Our Christmas Tree!!

I know some of you won't believe that I actually let my girls help me decorate our tree...but I do and here are pictures to prove it!!! Anyway, we put it up the weekend after Thanksgiving. Living here I am so thankful to have a pre-lit fake tree, it is from Costco so it actually looks very real, but now I can enjoy it earlier in the season, I don't have to water it, and it doesn't start to die in two weeks :) Being in the desert I think it would be really hard to keep a real tree alive...(although Costco was selling noble firs for only $45 this year and I was sorely tempted).


What I miss the most is the smell, so I put the little bath and body plug-in scent things next to the tree and all around the house, that way it still smells like Christmas!!


What I miss the least is lighting the tree....it used to take me about 3-4 hours and my arms would be a mess afterward...no sir, I don't miss that at all...

I usually put on the ribbon and then the girls and David do most of the ornaments. We alway break out the Christmas music and have it playing while we decorate...

The finished piece....this year the girls had been begging for "bright" ornaments, and I also felt like it was time for a change, so I used my copper/gold colors from previous years, and added teal...I love how it turned out!

Quite a few years ago I solved the issue of where to put my daughter's homemade ornaments by giving them a little tree of their own. This year we bought a new "bigger" little tree to make room for the growing collection. They strung the purple lights, and even have their own angel. Each year they pick out a new ornament to put on their tree.

One of our favorite things to do in the evening after the tress are decorated, is to turn off all the lights, except the tree, listen to Christmas music, sip eggnog and enjoy the tree as a family. I remember doing this all the way back when I was a little girl after we decorated the tree at Gamie and Papa's house. This year Abigail was so excited for this part...she poured the eggnog, added the nutmeg and served it all herself. It is so precious to watch them grow up and enjoy simple traditions that were started long ago.

I love Christmas-time!