Tag Archives: Christmas decorating

Each Tree Has a Story, Part 12

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After the foyer tree, we really didn’t expect to need/get another one.

But remember what I was saying about our shopping experience the day we saw that ombré tree that’s now in our foyer?

Well…here’s the story. This year it seems like Santa Claus is everywhere. And not just in his typical red suit and big old toy bag.

This year Santa was arrayed in any number of different outfits. I immediately found one dressed in a flamingo tropical shirt with shorts and flip flops, a straw hat, sunglasses, and of course holding a margarita in one hand and a sandy looking Christmas wreath in the other. Perfect for our flamingo themed Florida room. So in the cart he went. 

Then I saw a beautiful Santa in a pink velvet suit with matching toy bag. He’d be a perfect addition to our living room decor and our pink and white angel tree. We had to have him as well. 

The whole Christmas department at Home Goods was filled with Santa Clauses! I kept looking at them all, sort of like I used to do when I was a little girl looking at all the dolls in the toy store at Christmas.

And then Ben told me he had an idea. Which actually involved buying several more Santa Clauses. We found one in a beautiful royal blue and silver cape. One was in a teal colored suit with beachy accessories. And we already had three at home from last year.

And then there were two of them that could either sit or stand, so they joined the other Santa’s in the cart. I wasn’t sure what he had planned but I knew one thing.  Santa Claus was definitely coming to our house! Several of them, in fact!

He finally told me sort of what his idea was when we got to the car. And I was very much in favor of it! In fact it was one of his best ideas yet, but don’t tell him I said that.

And then, a few days later back in one of my other favorite decorating stores, we found another Santa that had our names written all over it. A Santa Claus in a red suit with a gold vest carrying a wine bottle and grapes with a sign saying “I love cooking with wine…and sometimes I put it in the food”. And it just so happened I needed a new decoration for the buffet in our dining room…and he looks great there!

So what do all the Santa Clauses have to do with another Christmas tree? It’s really quite simple. Ben designed a beautiful display on our foyer ledge, incorporating all of the Santa Clauses we bought. Two of them are resting on each side of the display, and the others are standing either in the snow or riding in the two white sleighs we added.

And you see, with all those Santa Clauses on the ledge, they just HAD to have their own Christmas tree!

So we used that as the centerpiece for the design. One with snow on it, of course!

What do you think? Did he do a good job?

Each Tree Has a Story, Part 11

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Last year I kept saying I wanted to get a tree that I could hang nothing but our collection of family photo ornaments on. I just didn’t know what kind or where I’d put it. My husband thought I was crazy, of course.

But then this year as we were walking through Home Goods after making some Christmas purchases we really didn’t need, that were actually HIS idea (although I didn’t argue), we saw a beautiful slim shiny beige and peach ombré tree that was absolutely stunning! We didn’t know where we’d put it though, so we reluctantly left it behind as we left the store with our purchases.

Of course the whole way driving over to our next destination we were both thinking about that tree and wondering where we could put it. And as luck would have it, both of us came up with an idea about the same time that was just about the same. That almost never happens!

He said we’d go get it the next day, and of course I reminded him they only had two in the store, and if we didn’t get it now we might miss out!

So he reluctantly drove back to the store and we ended up with our new ombré tree! That was supposed to be decorated with all of our Christmas photo ornaments. We immediately put it in the foyer where we both had thought it would fit. And it did. It was perfect!

Unfortunately after looking at it, we realized the photo ornaments would be too heavy for it. So scratch that idea! But it looked so perfect by the staircase next to the table holding a bunch of family photos, we couldn’t return it.

So the next day I began the search for the perfect ornaments and actually found them at Home Goods’ sister store Home Sense that had just opened a couple of weeks ago not far from our house. The tree is beautiful and actually is the highlight of our entrance way. The picture just doesn’t do it justice!

The problem is, we still need something for the photo ornaments, but right now they’re still spread out between three other trees. I guess we’ll worry about that again next year. 

We didn’t really think we would end up with any more trees this year, but….

Remember my saying we’d bought a lot of items at the store we really didn’t need but we got them anyway? Well, it seems like those purchases turned out to require another tree.

More to follow on “Each Tree Has a Story Part 12”, to be published on December 7, 2023.

We Only Get One Christmas Per Year

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So make the most of it.

Put your decorations up early. They’re yours and if it makes you happy, who cares what others think?

If you want more than one tree, or even more than two or three, it’s your choice. Your decision. Who cares what other people think? We now have ten big ones and four 2 foot ones, after getting a new one this year that we just couldn’t resist.

