The Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is something I love doing each year.  I usually like to have a theme and I often make my own decorations.  My tree is a bit sparse, not full and thick like the new ones so I'm thinking it looks a bit spindly, however it's ours and we love it and I do the best I can.  It fulfills my creative side for a whole month because I can look at it every day and tweak it until I feel it is just right.  And I love pretty things and a Christmas tree is oh so pretty, especially at night with the little lights turned on.

So I'd like to share with you my Christmas tree history.  It starts in 2004, the year my boy was born.

2004

My eldest child was almost three months old and I propped him up in the pram (it was the first time I sat him up) in front of the tree while I decorated it.  He watched wide eyed as I told him what all the decorations were.  He was the perfect age for my style of tree decorating...very particular and a lot fussy.  And he couldn't mess it up when I was done.  My theme was metallic and red, so anything that wasn't gold, silver, bronze or red didn't make it to the tree for this year.  My homemade decorations were a few metallic painted foam balls with gold ribbon and gold wired ribbon bows (I also sewed gift bags instead of using wrapping paper, obviously I had much more time on my hands back then).  My very favourite decoration is the bird with the long feather tail which we bought in Strasbourg, France.  It is actually very pale pink but it goes on the tree every year regardless.

2005

My boy was now almost 15 months old and while he was not the 'into everything' type of kid, I still did not want put up the big tree for this year.  Not just because I thought he might break, eat or lose the decorations, I was also worried about him pulling the tree over onto himself.  Not likely, but just in case, I got out the tiny tree I bought for my classroom when I was teaching.  I didn't care what he did with that one and it was just as fun for him.

2006

My boy had just turned two and was still very good at not getting into things so I put the big tree up again.  I was very excited to be able to hang his two baby decorations on it, a puppy in a swing that I bought for him and a gold disc with a baby boy and his name & 2004 engraved on it from his aunt & uncle/Godparents.  The theme was gold, silver and pastel colours and I made crystal beaded snowflakes for this year.

2007

We had a new baby in the house for this year, a baby girl born four days before her big brother's third birthday.  So they were both the perfect age for the big tree and all the trimmings.  Now that I had my perfect family of a boy and girl I decided on a pink and blue theme and made felt decorations with family photos inside.  There were also two new baby decorations for my baby girl, a big pink heart and a pink wobbly bunny.

 

2008

This year my baby was almost 15 months old and my boy had just turned four.  Back to the little tree because, unlike her brother, my little girl was the type of kid who got into everything!  We did liven it up a bit with some new el cheapo decorations from Crazy Clarks!!

2009

That brings us to this year.  I now have a five year old and a two year old.  Both very keen and excited to help decorate the tree.  This year we have a 'what the hell, let's just throw everything on the tree' theme.  And that's pretty much what the kids did.  I still tried to exert some creative control over it, I am not a fun mum when it comes to these kinds of things.  But the expressions of, "Wow" from my little girl who doesn't have any words yet, and my boy's delight in putting on all the blue stuff made it very special indeed.  I just hope I didn't nag them too much!!

In the end they probably all look pretty much alike.