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Right before my trip to Greece in September, one of the best known Christmas decoration brands, Goodwill, with over 30 years experience, invited me for a lovely trip to Antwerp. I got the exciting opportunity to be part of a group of bloggers from all over Europe who attended a full-day workshop, learning everything there is to learn about the wonderful world of Goodwill Christmas decorations.

I spent the night at the delightful HotelO Sud. A lovely Goodwill goodiebag was waiting for me, which helped to get me in the Christmas mood. The room had a jacuzzi the size of a small swimming pool, you can easily fit in there with 4 people! The next morning we were picked up to head to the Goodwill Showroom. The Goodwill team greeted us with the most delicious pastries and coffee.

 
I just have to tell you how impressed I was by their huge showroom! Goodwill has a very large collection, in different themes, from very traditional Christmas decoration to super cool tropical vibes. Most of their designs are handmade including miniature Chanel bags, colorful fairies and I even found some quirky options, like pieces of cheese. After our tour around the showroom we had a wonderful lunch with Jean-Paul, the founder of Goodwill, at a beautifully created Xmas table.

 
We had the chance to meet Darren Roy McKay, the designer and head of decoration at Goodwill. He took the time to explain how to professionally decorate the perfect Christmas tree. Darren really went all out and showed us how to add some special magic to it. He created a gorgeous nostalgic over-the-top X-mas tree as we were sitting around him, marveling at his skills! And with his master X Mas moves Darren made it all look super simple.

 
And then it was our turn… So it turns out it’s actually not as simple as Darren made it seem 😉 But it was tremendous fun. I partnered up with my girl from Paris @Meetmeeinparee. We thoroughly enjoyed picking out our ornaments and dressing up our tree in the sparkliest way possible. For our primary decorations, we went for a tree full of peacocks, lots off glitter and as many bows as possible.

 
6 TIPS //
Here are 6 tips that I never knew and made a tremendous difference, when you’re creating a beautiful tree:

1- FLUFF IT UP //
Start to ’fluff’ your tree and make it look alive again. After storing, the branches are usually a bit squashed and flattened, so you have to first make the tree look fuller and appear more voluminous.

2 – LIGHTS //
Then start putting in your X-mas lights! I used to do this towards the end but you can easily fix broken bulbs at this point and it sets a fantastic base to create a fabulous tree.

3 – PICK YOUR COLOUR SCHEME //
Before you start decorating, pick out the theme that you want to work with. This is pretty crucial for a cohesive tree 🙂

4 – START DECORATING ON THE INSIDE //
The next step is to add branch & leaf-shaped pieces to make your tree look fuller. Start by adding some glass baubles 5 inches (12.5 centimeters) away from the trunk. This creates depth and adds some reflection with your X-mas lights and most importantly: it prevents that you end up with empty-looking spaces.

5 – HANG YOUR EYECATCHING ORNAMENTS //
As you stand there in front of your tree, surveying all your ornaments, you will immediately be drawn to the most spectacular, eye-catching ornaments in your collection. Make sure to bring those special ones toward the front, if possible at eye level and make sure you can see the ornaments at their best angle. If you have more ornaments of the same kind, cluster them close to each other, preferably in uneven groups of 3 to 5 to create impact.

6 – ADD THE FINISHING TOUCH //
Add a finishing touch with beautiful bows. You can create them yourself by using silver wire and ribbons. You can really experiment and have fun! Bows are also great on top of the tree!

I had the best time with the Goodwill & Native Nation team, the lovely photographer and the super nice bloggers I met on this trip. Looking back on this day, I can hardly believe how much I learned. I can’t wait to decorate my home this Christmas and go crazy with the Christmas vibes!

If you want to find out where you can get the beautiful Goodwill decorations, here is the store locator.

I hope you’re excited for Holiday season, because I am! 🙂
X Merel