Or go all out all out with a rainbow of bright shades!

Rainbow Ombre Christmas Tree Ideas

Can’t choose between a few colors for your Christmas tree? Why not just use them all? That seems to be the idea behind what I’m calling “rainbow ombre” or “rainbow gradient” Christmas trees.

The concept is simple – either start the top or bottom of the tree with red ornaments and work your way through the colors of the rainbow, switching out the ornament colors every few rows.

You can also do the colors in different “patches” around the tree, like in this photo:

This is one of those show stopper trees because it’s such a blast of color! But I think it looks beautiful and is so easy to do.

Rainbow Ombre Christmas Tree Decor

You just need a bunch of different colored Christmas baubles. Consider buying multiple sets of the same ornament style. Or hunt around for vintage glass ornaments and built out your own collection. Gold and silver work great as accent colors for these trees.

Grand Millennial & Preppy Christmas Tree Ideas

People have been talking about grand millennial home decor for a few years now, but I haven’t seen too many folks using this as theme for Christmas trees. That’s a shame, because the colors and textures are so much fun!

If you like “preppy” prints, granny florals, chinoiserie, foo dogs, Polish pottery, gingham, blue and white, and bright colors, a grand millennial Christmas tree might be for you!

Now it might be hard to shop for specifically for “grand millennial” Christmas decorations since I don’t think a lot of retailers are marketing their offerings that way. But you can still find stuff – just use keywords like “gingham wire ribbon” and you’ll see plenty of decorations you can use on your preppy Christmas tree.

Grand Millennial Christmas Tree Decor

Also keep an eye out for decorations at spring time, since many of the grand millennial color schemes use spring colors like bright pinks, greens & yellows.

My favorite part of this Christmas tree theme? How lovely the decorations look with classic Spode Christmas china. Check it out on Pender and Peony – so pretty!

Candy & Sugary Sweets Christmas Tree Ideas

Love donuts, candy & sugary sweets? Who doesn’t?! While desserts might not be great for your waistline, they certainly make a for a fun, whimsical way to decorate a Christmas tree.

festive christmas tree with red & white striped ribbon, candy canes, red topper

These trees can be real show stoppers – they’re so different from what everyone expects for a typical Christmas tree! Yet the candy theme is perfect for celebrating Christmas.

There seem to be two main color schemes within the candy & sweets theme: light pastel shades or red & white candy cane shades. The pastel colors work great with flocked or all white trees, even pink, light blue or purple trees too! Look for donut, cupcake, ice cream cone, macaron & cake slice decorations.

whimsical christmas tree with donut, cupcake ornaments

Candy & Sweets Christmas Decor

If you want more of a traditional Christmas tree look, go for the classic red & white colors. You’ll find plenty of peppermint & candy cane Christmas tree decorations in stores and online.

Gingerbread Christmas Tree Ideas

Nothing says Christmas quite like a lovely, homemade gingerbread house. But have you ever thought of using gingerbread decorations for your Christmas tree?

gingerbread, bakery themed christmas tree
via Flickr

Luckily, you don’t have to make a bunch of gingerbread ornaments to use (unless you want to, of course!). You can usually find gingerbread themed Christmas tree decorations in stores, and certainly online. Keep an eye out for gingerbread cookie ornaments, ribbons & bows, garland, figurines and miniature gingerbread house ornaments.

Gingerbread Christmas Tree Decor

The color schemes for these gingerbread Christmas tree ideas revolve around classic reds, whites, greens & the gingerbread “tan” & “brown” colors. These unique Christmas tree ideas work great with candy canes, peppermints and other sugary sweet treats. Also, consider using “bakery” themed decorations too. So cute!

Grinch & Elf Christmas Tree Ideas

Love “The Grinch”? Why not decorate your Christmas tree with a Grinch inspired themed? Retailers have been offering Grinch Christmas tree decorations for a while now – and the colors are crazy! Bright lime greens, flashy reds and pure white set the stage for these whimsical, eclectic Christmas tree ideas.

lime green, red christmas tree with elf, candy cane ornaments
via Flickr

You’ll also see lots of “elf” Christmas tree decorations using the same color schemes. This theme works great with red & white candy canes and sugary sweet decorations I mentioned earlier.

Bright Green & Red Christmas Tree Decor

I love this look for a kids room or just as a light-hearted tree theme in your living room. When else would you decorate with lime green? 🙂

Pink & Barbie Christmas Tree Ideas

Pink Christmas trees have been a thing for a while now. They’re great for a little girl’s room or for the girly girly adult. But I imagine with the popularity of the Barbie movie in the summer of 2023, we’re going to see pink Christmas trees and Barbie Christmas trees becoming more of a trend going forward!

pink christmas tree with heart ornaments

You can buy all pink artificial Christmas trees and decorate them with a variety of pink Christmas ornaments. Be mindful that some of the pink ornaments might blend in with the color of the tree.

