Do you plan your Christmas decor like it’s a year-round hobby—sneaking in Pinterest sessions even in the middle of summer? I get it. Christmas is the most magical time of the year.
In Italy, most people don’t start thinking about the holidays until November. But when we do? We go all out—both with decor and food.
Since so many of you are drawn to Italian style and traditions, I thought I’d share a few timeless, classic Christmas tree ideas inspired by Italy—ones you can recreate no matter where you are in the world.
There’s a little something for everyone: from the traditional red and green tree to soft pink tones and romantic flocked styles.
Happy decorating!
Table of Contents
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Italian Red and Green Christmas Tree Idea
There’s nothing more quintessential Christmas than a tree decorated with red, green and cream baubles. This is not only the most traditional Christmas theme, but also the most Italian, representing the Italian flag in all its glory.
Of course, you could swap the cream with ivory, or champagne, or even a light gold or silver, and still achieve a similar look.
You can also take this classic Christmas tree idea in different directions. Have a look at the inspiration images below.
3 Practical Red and Green Christmas Tree Ideas
The first one is both classic and grand; it’s something Americans would put in front of their stunning mansions, in a quest to win the best decorated house exterior of the year.
The second one is very elegant, yet has a modern feel, and is attainable in every home, considering the normal dimensions of the tree, and the use of simple spherical baubles.
The third one is a more nostalgic, romantic tree, you would find in an Italian home, perhaps in your dream countryside home in Florence, or my grandma’s house.
Of course, the decorations don’t have to just be ball shaped. You can use different shapes.
Did you know it?
These are the most traditional bauble shapes used in Italian Christmas decor: spheres, trees, houses, stars, Santas, mushrooms, angels, snowflakes, and hearts.
How to recreate this look:
1. Keep your Christmas tree simple at the base, with just warm lights.
2. Add baubles in the 3 Italian colors – green, red and cream or white. Choose colors that mimic the Italian flag and are bright and bold, not too matte nor pastels.
3. Have fun placing them. My initial idea was to layer them this way – all green baubles at the top of the tree, only cream decorations in the middle, and all red towards the bottom branches.
Shop this tree look on Amazon:
Italian colors baubles
Italian colors baubles mini
Italian colors baubles style 3
Italian colors baubles vintage style
Blue Christmas Tree Idea Meets Ceramic Christmas Tree Ornaments
If you really love blue, so much so that this year you want to incorporate it in your tree, have you considered an all blue Christmas tree with Sicilian inspired ceramic christmas tree ornaments?
It might not be the best of the ideas if you have little kids running around that might break the baubles, neither for the breakage nor for their safety. But if you don’t have small kids, this could be a really sweet tree idea.
How to recreate this Christmas tree look:
1. Keep your tree base simple, with warm lights throughout.
2. Add a pretty Christmas tree skirt, perhaps a crochet doily style one.
3. Decorate the tree with the white and blue ceramic baubles. They can also be cream and blue.
4. Add a few small red bows to make it extra romantic and charming.
Shop the Sicilian Xmas Tree look:
White and blue baubles
White velvet ornaments
White Christmas baubles
Mini red bows
Some practical tips:
Unless your tree is really small, adding all Sicilian ceramic baubles will get really expensive. Instead, you can do it this way:
Alternate the fancy Sicilian blue and white ceramic baubles, with some other white or cream ones. If you choose unique designs like line teardrop baubles, you will add beautiful interest to your tree on a lower budget. You could even use honeycomb paper ornaments.
Another way to save money would be to get plain ceramic baubles and decorate a few yourself. Take inspiration from the second Christmas image above. You can see that few of the baubles only have a few blue dots. It almost adds an artistic touch to the final Christmas tree result.
If you want to add more detail, consider adding a thin golden beaded Christmas tree garland, like in image 3 above.
