Bright Red & Green Elf Themed Christmas Tree

A whimsical Elf themed Christmas tree you can create without an interior decorator. Just the right touches and a few DIY ornaments with bright fun ribbons complete the look.

Our Elf Themed Christmas Tree Decorations are a fun and whimsical change from our normal traditionally decorated Christmas trees. Bright reds and greens with some fun ornaments make this tree festive.

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Many of the ornaments on the Elf tree came from our collection. The red ball snowman ornament seen above was made by a friend many years ago. I pack them very carefully every year and always find a way to add them to our tree.

Elf Themed Christmas Tree Decorations

Elf legs diving into the center of the tree while an Elf watches from a ladder creates a fun and whimsical look to our Christmas tree decorated with Elves.

I don’t usually choose a theme per se for my Christmas tree decorations but this year is different. If you have visited my DIY decor here, you know I’m a big fan of whimsical.

This year’s tree has been in the planning process since last year. I needed lots of new ornaments and decorations to make an Elf-themed tree and we all know how expensive that can be.

How to completely change the look of the Christmas tree

• DIY ornaments
• Use what you have creatively
• Spread out the spending if buying new ornaments

I ordered ribbons and picks from two places; Trendy Tree and Craft Outlet. I started getting excited when they began to arrive in late spring. All of the picks and the Elf legs used to decorate the top of the Elf tree came from those two sources.

The Top Hat tree topper is from our collection, used on this Plaid decorated Christmas tree last year, and originally from Hobby Lobby.

To change the look of the hat for this tree, I added a whimsical ribbon band with a matching bow then stuck a fun red and white Christmas pick down into the side. It turned out nice.

The ribbon matches the scrappy bows I made for the tree and it also matches the ribbon I used to decorate the mantle.

5 DIY Ornament Projects

Elf Entrance Sign

There simply must be a sign indicating the Elf Entrance. After all, they are Santa’s helpers and they need a secret entrance. The Elf Entrance sign is a simple and fun DIY ornament using a wood sign from Dollar Tree.

The Elf ladder and a few Elf legs were placed near the sign so it appears as if the Elves are piling into the Entrance at one time so they can get to work helping Santa.

Grinch Ornament

Even though the theme is Elves, we all know the Grinch is whimsical and downright cute hanging on a tree. I painted the inside of these clear ornaments and my artistic hubby drew on the Grinch’s face.

Polka Dot Ball Ornaments

Another super easy DIY Ornament project was these fun Polka Dot Ornaments. The Christmas balls are plastic and came from the dollar tree in packs of seven.

I painted the white polka dots onto them for whimsical Christmas ball ornaments at a bargain price.

DIY Wood Slice Ornaments

There are eight of these Wood slice ornaments with Faith words that are another DIY project.

The words I used are; JOY, Noel, Hope and O Holy Night. Four of them are sparkly green and the other four are sparkly red. Take a closer look at these ornaments and get all of the details in the tutorial right here.

DIY Scrappy Bows

These little Scrappy Bows are perfect for filling in on the ends of branches where you need just a touch of decor to fill in any gaps. I didn’t want the bows to be overwhelming this year and these little scrappy bows were perfect for the job.

Use What You Have Creatively

I used lots of ball ornaments that we have collected through the years. I carefully selected only the colors that would fit the bright red and green theme of the Elf tree.

Take stock of what you have

I recommend taking out all of your tree ornaments and thinking of new ways to combine the colors to create a new look for your tree. I have been keeping house for quite a few (ahem) years and have lots of ornaments.

Pair ornament colors and think of ways to change your tree theme

When I took stock of all my Christmas ornaments trying to see different ways to pair them for a new look, I realized I had more snowman ornaments than I knew. So guess what is coming soon? A small snowman tree for the dining room is in the planning stages for next year.

Our upstairs tree for this year is this gorgeous Silver and Gold Christmas tree using a combination of silver, gold, and white ornaments.

Spread out the spending

My Elf Christmas tree was inspired by decorated trees we saw on vacation in a Christmas store. I started making plans for my tree while we were still on vacation. I shopped online several times throughout the year so that I didn’t buy things all at once.

Shop the clearance sales each year to pick up one or two things you can use next year. As long as you stick with the colors you tend to always use, you should be able to fit new things into your Christmas tree design.

The tree does not have all new decorations, only a few things are new. Others are DIY and used creatively from our collection.

Mostly the Elf legs are new and some of the Christmas picks. I found adorable Elf legs picks at Walmart and Hobby Lobby in their Christmas picks section. The larger Elf legs came from Craft Outlet online.

The red and white deco mesh came from Hobby Lobby for half price. You can find a similar Candy Cane Deco mesh on Amazon here as well as a similar ribbon in the red and white stripe-like we used.

Our Elf themed Christmas Tree this year has already brought us lots of joy. We enjoy having the tree lit while we watch Christmas movies to bask in the holiday spirit.

My inspiration for this tree came from many visits to Christmas stores on vacation through the years.

The many trees on display are decorated in various themes to show off the ornaments for sale. I always stand too long in one spot to stare at each one. This year, I finally created one I think resembles those that have inspired me through the years.

Making many of the ornaments was both fun and therapeutic for me. It’s always nice to add a personal touch to a Christmas tree.

We have some requests from family for the Grinch ornaments so I’m headed back into the craft room.

More decorated Christmas trees

Top left photo is our Plaid Decorated Christmas Tree with lots of ribbon and bow plus a few new homemade ornaments. The Snowman hat topper makes its first appearance.

I decorated this Snowman Christmas Tree to impress our one-year-old grandson and it worked. He loved it.

The middle top is a traditional Christmas tree decorated in red and gold with lots of flowing ribbons. There is a Santa Sleigh filled with candy canes on this tree in our Bonus room.

The Blue and White decorated Christmas tree in the top right remains one of my all-time favorites and seems to be popular among my Pinterest followers as well.

The Festive Red and Gold decorated tree in the bottom left is the 6-foot tree in the Bonus Room upstairs. I love the festive spirit of the red and gold decorations.

I called the tree in the bottom right my Traditional Tree Decorated In Ribbons and Bows. Apparently, I have been on a roll using red and gold as my main colors. This year is very different though.

Not pictured is our live 10-foot Frazier Fir Christmas tree from our first year in our current home back in 2017. It was my first time decorating a real tree in many years. Not even gonna lie, dealing with needles on the floor, worrying about watering, and the trail of needles to clean up when taking it out of the house was not my idea of fun.