If you want to bake lots of Christmas cookies, even if you’re not planning to eat them all, make them. You can always give them to friends and neighbors. And if they’re not perfect, who cares?! It’s fun and if it makes you happy, do it.

If you want to help your kids or grandkids make gingerbread houses that you know will never look like the pictures on the box, do it. As long as they have fun, who cares? It’s not like you’re going to eat them, and they’ll be proud of their accomplishments.

Take the kids or grandkids to see Santa, and if you want to tell him what you’d like for Christmas, do it! Who cares!

If you want to wear an ugly Christmas sweater, wear it! Others may decide it’s ok and wear one, too. (And if it has a flamingo on it, that’s even better!)

If you want to wear reindeer antlers or a Santa hat, put it in and wear it proudly!

If you want to binge watch holiday movies with a cup of hot chocolate, go for it! And add extra whipped cream!

If you find a really special ornament you really, really want, buy it! There’s always room for one more ornament on one of those trees!

If you want to give gifts to people you don’t really see that often, and probably won’t get you one, get the gift. If it makes you feel good, why not?

If you want to put Christmas collars on your pet, do it! Or dress them up, do it. And take them to see Santa if you want to. You can even hang up stockings for them and give them gifts. We do.

And if you see a Christmas throw pillow that you absolutely have to have, get it. You can always find a place for another one!

And if you happen to like fruitcake, then eat it! You don’t have to go along with everyone else!

And most importantly, if you want to put a stuffed pink flamingo wearing a Santa hat on your stairs, do it! We did!

Enjoy your Christmas decorating. After all, it’s only once a year!

De-Ornamenting the Trees 2022

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I had originally posted this a few years ago, but decided to update it for this year,

I think I just invented a new word in 2018. Maybe. But it sure says what I’m feeling right now!

De-ornamenting. Better known as taking down the Christmas trees and other holiday decorations. Returning to whatever state of normalcy we live in the rest of the year.

We actually have 8 Christmas trees every year. Well, if you want to be technical there’s actually now 12, but the skinny white flamingo tree in the Florida room stays up all year with its clear mini lights and huge assortment of the various flamingo decorations we’ve collected over the years. And there are now three 2 foot little trees which are in the kitchen, our granddaughters’ guest bedroom, and my craft studio, but they only take a few minutes to take down. There’s also a lighted palm tree in the far corner of our family room, with its clear lights and eclectic collection of beach and a few extra flamingo ornaments that wouldn’t fit on the other tree, but we don’t count that one. (If you missed my blog series “Each Tree Has a Story” check it out to see all these trees in their full grlory!)

And yes, putting up all those trees is a lot of work, along with hanging the stockings, putting out the silk poinsettias, and decorating the foyer ledge in a holiday theme. It takes several days. But it was worth it. And it’s worth it every year.

Because there’s just something special about the beauty of Christmas decorations. The sparkling lights, the candles, the shiny ornaments on the trees, and the magnificent sight of so many homes lit up with colorful and imaginative lighted displays in front yards. It just gives each home a touch of brand new elegance, and when the only light in your living room or family room comes from that Christmas tree, it just feels different. Almost magical, with an air of expectancy. The perfect room for enjoying time with family and friends.

And then in all too short a time, it’s all over. It’s time to take everything down, pack it carefully away, and wait another year to bring it back and create those feelings all over again. Even thought taking it down is a bit quicker, it’s still an awful lot of work.

Many people say they’re done with it all the day after Christmas Day, and can’t wait to pull everything down and put things back the way they were. Before the decorating…before the transformation began…before the magical beauty entered their home and took over, just for an all too brief time. Maybe they just don’t feel that special sense of magic that some of us do.

I’m just the opposite. I dread taking down all the decorations. Not because of all the work involved, because my husband and I do it together as a team. But because I just don’t like giving up the sparkle…the glow…and the special feelings that all the decorations bring, not only to our home, but to our lives. There’s a special feeling in our home when all those trees are decorated and lighted that just appears for that one all-too-short time. I really can’t describe the feeling. But I know there are more of you out there that feel the same way.

A few of our friends have actually left their trees up and just changed the theme. One friend re-did hers as a winter tree with icicles, silver ornaments, and snowmen. Another friend re-did hers in a Mardi Gras theme. Well, I do keep our flamingo tree up year round, so i guess I’m right there with them.