Christmas Tree with Poinsettia Inspired by Puglia
Do you love putting fresh flowers everywhere in your house? If so, why not put them on your Christmas tree this year. You don’t have to be too extravagant and put roses or peonies. You can use the most traditional Christmas plant – the beautiful poinsettia.
If you have seen a scene of Puglia at Christmas, you know that poinsettias are central to the Christmas decor, especially throughout the streets of the most charming villages, like the famous Alberobello or Ostuni.
Those scenes are the inspiration behind this third classic Christmas tree idea. Let me help you bring Puglia to your homes this season.
Now, imagine the inside of an Apulian home at Christmas, with stone walls, classic walnut wood furniture, and dainty embroidered curtains. There’s also a fireplace lit with logs, and the Christmas stockings are hanging there. The star of the room is the traditional Christmas tree.
A bright green faulty tree with warm lighting coming from within and radiating all around the tree. It’s decorated with red and gold shiny baubles, red ribbons and poinsettia flowers.
How to recreate this look:
1. Choose a realistic looking Christmas tree, and add some warm lighting as a base, unless it comes pre-lit. Bonus points for that! I mean, who likes twisting and untwisting Christmas lights? Not me.
2. Layer two different sizes of red and gold baubles. Choose the shiny finish for that traditional Italian style.
3. Add fake poinsettia flowers throughout the tree. Why ruin a beautiful plant?
4. Add poinsettia plants throughout your house, and keep that red and gold theme running in all spaces.
White and Red Christmas Tree Idea
A fresher but still traditional Christmas tree theme is pairing white and red together. The inspiration images I am sharing below are all inspired by my favorite Italian Northern city – Brixen or Bressanone.
This small town-city in the Dolomites is full of gorgeous white building, and if you add the Winter snow, and some magical red Christmas decorations, you really get the white and red Christmas look, but one that is real, very alpine and charming.
To make it extra cute, just like this cookie cutter town, think white ceramic rustic baubles (mostly houses and trees, maybe strudels too), paired with red glittery hearts, and lots of warm lights.
How to recreate this Christmas Tree Idea:
1. Prepare your Christmas tree with lights; warm white is always the most traditional choice.
2. Collect charming and traditional matte ceramic baubles. They can be white or cream or ivory, and don’t necessarily need to have any painting on. With this look, it’s more about their shape and texture. You want to choose unique shapes with beautiful designs.
3. Add a few red glitter decorations, like red glitter hearts to achieve that sweet Alpine look you often find in old-style chalets in the Dolomites.
4. Feel free to finish your tree with charming wooden ornaments. I would suggest picking them in an oak finish.
5. You can add a fluffy and furry white tree skirt, or go with a red velvet one.
Shop this look on Amazon:
White and red Christmas ornaments
White and red Christmas ornaments style 2
White and red Christmas ornaments style 3
Red Christmas heart decorations
Pink Christmas Tree Idea
Are you a girly lady who is never tired of adding pink to your closet or your home decor? While that’s not very Italian, there’s nothing wrong with that. I am sharing an elegant pink Christmas theme that even your husband will like. It’s equally great for a girl room Christmas decor, if you want to keep it minimalist and classy.
This is inspired by a Christmas scene set in Brixen I came across while writing this post, so I had to include it.
Imagine walking along one of the narrow charming streets in the old center. The street is lined with gorgeous creamy white and pink pastel buildings. Snow is falling and flocking everything, even the green garlands hanging above you.
They have beautiful hanging stars all lit up illuminating the street, and you are walking under them. The morning sky has a bright blue tone because of the cool air and snow, yet the streets are beautifully illuminated with the warm Christmas lights.
Now let’s turn that scene into a Christmas tree.
How to recreate this Pink and White Christmas Tree:
1. Choose a flocked tree, preferably one that comes pre-lit. Or you can add the lights yourself.
2. Collect creamy white and pink ornaments. They can be baubles, but I also suggest a few ceramic and wooden ones. Angels, dolls, mini houses, and stars are perfect for this look.
