Last weekend we bit the bullet and got out the holiday decorations. My nephew and sister will be spending Christmas with us and she called earlier in the week to make sure we had our Xmas tree up by the time she arrived. It seems my nephew, who is autistic, wanted her to pack her tree for the trip over...uuum..she lives in New Hampshire. He would be mighty upset if there was no Christmas tree out and ready when he arrives on Tuesday. So we put our back to it and put up the tree.
The worst part of the process are stringing the lights so this year I strung the lights in sections so that I could pull the tree apart come January and leave the lights on. Next year it will be a breeze.
The best part.. Pulling out the decorations.
Some pieces are heirlooms, like this candy cane which decorated my parent's tree for many years before mom decided to go with a more stylized look and was going to discard these childhood memories. I snatched them up and was lucky that everyone thought they were an eyesore and no one wanted them. I have a piece of all my Christmas pasts hanging on the tree every year and they have now become a piece of my daughter's Christmas past.
There were several Gingermen in the same collection.
Since my daughter was born I have always put up a Christmas tree and every year we try to add an ornament or two. They can get donated from friends or get hand made but every one is cherished and gets a chance to hang on the tree.
My daughter has taken over decorating the tree over the last few years.
She does a great job but she hates the stringing of the lights too.
She was telling me that she needed to avoid certain ornaments to keep her sanity.
Like these:
This nativity scene has pieces no larger than an inch in height with the baby spans no more than 1/2 an inch. The problem is not so much the size but the fact that it's a nativity scene and she feels compelled to recreate it on the tree. It's no easy feat to find so many branches together so that the scene remains intact. This year, the mini ornaments took a rest and did not make it to the tree.
Most of the ornaments made it on the tree this year before we put the Garlands up.
We do a few wooden garlands before putting some wiry stars in place.
Then a bit of tinsel and finally the star.
Definitely a fun time putting up the tree this year. Our Nativity set gets laid down but baby Jesus doesn't show up until Xmas morning. It's my way of keeping focus on what Christmas is all about. I had done this for many years but it wasn't until a few years ago that my daughter (then 19) realized that the baby was missing from the mangier (sp?). She went nuts! Thought Pepper (our small dog) had eaten it and we would now have to run to the vet with her. We had a good laugh out of that one.
Anyway, the decorating isn't finished yet, we are waiting for our own interior decorator to arrive on Tuesday with GP and Pepper, who now lives with them, so she can put the final touches to the place. Can't wait!!
1 comments on "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."
This oranaments are so special ... every year since my grand-daughters were born it has been a tradition that I buy them an ornament for when they have their own tree.
Post a Comment