- Elle’s lifelong love of Christmas began in childhood and followed her into adulthood and family life.
- After losing her job during Covid and struggling with postnatal depression, she searched for a new sense of purpose.
- In 2024, she launched Christmas To You, offering decorated tree hire and custom styling for homes and businesses.
- With her family’s support, Elle is now growing her business and dreams of donating a decorated tree to a children’s hospital.
Here Elle Tsaousis, 30, Melbourne, Vic, tells her own story in her own words.
Arms reaching up high, I put the shining star in place.
Perfect, I smiled, taking in the towering tree adorned with bows, baubles and ornaments in shades of red and gold.
It was only October, but for me Christmas is on my mind all year round.
In September last year, I started my venture as a Christmas tree decorator, encouraged by my husband George, then 36.
My love for trees started young. Like all kids, I had a ball unwrapping my gifts on Christmas morning, but what I looked forward to even more than that was setting up the tree.
My brothers Jono and Dean by my side, I would carefully place each bauble with precision.
‘Great job, Elle,’ my dad, Arthur, would cheer as Elvis Presley’s ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’ crooned through the speakers.
What I looked forward to even more than that was setting up the tree.
The magic of Christmas stayed with me when I moved in with my fiancé George, then 29, in 2017. We married that year, too.
I was over the moon when my parents let me take our family Christmas tree with me!
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Fluffing the green plastic branches, the smell of my vintage tree transported me to my happy memories at home, now we were creating our own together.
Then in 2018 my sister-in-law Athi asked if I’d come and decorate her tree.
‘I’ve got all the ornaments and lights, I just don’t have the knack you do,’ she said.
‘Of course!’ I agreed – any excuse to get creative and decorate.
So I went around and spent a few hours hanging ornaments and finessing the colour scheme.
‘It’s stunning, thank you,’ she smiled, admiring my work.
Maybe others would pay me to do this too, I thought.
So I shared my idea with George.
‘You should give it a go,’ he said.
But busy with work, I didn’t have the time to pull it off. And when we welcomed our son, James, in July 2020, adjusting to life as a mum meant I forgot all about it.
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I’d sadly lost my job as a result of Covid and, struggling with postpartum depression, I felt like I’d lost myself.
Searching for my purpose, in September 2024, I kept coming back to the thing that always made me happiest – Christmas.
And now James was old enough to help me decorate, it made the occasion even more precious. This time, I wasn’t going to let anything hold me back!
Choosing the name Christmas To You, I trawled Facebook marketplace for second-hand trees I could decorate and hire out to businesses and busy families.
After giving the trees a good clean, I started sourcing baubles, bows, lights, and decorations in gold, silver, white, red and green. Soon our living room looked like a Christmas wonderland!
Practising styling, I tried out different themes, such as traditional red and green, and shining silver, making sure I had something to suit everyone’s taste.
Snapping photos, I shared them on my social media pages, explaining how customers could rent a decorated tree, order a custom design, or I could decorate their own tree with their ornaments.
When I got my first booking the night of my launch, it was like a dream come true.
Slowly, as word spread, the jobs came in. From businesses to families, every job was different, but the best part was hearing how much they loved the tree.
I kept coming back to the thing that always made me happiest – Christmas.
I can’t stop staring at it, one client wrote.
You’ve made my Christmas so magical, added another.
In my first year, I decorated seven trees. This year, I’m on track to decorate 22!
And I don’t just do Christmas! I spent hours spray-painting plastic pumpkins and skulls gold for Halloween.
It can take me up to eight hours to decorate and install a tree.
When the decos aren’t being used, they’re stored across my house, and my family’s homes.
James, now five, loves helping sort new baubles. He calls himself my ‘business partner’.
We put up our tree in October ahead of my busy period. I loved seeing James’ face light up as he added ornaments and lights.
‘How’s this, Mum?’ he smiled, placing on his favourite Super Mario baubles.
And George, 37, always puts the star on top of our tree! He’s my biggest support and I couldn’t do this without him.
My dream is to donate a decorated tree to a children’s hospital.
Spreading Christmas cheer brings me so much joy, and that’s greater than any gift!
Elle’s top tree tips!
TREE PICKS – Sprays or picks (decorative stems of flowers, berries, etc) that look like branches are a great way to fill a tree and give texture.
FILLER BAUBLES – Don’t be afraid to use bigger baubles to help fill out gaps! I like to push them into the tree instead of simply hanging them off the branch.
CLUSTER – You can cluster picks, flowers and baubles. It’s a great way of making larger pieces for a tree.
VELVET – I like to use two metres of velvet as a tree skirt as it’s low cost and effective.
HAVE FUN – Be creative. Use floral wire to fix things like battery candles, reindeer, books, teddies, nutcrackers, and anything else you love!
