Christmas tree tour

Today, let's tour the Christmas tree.

For years our tree was a mish-mash of ornaments. Those I bought, those that my parents sent to us, hand made noodle ornaments from the kids. And I loved it, but I always longed for a picture perfect tree. You know, the ones that get themselves on covers of magazines.

In 1998 I broke down and bought an artificial tree, because the live blue spruces at the lot were too expensive and I am allergic to fir trees. The kids got a small fir tree for downstairs, but a few years later I bought them an artificial tree as well. The downstairs tree had all the kids' ornaments and the mish-mash beloved ornaments on it. But my artificial blue spruce? It was lovely with it's hand painted balls, crocheted (by me) bells and snowflakes, white lights and velvet bows on every branch, topped by Miriam, the angel. And everyone that came to the house loved it. It was picture perfect.

But I was always drawn to the beloved ornaments downstairs on the kids' tree. I get them an ornament every year and get me a new one as well so that when they move out and take theirs, I will still have some. And I love decorating with the kids.

But this year I was tired of my picture perfect tree. I wanted to do an old fashioned Christmas from my childhood, so I spent the year looking for and buying ornaments off of E-bay and other places. I started the hunt for one particular ornament. I wanted a light blue ornament with a church scene on it. I hung that ornament on the tree every year from the time I was six and took it to school, until it broke in 1996. I cried when it broke. I have looked for one since then. I didn't find one, but I did find a couple that came close. Plus a whole bunch of others from my childhood memories. And my mom sent me some that she was no longer using.

I was going to do a live tree this year because I miss a real tree, but I am headed to my parent's house and didn't want to have to take the tree down after work tomorrow and there is no way I would leave one in the house while I am gone, so we used the artificial one again. But it is starting to look tired and worn out. I need to start a savings envelope for a new one because I will not have anything but a blue spruce for my tree- and even the artificial ones are not cheap.

So, now let's take a tour of what is new and what is old and how it turned out. The kids' tree got put upstairs with mine this year because all of Trevor's stuff is in the way downstairs. I think I like it this way.

(I hope the pictures stay where I put them, lately they have been moving around on me.)

Reindeer on a bell that I made

and everyone loves, so he got

moved from the downstairs tree

the nostalgia tree.

Miriam got to adorn my tree again

two turtle doves, also from the picture perfect tree

Remember these?

Cat ornament Marla gave me in 3rd grade


Teddy bear I made

Candy cane swirled ornament





This ornament is almost right. It needs to be smaller and lighter blue

Cat with yarn, from the down stairs tree

We all have a reindeer like this. We got them at Artic Circle a long, long time ago. You can tell this one is mine because its name is Dancer.

Requisite candy cane

My mom painted these ornaments

Memory ball










side note- two of them actually:

1. I remember now why we stopped using these icicles- they are all over the floor, the furniture, the cats, the.... and they are impossible to vacumm, like Easter grass only shinier. (I also stopped using that)

2. I forgot that if you put them on an artificial tree, you also have to take them off. Unlike a real tree that you can just haul out of the house.

Of course we had to have bubble lights

Both trees

lighted

Any guesses who got this ornament this year?

---

Indeed.