A few weeks ago, Owen and I were in Walmart looking at Christmas lights. He has been asking for years to put Christmas lights outside, something we haven't done since Christmas 2010, I finally agreed and we spent $19 on lights for outside. While there, we were surprised by how many affordable Christmas trees they had. Since it was not the purpose of our trip, we did not buy any trees but I have been thinking about them since then.
Our first family Christmas tree was a hand-me-down from Mark's parents. They upgraded during a move and we happily took their old one. It worked in our apartment, first house, and in our current home for many years. One Black Friday, the lights had all died, it looked very sad and straggly, and so Mark bought us a 7 ft tree. It's been a great tree for us! We each receive at least 3 new ornaments each year (we buy each other one, each of the kids one, and the grandparents all give one to each of us) so our tree was very full last year. We were all a little disappointed that we weren't able to put everything on the tree last year which is what led to thinking of a new one.
With lots of other things to spend money on, another tree just didn't feel like a top priority for Mark or me and so we made our old things new this year...
Somewhere along the line, hanging the star became the
MOST beloved event of the year. The kids alternate years
and Annabeth was thrilled that it was her year.
I love the joy on each of their faces.
Our Christmas Tree
It's wired with white lights that have gone out. A few years ago, we purchased these inexpensive colored lights and have kept it rolling right along.
This year it's the "Kid's Tree" filled with their ornaments. They loved decorating it all on their own.
The star is a vintage star that we found at the Lynville Coal Mine Garage Sale.
Two years ago, Mark surprised me with this wreath.
It's wired with lights. We do colored for Christmas and then keep it
up through March with white lights. This year Mark added some
colorful, sparkly ornaments to display some favorites that didn't fit on the kids' tree.
The deer are vintage that we purchased while engaged, the handpainted sign is from the CUMC
craft fair, the nativity was purchased at the 2008 Lakeview Dinner Auction, and I made the
Christmas quilt square box many years ago.
This little tree is my most treasured Christmas piece.
I have loved it since I was a little girl and am so glad for a house with
big kids so I can have it out without fear of it being broken.
My Dad made this tree from wood from my childhood home.
We've had it on our porch several years but decided to put it indoors
this year so we can enjoy seeing it each day. I plan to keep up through the winter for the
"happy light" that it gives off in our Reading Corner.
We have had this little tree for several years. It's a hand-me-down from my Momaw.
We left it in the attic the last three years because our house in basically one big
open room, it felt too busy to have several trees out. BUT since we were looking at new trees,
we opted to save that money and repurpose a tree we already had. This had been
a prelit, predecorated tree but Mark just snipped off the giant ornaments and bows. We left
the pinecones and sparkly snow pieces and added all of our Disney ornaments to make it our
very first Disney tree! Total Cost: $0
Every year since we started dating in 2006, Mark and I just gift each other
ornaments (never gifts) at Christmas. This year we began a new tradition of choosing a single
ornament together. We picked this out at Magic Kingdom during our 15th Anniversary Trip.
When we got engaged, Mark and I decided that we only ever wanted antique, homemade, vintage, or truly meaningful holiday decor. Over the years, we've collected hand-me-downs, antique items, thrifted items, but never just random storebought items to fill spaces. I love that we have things from multiple generations of our families. I love having items we've found together on our travels. I love that our kids spent hours decorating, oohing and ahhing over ornaments while telling stories. Our home has four trees this year, all within sight of each other, we are never going to win a decorating award, but our home is cozy, filled with items that we love.
Before you go out and buy holiday decor - decide if what you have is enough.
See if what you already own can be used in a new way.
Dare to imagine a small, simple Christmas focused on a baby Who came for us all.
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