Or you can use traditional and flocked Christmas trees with pink decorations. I love how bright magenta and rose gold shades pop against a flocked Christmas tree.

pink christmas tree with ribbons, ornaments, crown topper
via Flickr

Pink Christmas Tree Decor

Pale, pastel pinks are great for a more soft, “ballet” theme or for those that like a bit of French Country Christmas decor. Neon pink, magenta and hot pink Christmas decorations really stand out against a green backdrop!

Frozen Blue Christmas Tree Ideas

While the hype around the Frozen movie isn’t quite what it was a few years ago, the Frozen aesthetic makes for a great Christmas tree theme.

light blue and white Christmas tree with ornaments

The icy blues, frosty greens and shimmery purples look gorgeous against a flocked or all white artificial Christmas tree. I love this look with blue Christmas lights and even tinsel. Silver and white make for great accent colors.

Frozen Blue Christmas Tree Decor

You can use wintery, snowy decorations such as snowman, snowflakes and icicles for this Frozen Christmas tree. Such as pretty look for Christmas!

Peacock Christmas Tree Ideas

I’ve been wanting to try the “peacock” Christmas tree theme for years, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet. If you like the Elegant Christmas tree theme but want to go with more bold, bright colors, these unique Christmas tree ideas using peacocks as inspiration might be worth checking out.

I’ve seen a few stores offering Christmas decorations in bright blue & turquoise green shades which are perfect with “peacock” themed accents. Peacock feathers, ribbons and floral picks work well as a Christmas tree topper. Gold and bronze accent colors look amazing against the bright blue and pretty turquoise greens for a peacock Christmas tree.

Peacock Christmas Tree Decor

I think this theme wold work best on a traditional artificial Christmas tree, but if you really wanted a pop of color, use a flocked Christmas tree instead.

Wooden Christmas Tree Ideas

Have you seen these wooden Christmas trees yet? They are made from wood slats or dial rods and are meant to be an eco-friendly alternative to real and artificial Christmas trees.

At first glance, this non traditional Christmas tree idea doesn’t look like much, but I love how this tree turned out when it was absolutely covered in lights and ornaments:

wooden christmas tree with ornaments, presents, string lights

These seem to fold up nicely so if you don’t have a ton of room in storage, this might be able to fit right under a bed or against the back wall of a closet. Definitely eclectic and perfect for apartment dwellers!

Wooden Christmas Trees

Shopping For Eclectic Christmas Tree Decor

With some of the eclectic Christmas tree themes mentioned above, you’ll be able to readily find Christmas decorations within the stores and online.

Other themes might require a bit of scouting to find items that you can use. You might have to get creative with your online keyword searches and seek out non traditional Christmas tree idea decorations in unexpected places.

Because of this, one of my biggest tips when shopping for eclectic Christmas tree decorations is this: if you see something you think would work buy it, regardless of the store or the time of year. You never know when you might find that item again, so get it when it’s right in front of you!

You can also check out specialty Christmas decoration stores as they carry a wide variety of Christmas decorations, not just the classics.

Here are some of my favorite stores for Eclectic Christmas tree decorations including ornaments, toppers, skirts, ribbon, stars, etc.:

Don’t forget to shop for gently used items on sites like Poshmark, Mercari and eBay.

Combining Christmas Tree Themes

What other Christmas tree themes can be used with the Eclectic Christmas tree theme? Here are some of the common Christmas tree theme pairings you will see:

Remember, there is no right or wrong way to decorate a Christmas tree! Whatever inspires your creativity and feels right for your space is what will work best for your tree.

But if you want to your Christmas tree to look like something in a magazine or something your favorite home decor blogger designed, then you’ll want to stick with at least one Christmas tree theme.

Personally, I find this helps narrow down my options and keeps me from buying too many random things that don’t really work well together in my Christmas decor.

What are your thoughts on any of the Eclectic Christmas tree ideas mentioned here? I hope article series on Christmas tree themes this gives you a good starting point for creating a beautiful Christmas tree this year!

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More Christmas Tree Themes

For more info on various Christmas tree themes and decorating ideas, check out these posts:

Pin It For Later!

eclectic christmas tree with hot pink, heart ornaments, flocked
light blue and white Christmas tree with ornaments
pink christmas tree with crown topper, pink ribbons
boho christmas tree with felt, paper craft ornaments
eclectic christmas tree ideas with sweets, cupcake, donut ornaments
unique Christmas tree with bold, neon colored ornaments, decorations
christmas tree with candy cane ribbon, red topper
wooden christmas tree with lights, ornaments, presents
gingerbread, candy cane themed christmas tree

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