Dec 13 - Tree

Do you have rituals or traditions relating to your holiday tree?

We don't really have any rituals or traditions as it relates to the tree.  I guess the closest thing we have would be letting the kids put the ornamnets on themselves, but that has only been for the past several years.

During our first Christmas, Jeremy and I had a Charlie Brown type tree.  It wasn't even an entire tree...it was the top portion of a tree my Mom used to use at her dress shop.  But she was generous enough to give it to us, because otherwise we would have been sans tree that year {and for the next 5 years}.

Finally, in 2004, after 5 years of marriage and the addition of our first child, I splurged and bought our own tree.  At the time, we lived in a house that had a rather large living area and vaulted ceilings {can you see where this is going?}  So, I used a coupon at Hobby Lobby and bought a 7.5 foot, pre-lit tree.  It was a traditional looking tree and was perfect for us!  We filled it with the ornaments my grandma had given us as well as the few ornaments Jeremy and I had collected throughout our childhoods.

Well, we moved to our current house and the 7.5 ft tree was just GIGANTIC in this room.  Last year we resorted to the little "half" tree again and it was okay, but I missed having something bigger.  We needed to find a happy medium. 

It was then that I decided I would search for a tree during the after-Christmas sales.  Reading through my stacks of home decorating magazines and blogs I saw lots of white trees.  Something about them spoke to me.  The seem a little bit retro, a little non-traditional and somewhat Funky!  That sealed the deal, I would be searching for a medium sized {WHITE} tree!

And I was absolutely ecstatic to find our current tree.  A pre-lit, approx. 6 ft tree.  At the bargain price of $35!!! It stayed nice and wrapped up in the box for the previous 11 months, but I couldn't wait to pull it out and put it up!  The only problem was that our furniture was going to need a major re-arrangement!  It involved taking the legs off the loveseat and moving it to Cambree's room temporarily and moving the other furniture around in the living room.  I really wanted to have the tree in front of our window, so I put it in place first and placed the furniture around it!

I figured Jeremy would throw a fit about a white tree, but so far he hasn't said anything.  Either I was wrong and he doesn't care or he is wise enough to keep his opinion to himself!

Pleased.  That's what I am with our new tree.  I wasn't sure how I would feel about the colored lights, but I like them.  Normally I am a white light type of girl, but I like the retro-modern vibe of the colored lights.  They are pink, green, yellow, blue and red.  I love the way they play off the ornaments and I enjoy driving home at night and seeing the glow from the window!  I only hope those driving by get as much enjoyment out of it as we do!

How about your tree? Is it real? Fake? Green? White? Colored lights? White lights?  Themed? Random?

"Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree.

In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall."

- Larry Wilde