Deco My Tree: what it is and how to use it

What is Deco My Tree?

Deco My Tree — short for “decorate my tree” — is a holiday trend where you create a virtual Christmas tree, share its link, and your friends decorate it with ornaments or gifts that hide a message. The twist: you can’t read the messages until Christmas.

The idea went viral in South Korea and spread worldwide through Instagram stories and TikTok, and today several apps and websites offer it. My Tree is our free take on it: you make your tree and collect messages right in your browser, and nobody has to install anything. My Tree is independent and isn’t affiliated with the original Deco My Tree or its developers.

How Deco My Tree works

1. Create your tree

   Go to decomytree.link/create-tree, pick one of 6 trees and a topper, and give your tree a name of up to 30 characters. Save the private link you get: it opens your tree on any phone or computer.

2. Share your link

   Every tree has its own link and an 8-character tree code. Share them in your Instagram story, WhatsApp status, TikTok bio or group chats.

3. Friends decorate it

   They open your link, pick one of 61 gifts, write a message of up to 500 characters and sign it.

4. Open everything on Christmas

   Gifts pile up on your tree, but the messages stay wrapped until December 25. Then you can read them all.

How to share your tree link

• Instagram story: add a Link sticker with your tree link — the classic way to ask friends to deco your tree.
• WhatsApp: post the link as your status or drop it in the family group.
• TikTok, X or Threads: put the link in your bio and ask followers to “deco my tree”.
• No link handy? Friends can type your 8-character tree code at decomytree.link/send-message.

How to leave a message on someone’s tree

1. Open your friend’s tree link — or go to decomytree.link/send-message and enter their tree code.
2. Choose a gift: teddy bears, a snow globe, a plane ticket, a new phone and more.
3. Write your message (up to 500 characters). Stuck? Borrow one of our message ideas.
4. Type your name and choose whether everyone who opens the tree sees it, or only your friend.
5. Send it. Your gift appears on their tree right away and waits there, wrapped, until Christmas.

When can you open your messages?

On My Tree, messages unlock on Christmas Day, December 25. Until then you can watch gifts arrive on your tree, but the notes inside stay locked. Check the Christmas countdown to see exactly how long you have to wait.

Can you see the messages early? Not on My Tree — waiting for Christmas morning is what makes opening them special.

Not just Christmas: birthday and Valentine’s trees

My Tree also has a birthday tree that opens on the birthday you pick and a Valentine’s tree that opens on February 14. They work the same way, with their own gifts: party crowns and birthday bears, or chocolate hearts and roses.

Names, privacy and safety

• Every message is signed, and the tree owner always sees the sender’s name.
• Senders choose whether everyone or only the owner sees their name on the tree. Only the owner can read the messages.
• You can report, delete or block any message or sender on your tree.
• There’s no email or password to forget or leak — your tree is saved in your browser, and your private link opens it anywhere.

Deco My Tree not working? Quick fixes

Searches like “deco my tree not working”, “service unavailable” or “empty token” spike every December, when huge numbers of people open their trees at the same time. If a tree won’t load:

1. Check the link. Copy the whole link again — a cut-off link is the most common problem.
2. Check the tree code. My Tree codes have 8 characters and never use 0, 1, I or O, so they can’t be mixed up.
3. Open it in your browser. If it fails inside Instagram or TikTok, open the link in Safari or Chrome instead.
4. Refresh the page and make sure you’re online.
5. Give it a few minutes. Busy evenings close to Christmas can slow down any service.

Login or password trouble? My Tree doesn’t use accounts at all, so there’s nothing to forget. If you’re stuck with another app, see our Deco My Tree alternative guide.

Is Deco My Tree free?

My Tree is free: creating a tree, sharing it and receiving messages costs nothing, and every gift is free to send.

Is there an iPhone version?

Yes: My Tree runs in the browser, so it works the same on iPhone, Android and computers. Open decomytree.link/create-tree in Safari to make your tree, or any tree link to leave a message.