You all were so sweet to share my Christmas stuff last week, that I wanted to share our “hodge podge” Christmas family tree, and my all time favorite way to decorate a tree.Â
We were determined this year after moving to Ohio to go to a local tree farm over the weekend and cut down a live Christmas tree (back in Alabama the trees were pretty puny at those farms, but we were just positive we'd find the best tree here!) Well, it rained, and rained, and rained, so Saturday afternoon we ended up at a roadside stand shelling out entirely too many pennies for one of the prettiest Christmas trees I've ever seen.
We walked through the yard, determined to find the best tree, and I wanted one that would fill up our space. While we don't have vaulted ceilings in our home we do have fairly tall ceilings, so I didn't want some tee-tiny tree that couldn't hold it's own.
ahem.
When I saw this tall skinny Frasier Fir I fell in love ~ I figured it wouldn't be too wide to take over the whole room, and since it was the same amount of money as trees a few feet shorter (this one towered over them at 13 feet), I told my husband we were getting a deal to get those extra few feet for free!
Let's just say when we got home and my husband had to cut at least two full feet off the tree he was none to happy with me. (But just wait 'til Friday to see what I do with all that free greenery.) 😉
After a solid hour of wrestling with that thing we finally got it standing up straight, and honestly I love it more than any tree I've ever seen. Not because it's perfect, but because it feels like home.  While we were in the midst of moving last Christmas (my husband was already here in Ohio while the kids and I were still in Alabama), I pretty much just plopped a few ornaments on a small artificial tree, which makes this special tree just a wee bit sweeter.
While I have a “pretty tree” that sits out in our breakfast room, I just love that our big ole' hodge podge tree is right there in the middle of our living space. The first year that we were married I was absolutely appalled at my husband's mess of ornaments (I'd grown up with a more formal Christmas tree in our home.) But after eighteen years of marriage I love ever single bit of this hodge podge mess! Here are exactly twelve reasons why . . .
1. Those piggies. I mean, really? How can you not love those!  My goofy Reagan is absolutely in love with pigs and always has been (no idea why.) Her uncle got her the absolute most atrociously ugly and still really cute ornament (it sings!) and I love just how tacky those piggies are. 😉
2. That fun yarn ornament. Found those last year at Home Depot on clearance for a few pennies – I love them!
3. The Hallmark ornament from my Reagan's first Christmas. I pull it out and get a little weepy every year . . .
4. Star shaped cinnamon ornaments. A reader here on PPP told me about those when I first started blogging and I made them with my kids. They still smell good!
5. The peace ornament. That was given to us by a member of our youth group when I did youth ministry seventeen years ago. They lost their father shortly after that Christmas, and that ornament reminds me to pray for that family and their sweet kids every time I open the box.
6. (sniff.)Â The Madison, Alabama ornament our Sunday School class (aka Sandra) gave us last year.Â
7. The First Christmas ornament Jackson made in Sunday School when he was just one or two. Goodness. I love that one!
8. The believe ornament ~ I think we managed to win that at a Christmas party swap? No special memory, but I love hanging it each year.
9. The shrinky dink. Honestly? I hate that silly thing. Pretty sure my husband made it in 1980 and I think it's just about the ugliest ornament I've ever seen. It has a special place on my tree now ~ right in the very back. And every single year my kids pull that sucker out and say “I sure wish you'd make shrinky dinks with us mom!” 😉 (Y'all, if something happened that that ornament now I'd probably be in tears ~ ridiculous!)
10. The little girl ornament. I bought that as part of a set one day when my older two kiddos were tiny and I ventured out to shop with them in a local small town for the first time. I remember just feeling so accomplished for getting a one and four year old dressed that day and actually taking them into real grown up stores ~ walking on the town square with them that day is still one of my favorite memories!
11. My sweet Caroline's first Christmas ~ wasn't she cute?
12. My dollar tree stars ~ I just love those!
Now I know there are way-fancier-more-impressive trees out there in the world, but I love mine because it feels like a box of memories wrapped up in one place each year. While I wish I'd had time to get to Hobby Lobby for a little more burlap (there actually is one more strand on the bottom but from the looks of these pictures I need to pull it out a bit!), this tree is just fine by me. And I didn't even change how our mess of ornaments was hung by my family before sharing these pictures – this is just the way it looks around here.
If you're looking to tie together a more hodge podge tree, here are a few tips . . .
- Choose a basic color theme – for us it's red and cream
- Use ribbon or burlap to tie it together as much as you can
- Shop Dollar Tree or a similar store for some basic ornaments as the foundation to your tree (I used the red stars as well as some plain colored balls from the Dollar Tree.) Then add your sentimental ornaments on top of those.
- Also look for berries at the Dollar Tree or your favorite craft store to add some basic foundation for your tree ~ I found most of mine after Christmas for 80% off at Michaels – definitely shop those after Christmas sales for things like that!)
- Hide your least favorite ornaments (~ahem~) in the back. If your hubby puts them right out front, sneak them to the back when he's not looking (he'll never know!) 😉
- Let it go. Your tree may never look like these, but pulling out each ornament will mean so much each year ~ and as you get older (eek!) those memories become a little more precious. (I'm telling you what, sending my boy to high school this year has made me one mess of a sentimental momma ~ hold tight to those babies if you still have them at home!)
 (our handprint Christmas tree skirt)
And our kids playmobil nativity
So, there you go. I'd love to hear how you decorate your tree, and would absolutely love seeing your Christmas tree pictures over on the PPP Facebook page! Thanks for taking a second to look at ours ~ it really is just more fun when you share with a friend. 😉
I'd love for you to join me over on Pinterest (I love that place!) If you have a blog and have done a little fluffing in your home, I’d love to see it, so leave your link in the comments section. Also, if there’s a craft you’ve seen on a website that you’re hoping to make, feel free to share that link as well (I’m always looking for new ideas!)
See more previous Friday Fluff Up projects and ideas . . . and Happy Fluffing!
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