3. Add a few illuminated star ornaments for extra charming effect.
4. You can also add paper ornaments and white bows.
5. In terms of color, I would suggest opting for an old rose shade if you prefer a more mature look. For girl room decor, you can stick to pretty pink pastels.
Shop the Pink Xmas Treen Look:
Pink and white Christmas ornaments
Velvet pastel pink Christmas baubles
White and pink Christmas baubles
White rattan Christmas ornaments
Shiny white glass Christmas baubles
Porcelain angels
Angel doll pendants
Flocked Christmas Tree Meets Gold Decorations and Rainbow Lights
Here’s the third Christmas tree idea inspired by the Italian Dolomites. This time I want to merge classic and fun, so if you love color, this one’s for you.
The scene looks something like this..
You are in the middle of the main square in one of the beautiful Dolomites towns. There’s a large real tree that’s naturally flocked with snow, because it has been snowing for weeks. Everywhere you look is also white and snowy. The tree is decorated with warm white lights, golden strings and a few large golden baubles. Those too are now flocked with snow.
Wooden market stalls are scattered around the tree and throughout the beautiful fairytale square. And there’s even a light show going on. The theme is the rainbow, which in Italian we call arcobaleno. That means on top of the white you are also seeing hues of bright blue, purple, yellow, orange, and green.
Now let’s turn this scene into a spectacular Christmas tree.
How to recreate this Flocked Christmas Tree look:
1. Choose a flocked Christmas tree, more white than green, but one where you can still see the green branches.
2. Add a few golden ornaments, maybe some large and small glitter baubles, and a few golden beaded garlands.
3. Now add the fun part. You can do it two ways. The first way is to opt for disco-lights that add those rainbow colors to your tree. The other way is to add fun colored little ornaments that incorporate elements of the rainbow.
4. Keep it minimalist as the beauty of this theme is the contrast between the white flocked tree, the golden ornaments and the rainbow elements.
I wonder how many of you will go with this look.. I am not that extravagant, but I would so much love to see your Christmas trees inspired by my idea.
Elegant Christmas Tree Idea Meets Black Christmas Tree
Do you love black dramatic interiors and high contrast moments? If so, consider going for a black Christmas tree this year. While that sounds the opposite of classic, its balanced and classy look makes it one that will never go out of style. Look at the inspiration images below and you’ll likely agree.
This Christmas tree idea was inspired by this Christmas scene:
Imagine an elegant palazzo in Northern Italy, somewhere like Turin or its surroundings. The weather is moody and cloudy, and it’s Christmas time. This is how I would imagine the Christmas tree in the main room. You could host Christmas eve or New Years eve in that room, serving fancy Italian finger foods, and of course the popular Italian panettone with a glass of champagne.
If you want to see what I would wear for that occasion, read my Christmas Outfits post.
A black Christmas tree with warm or white lights – both styles can do, decorated with a mix of chic silver and gold elegant ornaments, and maybe a few strings of pearls.
If you like this look, here’s how to recreate it:
1. Opt for a black Christmas tree, one that feels realistic and not high quality.
2. Try to source vintage looking silver and golden baubles and ornaments in different shapes. Choose fancy looking shapes that add opulence to the tree.
3. Add string of pearls either in horizontal layers (like in image 1), or criss crossing them (like in image 3).
4. Consider adding silver tinsels.
5. Add some drama to the bottom of the tree. Instead of a normal tree skirt, you could cover the bottom of the tree in lights and baubles, or a mix of lights and golden branches – which you could spray paint.
Shop this elegant look on Amazon:
Champagne baubles
Champagne baubles 2
Beaded pearls string
Gold ornaments set
Gold glass ornaments
Silver glass ornaments
Silver baubles set
Unique Christmas Tree Idea with Italian Flair
Is this the year you go for a unique Christmas tree? Perhaps, you are adding a second or third tree to your Christmas decor, and want to do something different and fun. If so, consider this look.
