I bought my first box of tinsel at a thrift store for 99 cents, mostly as a joke.
By the end of that weekend, my living room looked like 1962 and I was completely in love.
Tinsel has a bad reputation, and I get it.
Throw it on in clumps and your tree looks like it lost a fight with a car wash.
But hang it with a little patience and you get a soft, moving shimmer that no string of LEDs can copy.
So here’s everything I’ve figured out: where tinsel came from, which kind to buy, how to hang it strand by strand, and how to keep it away from your pets.
Grab a coffee.
Tinsel Started Out as Real Silver
Here’s one for your next holiday party.
Tinsel was invented in Nuremberg, Germany, around 1610, and the first strands were real silver pulled into thin threads.
So the stuff we think of as tacky began as a luxury.
Silver tarnishes, though, so it went dull fast.
In the early 1900s, cheap aluminum tinsel came along.
After that came lead foil, which stayed shiny and stayed popular for decades.
Yes, lead.
On a tree.
In houses full of toddlers.
The FDA decided in August 1971 that lead tinsel put children at unnecessary risk, and makers and importers agreed to stop after January 1, 1972.
There was never a formal ban, which still surprises me.
Today’s tinsel is usually PVC film with a metallic finish, and that’s what you’ll find in stores.
This old Black and White photo shows the look I’m chasing: a tall tree, a whole lot of tinsel, and a room with a piano and a floral carpet that somebody really lived in.
Strands, Garland or a Whole Tinsel Tree
You’ve got 3 ways to do this, and they’re very different looks.
Loose strands are the classic.
These are the fine single threads that hang straight down from each branch.
You get that icicle look, and you pay for it in patience.
Garland is the thick, fluffy rope version.
It loops around the tree, and you can finish a 6-foot tree in about 15 minutes.
It feels more 1980s than 1950s, and I say that with love.
This silver and red one is a smart buy, because it gives you shine and color in one piece.
A full tinsel tree is the third way.
The branches themselves are tinsel, so the tree is the decoration and all you add is ornaments.
Not sure?
Start with garland on the tree you already own.
You’ll know in 15 minutes whether the shine is for you.
And if you’d rather have a soft, snowy look, my flocked Christmas tree ideas go the other way entirely.
How to Hang Strands So They Look Old-School
This is the goal.
See how each strand falls straight down, and how much green still shows through?
Nobody got that by tossing handfuls at the tree.
Lights go on first, then ornaments, and tinsel goes on last.
It’s light and it clings to everything, so if you hang it any earlier, you’ll spend the next hour picking it off your sleeves.
Take 3 or 4 strands at a time.
Lay them over a branch near the tip and let them drop.
Move over 2 or 3 inches and do it again.
Work from the top down.
Then don’t forget the inside of the tree.
A few strands closer to the trunk give you depth, and the light bounces around in there like crazy.
I’d also wear a cotton shirt, because a fuzzy sweater grabs every strand you walk past.
Plan on about an hour for a 6-foot tree.
Put on a record, pour something warm, and don’t judge it for the first 30 minutes.
It looks a little silly until suddenly it doesn’t.
Start Small With a Tabletop Tinsel Tree
Not ready to commit to a whole tree?
Get a little one.
A small silver tinsel tree on a dresser gives you all the retro mood for about 2 minutes of work.
Look at this one.
It’s got matte black balls and tiny mirror balls on a pleated stand, with no color at all, and it still looks like a party.
If you rent, or your living room is tiny, this is the move.
It stores in a shoebox, it won’t leave needles in the carpet, and you can tuck it next to a lamp where it’ll catch the light all evening.
I’ve got plenty more ideas in my small Christmas tree roundup if your space is tight.
The Silver Tree and the Color Wheel
If you want to go full retro, you want an aluminum tree.
They first went on sale around 1955 from a Chicago company called Modern Coatings, Inc. Most of them ended up coming from the Aluminum Specialty Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and its Evergleam tree sold for $25.