Spending the weekend removing and carefully packing up ornaments was not fun. And we’re still not quite done. It wasn’t just all the tedious work involved in doing it. It was thinking about all the memories so many of those ornaments evoked. My grandmother’s glass birds that have survived over 100 Christmases still intact. The ornaments that graced my mother’s tree when she still put one up. The special ornaments memorializing my husband’s and my first Christmas together…our daughter’s first Christmas. And now our two granddaughters’ first Christmas ornaments, along with framed picture ornaments of our daughter’s wedding the grandchildren growing up, and their trips to see Santa Claus.

Now there are empty spots in our rooms where the trees were. Not literally, because the furniture we moved to make room for our Christmas trees is slowly going back into place. But it still takes while to have it feel “right” again. But it will. In a few weeks or so. And we’ll forget about all the beauty and “specialness” of those Christmas decorations until about ten months later until it’s time to start thinking about it again.

But then the cycle starts again as the next Christmas season approaches and we once again get to experience that special excitement, that magical feeling as the trees once again are dressed in their familiar splendor with, of course, a few new ornaments that we traditionally add every year.

Am I looking ahead already? Of course! Because I’m already looking forward to that special magic that starts to happen when we start putting it all back together again. And we don’t wait til after Thanksgiving any more to start decorating.

Or maybe we could even do Christmas in July? Maybe a beach themed masterpiece. Decorated shells and starfish…clear ornaments with sea glass and sand inside of them…some kind of beachy garland…maybe on a blue Christmas tree? What do you think? Who wants to help join in the fun?

After Christmas Blues?

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Yes, it happens. It’s real. And there are reasons it happens to some people, most of us, really, to some degree. It’s a natural reaction.

Think about it for a minute. 

You work so hard at preparing for this one big, important day. For many of us it starts before Thanksgiving. We’re bombarded with Christmas shopping ads on the radio, TV, and social media almost as soon as Halloween is over. 

Suddenly the stores are filling with gift ideas and holiday decorations. Craft stores are stuffed with Christmas goodies of every kind to make special gifts and fun projects for the kids and grandkids. You’re hearing wall to wall Christmas music everywhere you go.

It’s already overwhelming and it’s not even Thanksgiving.

There’s an unspoken push to rush to get everything done so you can have a picture perfect Christmas. Which actually doesn’t exist, by the way.

We’re almost as bad in our household. Our ten trees (yes, ten; read my series describing them “Each Tree Has a Story”) go up every year now before Thanksgiving. Why? Because I love the beauty of them and the way it brightens our home. It’s a lot of work, but I really do enjoy it.

But then there’s shopping, baking, gift wrapping (thank goodness for my husband who enjoys it), visits to Santa with the grandkids, Christmas lists, parties (well, not so many of them in recent years). It’s almost an overload, and for some people it is.

Instead of taking time to enjoy the beauty and peace of the season, many of us frantically rush around and knock ourselves out trying to be sure every little detail is perfect. Our lists have lists, even.

It just gets totally crazy. 

And for those with kids, it’s even crazier, because they’re so excited about Santa Claus, and presents they just can’t wait. “How many more days, Mommy?” is heard at least ten times a day, or so it begins to seem.

It’s exhausting. 

And Christmas Eve sometimes brings panic in procrastinators who put everything off til the last minute. Those of us with lists go over them two or three more times to be sure everything is done, from presents for everyone on our lists to Christmas Day breakfast and dinner. Do we have everything?  What did we forget? Instead of breathing a sigh of relief and relaxing, our nerves are on edge. 

Then comes Christmas Day with all the madness. All the carefully wrapped gifts are torn open, wrapping paper and bows discarded everywhere, and quickly the room where presents are opened goes from beautiful anticipation of what’s inside those boxes and bags to a blur of chaos, trashed paper, and boxes piled around everywhere. And at our home, the grandkids deciding to play with the empty gift bags and putting the dogs’ toys in them to give as more “gifts”.

And suddenly it’s over. Done. All that hard work for an hour or two of excitement.

And now what? We have our traditional dinner and eat too much, friends and families may drop by, and then suddenly it’s over, almost as quickly as it began that morning. 

To some of us it means another Christmas of happy memories to cherish. To some it’s a relief that it’s all over and things can return to normal again. To some it’s the opportunity to go out the next day and collect more things on sale for next Christmas. Like we really need to do that.

But for many others, it’s a sense of letdown. There’s nothing left to anticipate. There’s nothing to plan for right away. Nothing to look forward to with excitement. Just the remnants that have to be put away for another year.

