For those with an eye for interior design, decorating the Christmas tree is the highlight of the festive season.
But in the hands of an overzealous decorator, your fir can quickly disappear behind a tangle of tinsel.
Luckily, mathematicians from Sheffield University are here to help ensure your tree doesn’t become gaudy.
They have created a ‘treegonometry’ formula that works out the number of decorations you need.
As long as you know the height of your tree, the calculator will allow you to work out exactly how many baubles, lights, and what length of tinsel you need.
It will even tell you the perfect size for the ornament at the top of the tree – whether you choose a star or a fairy.
‘Being interested in maths can be a struggle for a lot of people but this is a brilliant way of showing an applicable side of maths,’ said Sophie Chong, president of Sheffield University Maths Society (SUMS).
‘This equation – which was created by two former students and SUMS members a few years ago – is a nice and easy equation to get people involved in maths, as well as a bit of good, festive fun.’
How to decorate your tree
The formulae created by the University of Sheffield are aimed at creating the right ratio of decorations for your tree.
The big points are that you need roughly 6.2 baubles for every 30.4cm (one foot) of tree.
Likewise, your star or fairy should be roughly one–tenth the size of the entire tree, to avoid looking out of proportion.
For a small, one–metre (3.2ft) tree, this means you will only need 21 baubles and a 10cm fairy or star to top it off with.
That might not sound like many decorations, but for larger trees, the recommendations for tinsel and lights quickly become quite demanding.
For example, the massive 20–metre (65ft) tree that has been put up in Trafalgar Square, London, would need over 100 metres of tinsel and 62 metres of lights.
However, as long as you keep the right ratios of lights, tinsel, and decorations, experts say you can actually make your Christmas tree much more ornate.
Richard Eagleton, CEO of Claridge’s Flowers, is responsible for decorating the enormous Christmas trees at the 5–star Claridge’s Hotel in London.
Mr Eagleton told the Daily Mail that the amount of decorations you can use depends a lot on the type of baubles you plan on using.
‘We allow around 75–90 baubles for a six–foot tree, assuming they are all about 8 cm diameter and all textured or patterned in some way,’ says Mr Eagleton.
‘This gives a fully decorated look without being over–decorated – leaving plenty of lovely green tree showing through.’
This approach to decoration is significantly more generous than the methods from the University of Sheffield, however, Mr Eagleton says a more ‘chic, pared back look’ is also possible.
For a six–foot tree, Mr Eagleton recommends using about 39 plain baubles, which almost exactly matches the 38 recommended by the formulae.
However, he suggests that this should simply be a ‘base’ coat of decoration, with another 26 or so ‘feature baubles’ to go on top.
‘For a full maximalist look, the most determined decorators should be able to find a space for as many as 130 ornaments,’ Mr Eagleton says.
How to light your tree
When it comes to lighting, there is also a question of personal preference to be considered.
The tree decorating formula tells you how long the string of lights should be to wrap around your tree the ideal number of times.
However, these calculations don’t actually reveal what kind of Christmas lights you should use.
Mr Eagleton says: ‘We use 300 lights on our trees placed in guest rooms because we prefer a lighter, softer look that quietly says Christmas without the tree taking over the room.
‘At home, 500 to 600 lights look magical, but you could get more than 1,000 on a 182cm (six–foot) tree.’
For a 182cm tree, the formula suggests that you will need 572cm of lights.
Using this information, we can work out how densely packed your lights will need to be.
For the gentle, 300–lights look, you will need something with lights roughly every two centimetres.
To get Mr Eagleton’s ‘magical’ glow with 500 to 600 lights, you’ll need a string with lights spaced every centimetre.
Whereas, to pack 1,000 lights on your tree, you’ll need some impressive lights with around two bulbs every centimetre.
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