Here’s the clever part.
People worried about fire, so nobody strung lights on those branches.
Instead, a color wheel sat on the floor and turned slowly, washing the whole tree in one color after another.
You can see a little of that magic here, with shiny balls throwing back every color in the room.
Then A Charlie Brown Christmas aired in 1965, and it usually gets the blame for ending the whole craze.
Collectors are hunting for these trees online now, and I keep an eye out on Facebook Marketplace, because of course I do.
One rule here is not up for debate.
Never put electric lights on a metal tree.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that faulty lights can charge the tree, and a person touching a branch could be electrocuted.
Use a color wheel on the floor instead, and check its cord first if it’s an old one.
Lights That Make the Shine Work
You know my rule: overhead lighting is a crime.
It’s twice the crime here.
A ceiling light turns tinsel into a flat gray blur, while tiny lights on the tree turn each strand into a line of sparkle.
On a regular tree, real or fake, tuck your strings deep into the branches so the light comes from inside.
Warm white feels soft and candlelit.
Colored bulbs feel more 1960s, and they’re fun with silver because each strand picks up the color next to it.
If you’re not sure how many strings you need, our Christmas tree lights calculator will do the math.
Then, once it’s dark, turn off the big light, leave on one lamp, and go sit on the floor for a minute.
Ornaments That Read as Vintage
Tinsel loves glass.
A thin striped ball like this one catches the same light as the strands, so the whole tree feels like it belongs together.
Stripes, soft colors and a bit of wear all read as old, even when you bought them new last week.
I skip anything covered in glitter, because glitter plus tinsel is just noise.
Odd shapes help too.
Horns, teardrops and little birds all look like they came out of a box in somebody’s attic.
I’d buy 6 or 8 good ones from a thrift store before I’d buy 50 new balls in a tube.
Pick One Color Story and Stick to It
Too many colors is how tinsel turns tacky.
All that shine is already loud, so give it one simple story and let it be.
Silver and blue feels icy and very 1960s, like this tree.
Silver and red is the classic, and it’s the one I’d pick for a warm room or an older house.
All silver with black, like that little tabletop tree, is the most modern of the three.
If you lean warmer, try gold tinsel instead.
My gold and red Christmas tree post has plenty to steal from.
Thrift Finds, New Boxes and One Thing to Check
New PVC tinsel is the easy choice.
It won’t tarnish, and you’ll find it anywhere that sells Christmas stuff.
Old boxes are more tempting, and I’ve spent more than one midnight on Facebook Marketplace looking at them.
But anything from before 1972 could be lead foil, and the safety commission says to choose tinsel made of plastic or nonleaded metals.
So if a box has no date on it, I enjoy it as a display piece and keep it off the tree.
When January comes, don’t shove it all into a bag.
Wrap the strands around a piece of cardboard, slip that into a box, and you’ll save yourself a tangled mess next year.
It takes 10 minutes and it keeps your budget happy, since you won’t be buying it twice.
Keep Tinsel Away From Pets
Biscuit thinks anything on the floor is a snack, so I take this part seriously.
The ASPCA says swallowed tinsel can cause severe vomiting, a blocked digestive tract and dehydration, and it may need surgery.
It suggests you brighten your boughs with something else.
Cats are the bigger worry.
A University of Illinois vet explains that tinsel gets caught on the tiny barbs of a cat’s tongue, so once it starts, more gets swallowed.
And if you ever see a strand hanging from your pet’s rear end, don’t pull it.
Pet Poison Helpline is very clear on that one.
Call your vet.
My own setup is garland only, high up, and a quick vacuum every day.
If I had a cat, I’d skip tinsel and let shiny glass balls do the job.
Here’s how I’d choose for your house.
Now go turn off that overhead light.
Your tree’s about to look like 1962, in the best way.
Related read: Things I Wish I Knew Before I Decorated My First Home — Instant PDF + Kindle download. Secure checkout by Stripe