Being that someone I’ve already told you about who just has to buy a few (ok, sometimes quite a few) new ornaments every year, eventually that family tree started really, really getting full. Again.

Yes, I’d already added a tree in the living room, but I soon noticed I was going to be “forced” into adding another one if I wanted to keep up with my collecting ornaments every year.

And I couldn’t have that, could I?

Looking around at the ornaments I had on that tree, I realized there were a lot of them in the candy/cookie/gingerbread theme. Maybe there weren’t enough (yet) to fill another big tree, and we didn’t have room for another really big one. But being the resourceful fanatical ornament collector that I’ve become, there was always a way.

So…we have a fish tank in our side foyer off the kitchen, and I noticed there would be a space for another tree if we moved the big silk plant beside the tank. I think I remember asking my husband if we could. Or maybe I just brought another 5 foot tree home and set it up to surprise him. I can’t quite remember.

But the fish needed to have a little Christmas in their space as well, didn’t they? And the smaller trees I can usually set up by myself, just in case I want to surprise someone.

Yes, he thought I was really getting a bit crazy by now (he had no Idea what was coming), but he did agree that the fish probably needed a little Christmas, too, and that’s all I needed!

I collected all the cooking and Christmas treat ornaments I already had, and of course added a few (dozen) more. And once again, very conveniently, the craft stores that year were filled with those clay cookie ornaments that you could even personalize, so I was thrilled to get them (on sale, of course)!

Combining those with all the similar ones I already had, and adding my old candy garland from many years ago, made my Christmas baking tree really easy to put together.

Hallmark had even cooperated with me and came out with a series of cooking appliance ornaments, like mixers and things, and their own line of cupcakes, so what more did I need!?

That tree of course has now expanded by more (ok, quite a few more) ornaments in the same theme, and our grandchildren just love it! They spend probably half an hour looking at it when it first goes up, and it’s so cute when our granddaughter Rachel keeps telling her little sister not to touch it as she points out her favorite ornaments. And of course, she’s touching them as she says that!

Looking at some of my collection of ornaments on here, you can tell this is definitely a tree that children just love!. And since it’s right off the kitchen, where we always bake our Christmas cookies, how more appropriate can it be?

So what do you think of this one? It would probably look better if I knew how to take better Christmas tree pictures, but you get the idea.

The fish seem to be happy, too! And they’re even happier now since last year my husband gave them their own set of decorations for their tank! So their home gets decorated when ours does.

And what did I do next? Find out in “Each Tree Has a Story, Part 5” to be published December 13.