I love to get the Christmas season started and no better way than to decorate a tree. We always put a tree up in each of the two front windows so they can be seen from the street at night. When the lights are on it gives a warm glow to the house and welcomes people to come indoors. I think it’s even more important this year to have those lights shining. We need the lights of Christmas to light our way through this dark winter.
Every tree starts with set-up. We use artificial trees for convenience and because we have allergies. It does make it easier. Anyway, set-up is pretty easy….just put the sections of the tree together and connect the lights.
The next step is kind of a pain but necessary to go from the picture above to the picture below.
The tree becomes full and appealing once you have “fluffed” the branches and arranged to cover the holes. Next I usually add another couple of strings of lights. This helps it show well from the outside. The tree sits on a rubber mat to protect the wood floors. When the tree is up and the lights are on the Fun begins.
Because I love to explore the thrift stores I am always looking for ornaments to add to the trees. This year is no exception and this whole tree is decorated with thrifted items from the tree itself to the lights and ornaments. Even the mat was thrifted.
Most of the ornaments this year are hand blown glass ornaments. You would be surprised how many of this type of ornament shows up in the thrift store. I used simple blue and silver balls to fill in the center of the tree and establish the basic color theme. The showier ornaments were added next and distributed evenly throughout the tree. The ornaments are whimsical and fun and add a playful note to the tree.
I wanted something special to unify the tree and make it a little bit different. I had dried some hydrangea from the garden earlier in the fall. The hydrangea were on long stems which made it easy to insert all over the tree…..just like florist picks. It made the tree look alive and magical.
The last step was to add the topper. I had some picks that I have been collecting from thrifting outings. They would work well and would carry the silver and blue underlying theme to the top of the tree. It just took a few moments to add them to the design. The tree was complete.
Here is the finished tree with lights gleaming and a reindeer checking out the decorations. The tree skirt is a simple fluffy white and looks great in the room. What a fun way to start the Christmas season. Hope you enjoy decorating your tree and spreading a little light through out the season.