home my cottage projects book club shop featured my buttons advertise

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thinking of Christmas

Christmas Dreams
I don't decorate for Christmas till after Thanksgiving.
I think it's just wrong to do before.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday all it's own and 
I hate how it gets lumped in with Christmas and doesn't get paid enough attention all it's own.
However...even though there are no decorations out in my house,
I am thinking about it.
I am getting anxious to pull out all my storage bins full of my vintage ornaments.

After this Thursday I'll feel panicked that I don't have my outside lights up.

But I just try not to think about it till Thanksgiving is over. 

For me Christmas is all about the decorating and pretty much nothing else.

I'm obsessed with it. 
How I'm decorating.
How my friends are decorating.
How the decorations look around town.
I know there is a deep reason for the season...
but I just care about how it looks.

I'm shallow like that.

Really, I'm not shallow but how things are decorated is of the utmost importance to me.
I'll forgive anything but a poorly decorated Christmas tree.

My Christmas Tree Decorating Rules
follow these rules for an extraordinary tree

1. Lots of lights and they need to go up and down the branches if your tree isn't already lit. 
Get them by the trunk and work out towards the end of each branch.
(this isn't as big an issue as it used to be since most trees come prelit these days)

2. Big balls go towards the bottom and tucked inside the tree towards the trunk.

3. Put balls inside the tree, near the trunk. this gives the tree depth. 
Balls all up and down each branch
(pet peeve of mine is a tree with all the balls out there on the tips...no...no...no)

4. If your ornament collection is of all different types of ornaments in all kinds of colors...
go buy several boxes of plain colored balls to disperse throughout the tree. 
Like 60 red balls sprinkled throughout or 60 silver ones. It will tie the whole tree together. 
I love a tree with special ornaments on it collected over the years....its very special...
but when you add a unifying color...the whole tree will come together suddenly 
and not look hodge podge.

5. You'll need smaller ornaments to put at the top of the tree

6. You need way more ornaments than you think you do. 
My tree limbs will be drooping under the weight of it's ornaments.

7. Oh..most important...use floral wire to attach your ornaments to the tree. 
I have a white tree so I use white wire.
Using wire you can make the ornaments closer to the branch and vary how much ornaments hang down.
This looks so much better than hooks.
And you can leave the bits of wire on when you put the ornament away. 
They'll be all set to use next year.

8. Use something unusual as a tree stand. I use a large urn which is my favorite but I've also used
large galvanized buckets too which look great. 
Fill the urn or bucket with white rock or I'm currently using those glass pebbles that all craft
stores sell with the floral stuff. Walmart has them for the very cheapest.
Cut a pvc pipe that is larger in diameter than your tree post and put it in the center of the container
andfill the pebbles around it. Then your tree pole just slides into that pvc pipe.
Then I cover the top of the pebbles with faux snow and white glitter.

sharing at

15 comments:

An Urban Cottage said...

OMG, Nita. I think you just might be my long lost twin!! I have a lot of the same rules.

I like to start a tree with ONE set of lights that has a few random twinkle bulbs. That one set has to cover the tree as much as possible. Once you add about 700-1000 more lights, having 15-20 twinkling bulbs add a little movement that without it looking like a pinball machine. If I'm doing all white lights, I add a few sets of yellow to warm it up. You would almost never know. My favorite tree was the year I had kittens and wanted nothing broken, and I covered the tree with little paper cocktail umbrellas in front of the lights and it was stunning! Stunning I say! Very soft and Victorian somehow. You should give it try. The pastels would look wonderful in your house!

I also love lights outside and I usually call them winter lights which have to be all white. It's so dark during the winter, I really love seeing the night lit up with little white lights.

I'm looking forward to decorating myself.

steve

Marie said...

Hi Nita - the images you posted are all very inspirational. Can't wait to see your own Christmas tree especially since after reading you rules ;)

Wishing you a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving!
-marie

A Whole Lotta Magic said...

Hey Nita!

Check out Beach Bungalow; I have a little surprise for you!

S
xo

Leanne said...

I don't decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving either, but it gets harder and harder every year. I can't stop thinking about it right after Halloween. These beautiful images are making me want to decorate right now, but I need to go make some pies. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

DreamgirlLisa said...

I agree with you completely, no decorating before Thanksgiving, but definitely thinking about it! My budget is very small this year, so if you have any great Christmas crafts for decorations to share, I'll be checking those out! I'm with you on the lights both inside and out, has to be tons!

Lisa ~Suburban Retreat~ said...

Hi Nita ~ That's the beauty of being Canadian ... our Thanksgiving is long over with so we have plenty of time to decorate for Christmas and the holidays aren't muddled together! Love all your tips, and I need some, as I'm not the greatest tree decorator. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Olive said...

My goodness you are fierce, I am ascared of you!

Natasha in Oz said...

I love all of your ideas and images. Thanks for sharing them!

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia so Christmas is the biggest Holiday over here after Easter and Australia day so I have decorated our home already. I am still making changes here and there but that is part of the fun of it all!

Best wishes and Happy thanksgiving!
Natasha.

Elizabeth said...

Can't wait to see your decorations!

I'm chomping at the bit for Friday to come.

I discovered last year that I have a problem with decorating my tree. I can only decorate the top two-thirds because my little rascal dachshund, Ollie, likes to pull the ornaments off the tree and race around the dining room table with them. He was quite the mischief maker last year! He is two now. Maybe I can train him not to do that so I can again have a lovely, fully decorated tree.

Becky@OrganizingMadeFun said...

I think that your rules are very cute...I only say that because my kids love to decorate our tree and so having everything neatly placed in a particular way is just not going to happen in our home for a long time...although my six year old is getting pretty good at hanging ornaments. They have a kids' tree, but family tradition is the whole family decorating, including Dad. So, I have to let go of some of the decorating for now so the kids enjoy getting to be part of it without me going nuts over everything looking perfect!

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

Lots of great hints! Hoping to get my tree up today!

Sheila said...

I love those pink ornaments displayed on a 3 tier tray. I'm going to look for some ornaments!

Cheryl ~ ZanyMayd said...

I'm Loving Your Rules, Where were they 20 years ago when I put up a big tree..... Can't wait to see when you DO Decorate, since Thanksgiving is Now Over!
Cheryl ~ ZM

saltbox
treasures
said...

Beautiful inspiration!!! I haven't looked at my magazine yet.
~ Julie

The House of Healy said...

Well, I'll leave it to you to critique my tree/decor once I post photos. ;)

Hope you're enjoying gussying up your home.