Gen Z is decorating their Christmas trees with bows instead of ornaments

Ornaments have long been considered an essential part of the Christmas tree, but Gen Z is trading in glass baubles for elegant bows this holiday season.

Girly ribbons and bows are experiencing a fashion renaissance thanks to the rise of balletcore, but the younger generation is not only wearing them, they're incorporating them in their decor.

With Christmas just a month away, content creators have been purchasing spools of ribbon in all sizes, colors and patterns to tie into bows and hang from trees instead of ornaments.

The quest for 'Christmas tree bows' has over 10.9 billion views on TikTok, where users proudly show off their minimalist Christmas decorations.

Sara Molenaar (@samanthakatew) shared a video of her decorating her tree with black and ivory bows paired with crystal drops, which she insisted were not decorations.

“I decided that we are making a very minimalist Christmas tree this year because I just don't feel like dealing with tons of big and bulky ornaments,” she explained.

“It's a good thing bows are very aesthetic and very trendy right now because I bought so much ribbon on Amazon.”

Miller added images of herself measuring and cutting the black and ivory ribbon before tying the pieces into bows on the branches of her tree.

“Some might think it's just Jane, but that's okay ChanelI promise,” she said.

'I also bought these crystal drops to add some spice. Don't come to me and say these are decorations,” she warned. “I don't consider these ornaments. I just needed a little sparkle in my life.”

Miller added that cutting out the ornaments sped up the process and said it was the fastest she had ever decorated her tree.

“Look how elegant she is,” she murmured.

Miller was in favor of tying the ribbon directly to the branches, but others had their own methods to speed up the process.

Kristen Hollingshaus (@hauskris) shared her 'DIY Christmas tree bows' hack after struggling to find the style to clip to her tree.

“What I already had were ribbons and hair clips, so what I did, I just tied my own bows with the ribbon, and then I slid the hair clip back,” she explained.

“You can just take it, slide it right over the tree branch, and then you have perfect bows for your Christmas tree.”

Kate O'Donnell (@hellocate.o) revealed in her Christmas decor video that she used a total of six rolls of pink ribbon to decorate her tree.

She noted that she didn't pay much attention to how she tied the bows, but kept the tails long for a “draping effect.”

O'Donnell did not tie or clamp the ribbons to the three. Instead, she simply placed them on the branches.

'No attachments needed. they're just sitting comfortably on the pine tree!' she wrote in the text on the screen. 'I'm obsessed!!!!'

Courtney Crews (@courtneecrews) explained in her clip that she bought a new tree and put her old one in her bedroom.

Instead of decorating a second tree with ornaments, she bought different colored ribbons to tie into bows on the branches, which was more labor-intensive than she expected.

Crews admitted that the process “took forever,” but she was happy with the results.

'I think it's so cute. “I like it so much,” she beamed.

Madison Hager (@madison224422) was just as happy with her bow tree, which she decorated with blue, pink and red ribbons.

The true minimalists decorated their trees exclusively with ribbons, but there were also content creators who incorporated other elements into their designs, including some themed ornaments.

Jorden Pinkerton (@jordanepinkerton​) this year combined black velvet bows with black and white ornaments with geometric patterns and tinsel.

Meanwhile, Aurelie Erikson (@aurelie.erikson) showed how she added a “touch of whimsy and elegance” to her Christmas tree with pink velvet bows and tinsel.