This is my idea: a medium tree full of warm lights, mini panettone ornaments hanging, champagne bottles, and lots of tinsels. Fill any spaces with anything that reminds you of Italy, like mini pizza decorations, limoncello bottles, colosseum and other famous sights souvenirs, maybe a few Italian characters too. Why not also add your favorite Italy trip pictures?
How to put together this tree:
1. Use your smaller or medium Christmas tree, perhaps you are going to put this in the kitchen or lounge room.
2. Add the lights, if it doesn’t come pre-lit.
3. Add some golden tinsels – the garland style is more old school Italian.
4. Open that box of Italian souvenirs you have collected through the years, and use them to decorate your tree.
5. Get yourself some mini picture frames, and fill them with your favorite shots you took with your family while in Italy.
6. If you can find them, add a couple mini panettone boxes and small champagne bottles. They can be the real food you get to enjoy on Christmas day, or ornaments. I found a pizza Christmas ornament on Amazon, and a set of 4 prosciutto, salami, and cheese ornaments.
Christmas Tree with Cards and a Train with Track
Here’s another magical Christmas tree idea inspired by a real Christmas tree in Italy. This one was put together in Turin’s main station (called Porta Nuova) in 2024.
The main star of the tree were the Christmas cards attached to its lower part. They were used as decorations, but the way they were hung was wise both from an aesthetic point of view and for ease of access. In fact, anyone passing by would be able to read the notes on the cards without even touching the tree.
This is what the tree looked like: a dark tree with lots of golden lights, decorated with a mix of red, silver and gold baubles on top, followed by a section with hanging cards, and then more baubles.
I am proposing a similar look, and we are also adding a train at the bottom. How fun is that?
Here’s how to recreate a Christmas tree with cards:
1. Take your Christmas tree, and add warm lights, or not if it comes pre-lit.
2. Decorate it with evenly distributed round baubles in these three traditional Christmas colors – red, gold, and silver.
3. Fill the spaces with old Christmas cards and notes attached to the branches inside out. You want the text showing in front on the white background, not the Christmas card design.
4. Put a tree skirt, perhaps a green or red one.
5. Add a train on track for that old charm look.
Christmas Tree with Glass Ornaments
Which better country than Italy to inspire your glass Christmas tree?
My idea is to decorate your classic tree with warm lights, and then add two different types of ornaments: Murano style glass ornaments – the ones that are painted on clear glass, and brass vintage decorations. Wouldn’t that look so special?
This is also the perfect Christmas tree theme if you love Venice.
Here’s how to decorate your Christmas tree with glass ornaments:
1. Start with the traditional Christmas tree and warm lights.
2. Add some glass blown baubles, the ones with multi-colors on. I found two styles on Amazon: style 1 and style 2.
3. Then fill in the gaps with the vintage brass ornaments. But don’t worry about the empty space. You want plenty of room so that those stunning glass ornaments can shine!
Woodland Christmas Tree Idea
Looking for a rustic Christmas tree, one that you would find in a cabin or Italian chalet, full of wooden Christmas decorations? Here’s a look to inspire your next Christmas tree.
Green, with pine cones, maybe small ribbons tying the pine cones, maybe some white ornaments too?
How to recreate your woodland Italian rustic Christmas tree:
1. Grab a tree, and add some warm lights.
2. Go pick up some fresh pine cones, ones that you find lying on the ground. Or order a few fake ones on Amazon.
3. Add some cute wooden ornaments, preferably carved, to add that woodland charm.
4. How about adding a lace garland, doily style, a few red currants, and perhaps a cute sheep or two. Red vintage baubles would also look adorable.
Gold and Red Christmas Tree Idea
This one is inspired by a real Christmas tree which was put up in the last few years in a Castle near Benevento, in the region Campania, not far from Naples.
