Marco Zamora has returned to remind the rest of us that our decor ambitions are, frankly, modest. After last year’s floating, spiralized tree went massively viral, this season, he’s escalated to something even more audacious: a ‘frozen’ Christmas tree dripping with 100 crystal icicle branches. It looks couture-level complicated, but recreating it is far easier (and cheaper) to replicate than the final effect lets on.
Admittedly, Marco had a generous canvas to start with: a pre-lit, 12-foot ‘Feel-Real’ fir from National Tree Company that practically dwarfs him in his Instagram demo. Frost was his goal. ‘So the very first thing we did was make all of the icicle branches,’ he explains. ‘I got a bunch of different icicles and these frosted branches, and then carefully connected each icicle to create this frozen branch effect.’ The method isn’t difficult, just repetitious. Marco made 100 branches. Your Christmas tree, presumably less cathedral-sized, won’t need nearly that many.
Once the components were prepped, Marco went in with the first layer: clear, crystal-look glass ornaments in a mix of shapes and scales. Only after the base shimmer was in place did he start looping on the frozen branches, letting them jut past the tree’s natural silhouette – almost as if the icicles were growing from the fir itself. It’s the slight overreach that gives the treescape its whimsy.
‘The tree looked so good, but I felt like it needed a pop of color,’ Marco says of the shift that ultimately took this tree from impressive to absolutely ethereal. ‘So I had the idea of adding deep red amaranthus throughout the tree.’ Threaded between the icicle branches, the burgundy plumes interrupt the sheen from the shimmers of glitter and glass, giving the faux fir a lived-in, almost alive quality. Marco insists it looks even better at night, when the branches catch the glow of twinkling holiday lights.
This surreal Christmas tree is intricate in theory, straightforward in execution. A handful of repeated steps, a sharp eye for proportion, and a few key materials (all of which he linked in his Amazon storefront) are all that stand between you and your own frozen-forest moment.
Marco’s original teardrop icicle ornaments may be sold out, but this near-match brings the same soft lines and metallic frost chips, which is exactly the alchemy that makes the ‘frozen’ effect land.
The look starts with the tree – the canvas for the whole operation. You don’t need a 12-footer like Marco’s to pull this off (the accessories do most of the heavy lifting), but if you are in the market for something spectacular, this is it.
This ornament set didn’t end up on Marco’s tree, but he linked it for a reason. With a sleeker finish than the frosted chips to the left, they offer a quieter shimmer, making them fantastic, understated accents or strategic fillers for bare branches.
These flocked branches are the backbone of the ‘frozen’ effect, so stock up. Marco would have needed around 17 sets to hit his 100-branch quota, but a normal-sized tree can easily achieve that fairytale silhouette with five to eight.
They’re not actually vintage, but this glass ornament set certainly passes for it, with swirling silhouettes and fluted edges. They’re subtle, adding cool, icy glints from across the room, appearing even more impressive up close.
If you buy one thing from this edit, make it the preserved amaranthus. Even the most basic faux flocked tree becomes editorial with these burgundy strands dripping from the branches. Add a few stems to floral arrangements around the room to echo the tree.
2025 might be the year of the most enchanting trees we’ve ever seen, thanks to florals by way of frozen branches and the ‘twinkling twig’ trend. It’s a dazzling combo that might even charm the staunchest minimalists.