Or for some, it’s disappointment that Christmas didn’t measure up to what they expected, what they wanted, or what they hoped for. All that hype and preparation, and for what?

Suddenly life returns with a vengeance. All the things we put out of our minds for this special time quickly come back, and once again we’re overwhelmed in a different way. This beautiful time of friends and family and joy we just experienced is gone. 

Or so it seems. We think about how we’d like to go back to those feelings we had on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but sadly, the magic seems to be have left when the clock struck midnight. And now the winter is ahead and we realize it’s back to our day to day world. As if Christmas never happened.

We miss that anticipation of something wonderful being about to happen. And worry about what life is going to bring next. And it depresses a lot of people.

Why can’t every day have the excitement of Christmas? Wouldn’t it be nice? But then, we’d lose the sense of excitement of those special days in our lives.

Why not start changing your outlook now by taking a moment each day to think about something you’re anticipating. Not the daily dreading of a day that might not go as you’d like, but the anticipation that something wonderful could happen at any time. Something to look forward to.

A surprise phone call. A chance meeting with someone you never expected. A friend bringing good news. Reconnecting with people you haven’t seen in months, or even years.

Something great can happen at any time. And it usually does when you least expect it. 

Because not everything wonderful that happens is limited to Christmas. That’s just the beginning. It’s time to turn those blues into sunshine.

Each Tree Has a Story, Part 10

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Yes, this is the last installment. A short one, at that.

Yes, we’ve basically run out of room for more Christmas trees. Big ones, that is.

But there are tabletop trees. Which fit conveniently in small places. And a few other decorating ideas as well.

I’d been given a little 2 foot tabletop tree a couple of years ago from a coworker to use in my office. I loved it, and I even made my own garland to go on it. It was a perfect addition for Christmas, and I also added some Santa Claus flamingo ornaments (of course) to the little tree skirt. Everyone loved it.

Because of Covid, last March my department started working remotely, and we have been ever since. So this year I brought that little tree home and set it up in my craft studio. And it fit perfectly! I can work on my jewelry and have a Christmas tree with me.

That gave me an idea though, of course, and I decided to do a little tabletop gingerbread man tree in the desk area of our kitchen. After all, I bake Christmas cookies in there every year, so it was only appropriate. The size was perfect. Plus there was no room in the kitchen for another tree. I love these ornaments with the cookies holding the spoons and such, and so did the grandkids! And yes, the wine cork snowman sitting beside it is also my creation.

Then there are the wine cork trees I made for the dining room bar. They actually aren’t quite as easy as I thought they’d be, but since I had several bags of corks just waiting to be used, who was I to just let them sit around and do nothing?

And since I had a few of those Styrofoam cones left over from the wine cork trees, I decided to try making the yarn wrapped decorative trees, which were a lot easier to do. My husband says I’m done now for this year, because we’re running out of room again!

And as a surprise for our granddaughters, in their mermaid bedroom we‘d decorated for them at our house, I set up another little white tabletop tree with mermaid and seahorse ornaments. They were so excited! They may not spend the night here often, but it doesn’t mean their room has to go undecorated for the season.

Last, but certainly not least, there’s our Christmas ledge, decorated by my husband. When we built our home some 20+ years ago we had the builder add this feature we’d seen in another model house. We thought it gave a finishing touch to the two story foyer, and it absolutely did.

Although usually decorated with a generic theme most of the year, Ben also loves to decorate it for Christmas. Over the years we’ve had small Christmas trees up there, several wrapped packages, Christmas angels, lighted poinsettias, and for the last couple of years two fancy Santa Clauses we just couldn’t resist. All set up on lighted Buffalo snow. 

It’s something he really enjoys doing, and he changes it up just a bit every year.  Of course I sort of assist by helping him take the current decor down and handing him the lights, snow, and whatever else he wants to add, but this is his creation, and lots of our neighbors have told us how much they enjoy seeing the lights from our ledge every year.

Yes, all of this is a lot of work, but it’s worth it to see the house just filled with Christmas every year. It puts us all in such a happy holiday spirit.

And just about every room now has its own Christmas tree, so I guess there may not be any new ones for next year. But….I saw this really pretty little blue Christmas tree decorated with teal ornaments on the December issue of Southern Living just a few nights ago, and I’d sure like to figure out a way to add that one next year, but please don’t tell my husband yet….

So Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Spend time with your family. Love each other. 

And remember the reason for the season. It’s not all about Christmas trees, you know. They’re just a nice accent!