Here’s the scene I saw that inspired this tree idea:
The Christmas tree is placed at the entrance of the castle, under an old Italian cobbled stone ceiling illuminated with golden strings of lights and is huge. The entire space and the tree are decorated with golden baubles of all sizes, and a few scattered red baubles, with lots of tinsels. The tree is standing inside a large terracotta pot. The pot is surrounded by red gift boxes nicely wrapped with golden ribbon, and a charming bicycle all illuminated with lights.
How to decorate your gold and red Christmas tree:
1. Start with the usual traditional green tree, no flocking, and make sure it has warm lights.
2. Gather all your gold decorations – small and medium baubles, tinsels, garlands. Start adding those.
3. Then add a few red baubles or unique style ornaments in any empty spaces.
4. Perhaps, you could take your son’s bicycle and add wrap it with Christmas lights. Otherwise, I am sure you could easily find a mini bicycle to decorate.
5. Take the golden and red decor throughout the room and your house, including at the bottom of the tree.
6. If you want to tone down the gold and red, you could use a beige tree skirt and wrap your gifts in brown paper.
Modern Christmas Tree Idea
Do you live in a modern apartment, and love modern art? Well, your Christmas tree could add to that.
This modern Christmas tree idea is inspired by the Italian flag and Milan interiors. It’s something you would find in a stylish contemporary apartment, or a modern art museum.
How to decorate your modern Christmas tree:
1. Take your Christmas tree. I would opt for a minimalist Scandinavian looking one, that looks fairly real, with the branches spread out.
2. In terms of lights, I would also keep this to a minimum, and choose between warm and white. This is the only theme where I think white lights could actually work really well.
3. Choose your baubles carefully, because they are going to make or break this modern theme. Selecting different sizes is the key to creating an interesting artistic look. And you want to use green, white and red.
4. Layering strategically is equally important. You can inspire yourself from either of the inspiration images I shared above. For the first you will need just baubles, while the second requires a red beaded garland.
5. Don’t be afraid to have empty space. Empty space is fundamental in modern design and interiors.
6. Finally, choose a tree pot that’s modern and makes a statement on its own, like the cubic plant pot in the first image.
Classic Christmas Tree In Italian Homes
I have left the most classic Christmas tree for the end. This is the one I grew up with, and the one you will find in at least 50% of Italian homes.
If you don’t want any special themes this year, this is always a winner, and it’s really fun to decorate it with the family because there are no wrong placements, symmetry and pairings to worry about.
How to decorate an Italian inspired classic Christmas tree:
1. Take your green Christmas tree, usually a medium one not a gigantic one. Most Italian homes are not as tall as the mansions you often see in the US. But of course, use what you’ve got.
2. Add some warm lights, unless your tree comes pre-list. Warm lights are the most traditional and also the cosiest.
3. Gather all your decorations, and have fun adding to the tree with your partner, kids, parents, and grandparents. There’s no right and wrong position.
4. If you want to fill the tree with other things, not only ornaments, consider using garlands and tinsels. I remember my mum adding golden, red and silver garlands to the tree. I personally don’t like them, but they are truly old-style.
I already mentioned earlier that the most traditional Italian Christmas decorations include mini houses, Santas, angels, mini trees, snowflakes, hearts and stars, mushrooms, baubles of course. These come in green, red, gold, silver, and even blue. All these colors are layered together to create a fun Christmas tree that is bold and alive.
More Christmas Resources & Happy Holidays
There you have it, 14 timeless Christmas tree ideas inspired by Italy. You have a really good mix, from traditional and classic to fun and modern, including regal, pretty, and unique themes.
I hope you enjoyed browsing through this article, and got plenty of inspiration for this year, and perhaps the next one too. If you did, please share this article with your friends. It helps them get inspired, and it helps me get my blog in front of more lovely people like you.
Thank you so much for reading. I had so much fun coming up with these ideas and writing the article to share with you.
Love Christmas reads? Read these next:
Italian Christmas Traditions
Italian Inspired Christmas Table Decor
Christmas Outfits Like An Italian Woman
Traditional Christmas Cookies Recipe From Italy
Buon Natale,
Alessia
