I hesitated to put the word, artificial, in the title of the post. It seems that word when associated with Christmas trees provokes much debate. Part of me was embarrassed to admit it, but here goes:
We have an artificial pre-lit Christmas tree.
I feel so much better now that that is off my chest.
Here’s another secret. Our tree doesn’t have a theme. It also doesn’t have fancy garland or matching ornaments like the beautiful trees that you see in Better Homes & Garden magazine. And if you look closesly most of the ornaments are at the bottom of the tree, because that’s as far up as the kids can reach. But our tree is filled with ornaments that reflect significant events, preschool crafts, and handmade love.
Such as our “First Christmas Together” ornament given by a great aunt as a wedding gift.
or an ornament from my 1980’s childhood…
or my all time favorite ornament that was made for me by my great-grandmother. She crocheted one for each of her great-grandchildren back in 1980. My mother left the hand-written gift tag on the ornament all those years ago.
But the kids’ ornaments really dominate the tree.
My oldest baby’s first Christmas:
Every year, our girls find an ornament in their stocking that reflects their current interests, such as Elmo
or smurf girl.
I love the hand prints that each of my girls made two years ago. I found the molds on a clearance rack at Target and turned them into Christmas ornaments. It’s amazing how much their hands have grown in two year.
So I guess there is a theme to our tree, our family, and there is nothing artificial about that!
Have you put your Christmas tree up yet? Real or Artificial? Let us know in the comments.
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Artificial trees are the norm here in Kentucky. I don’t know *anyone* who has a real one. They’re messy and a pain to get rid of once Christmas is over, plus there’s the expense of buying a new one every year.
I’m probably not going to put my tree up this year – I’m a total Scrooge but I just don’t enjoy the holidays and there is no part of me that wants to drag the tree out.
Yep, we are tree mates! The only difference, I am on my 3rd tree, and most of my ornaments are 40+ years old, and growing. I never tire of finding a new or different ornament.
My tree looks very similar to yours. We’ve never had a real tree, and I don’t want one. Most of my ornaments were made by my kids, or signify important milestones for us. I like it that way, it’s more homey. If I want to see the sterile magazine type trees I’ll look in a magazine or go to the mall.