So why do I have 3 Christmas trees?
Well every year growing up my Mother would purchase myself and siblings a new Christmas ornament. My Husby's Mother had the same tradition for himself and his brothers. Once we became a serious couple, both of our mothers starting buying each of us and ornament. That meant we went from 2 ornaments a year to 2 apiece (4 total)....we have been together for 19 years.... Once we got married I began the tradition as well (and our mothers continued it), so then we began to each acquire 3 ornaments per year (6 total)....we have been married for 13 years now.... When we had Baby Girl we purchased her an ornament ourselves, as did our mothers....so then we were up to 9 total ornaments per year...Here comes the Little Man...can you see where this is going?!?!?!
I love this tradition!
Unpacking and hanging each of my ornaments is what makes me feel like it is 'really' Christmas. I love the happy memories that my ornaments bring and I want my children to enjoy the same tradition. Needles to say, my main Christmas tree - the one where we will place gifts and gather around - must be the one with our lifelong ornament collection. Besides, it take a whole tree just to fit all of them anyway ;)
However, being a designer I really wanted to decorate a chocolate and gold color-themed tree. I solved this problem by purchasing the small, $5 tree while treasure hunting, and put it up in the dining room. Having the small second tree was so much fun, so when I happened upon the larger (and free!) Prairie Garden's tree I decided to replace the small tree.
So then I had this extra, small tree....and was beginning to have quite the collection of candy themed ornaments...and that space in the kitchen was just perfect....:D :D :D
So there you have it, 3 trees!
Well every year growing up my Mother would purchase myself and siblings a new Christmas ornament. My Husby's Mother had the same tradition for himself and his brothers. Once we became a serious couple, both of our mothers starting buying each of us and ornament. That meant we went from 2 ornaments a year to 2 apiece (4 total)....we have been together for 19 years.... Once we got married I began the tradition as well (and our mothers continued it), so then we began to each acquire 3 ornaments per year (6 total)....we have been married for 13 years now.... When we had Baby Girl we purchased her an ornament ourselves, as did our mothers....so then we were up to 9 total ornaments per year...Here comes the Little Man...can you see where this is going?!?!?!
I love this tradition!
Unpacking and hanging each of my ornaments is what makes me feel like it is 'really' Christmas. I love the happy memories that my ornaments bring and I want my children to enjoy the same tradition. Needles to say, my main Christmas tree - the one where we will place gifts and gather around - must be the one with our lifelong ornament collection. Besides, it take a whole tree just to fit all of them anyway ;)
However, being a designer I really wanted to decorate a chocolate and gold color-themed tree. I solved this problem by purchasing the small, $5 tree while treasure hunting, and put it up in the dining room. Having the small second tree was so much fun, so when I happened upon the larger (and free!) Prairie Garden's tree I decided to replace the small tree.
So then I had this extra, small tree....and was beginning to have quite the collection of candy themed ornaments...and that space in the kitchen was just perfect....:D :D :D
So there you have it, 3 trees!
If you missed the post about the kitchen tree, click here.
If you missed the post about the dining room tree, click here.
Otherwise, scroll on to see some of this ornament collection and the rest of our living room decor!
Queen Elsa for Baby Girl.
A fat little squirrel for the Little Man.
Ariel for me (Thanks Mom!)
A pink mixer for me (Thanks Mom-In-Law!)
A paper snowflake for Baby Girl.
A deer for Husby.
*The pink mixer ended up hanging on the kitchen tree, it was happier there ;)
*The paper snowflake is from Baby Girl's birthday. Since she loves the movie Frozen so much, her Gramma & Papa gave her an Elsa and Anna outfit set as part of her gift. Taped to the package was the white paper snowflake. I thought it would make a nice Christmas ornament, so I glued it to some blue paper, punched a hole and added a little ribbon. Now she has an ornament that will remind her of her favorite movie and her birthday.
Now keep on scrolling to see some of my favorite ornaments!
These are a couple of my childhood favorites, I think my Mom purchased them from Avon.
The Toy Shoppe has always been my most favorite ornament, hands down, every year. Not only is it a miniature, but it also lights up. It has a small opening in the back so that one of the nearby tree lights can be inserted. I have been in love with miniatures/ dollhouses/ fake anything for as long as I can remember!
The angel on the right came with a sister who was brown haired and held a candy cane. I chose the blonde angel and my sister ended up with the brunette, even though in real life I was the brunette and she the blonde. I chose it that way on purpose. I was about 10 years old or so, and tired of always getting the brown haired dolls. I was making a 'statement'.....:D Now I giggle about it every year!
Left: A fat little snowman that I bought for Baby Girl. She was about three months old for her first Christmas and I couldn't resist buying her this ornament. Every time I went to work (in a florist at that time) and saw this ornament, it would remind me of Baby Girl all stuffed in her baby snow suit! :)
Right: Mom-In-Law gave us this Lennox ornament for our first married Christmas.
Top Right: Mom-In-Law bought me this one as we have spent many family vacations together in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
The other two ornaments belong to Husby. I think the blue icicle is really pretty, and since I am an undercover astronomy buff, the star ornament makes me happy too. It was a few years before I realized that the stars actually glow in the dark...bonus!
Left: When we were still of High School age, Husby took his heart ornament from the tree and gave it to me. I don't think he was really supposed to do that, but is was sweet and romantic all the same. It was a gesture that added yet another warm memory to our tree.
Right: When I was little, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. I even wanted to be a paleontologist when I grew up...until I figured out that I would have to get dirty...a lot...:D
After Granny died, my Sister and I found two of these garage sale ornaments when we looked through her Christmas boxes. In all the years of gong to her house for Christmas, we had never seen these! Now we each have one ;)
All filled up with ornaments, no two alike. As big as this tree is, we still end up having to hang ornaments on the back as well!
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In addition to the tree, I have a couple of wreaths and a few things for the kiddos in the living room.
The wreath on the left was plain evergreen when I purchased it and I added the ornaments using pipe cleaners (More on this technique soon). This wreath hangs on the living room window, with a matching one in the dining room.
The wreath on the right is exactly as purchased, I've done nothing to it. I like the simplicity of the evergreen and pine cones, so I hung it on the front door as is. This was a $30 wreath that I got for $5 on clearance after the holiday.
I keep these packed away with the holiday decorations and put them out on the coffee table for the season. I think it's nice to have items specific for the kids to enjoy, it brings such excitement!
A shout-out to Aunt Vickie in California, as many of these titles came from her :)
I love the fact that I get to enjoy three Christmas trees. I happen to know that there is one spot on the couch and one seat in the dining room where all three trees can be viewed at once! Even better, the mirrors hanging in the living and dining rooms reflect the softly glowing lights and sparkling ornaments.
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Isn't it pretty? I'm going to go enjoy it now.
Happy Holidays and thanks for stopping by!
-Jennifer
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