Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!!

At our house, putting up the Christmas tree is kind of a big deal! Not in a "Ugh, we have to put up the stupid tree and get all the decorations out of the attic and attempt to fix the lights. Whomp. Whomp." kind of way... more like:

"YAY!! CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE!!

LET'S DECK THE HALLS, PUT UP THE TREES,

LIGHT THE CHRISTMAS CANDLES, BLAST THE CAROLS, HEAT UP THE CIDER AND TURN ON CHRISTMAS VACATION!! FALALALALA LALALALA!"

Yeah, more like that. Brandon and I both love Christmas so we get pretty excited about putting up the tree. We have two trees - one in the living room and one in our bedroom (and I have a little tiny one on the dining room table but I don't count it because I want a third real size tree... and if the third real size tree was considered our fourth Christmas tree I think B would draw the line and say I was getting a little carried away. So I'm not risking it - we have 2 trees and a tiny. The End) and today I will be featuring our living room tree because, well, it's my favorite! (This is where there should be a fabulous picture of my tree BUT I don't want to give it away yet... Keep reading, the pictures are coming I promise!)

So the back story on this tree is super random. One afternoon I was going to meet Brandon for a quick little lunch date. B was very busy that day and was running behind (Miracle #1: The fact that I was early and Brandon was late... that NEVER happens) so I told him not to rush, I'd find something to entertain myself with. As I was pulling into the parking lot, I saw a garage sale sign across the street so I figured I could go browse until he arrived (Miracle #2: I love, love, love an estate sale, I never shop a garage sale). So I hopped out of my car and let's just say it was "sparse pickins" at this sale (Hence the reason I never shop a garage sale). They didn't have jack. So, in an attempt to be kind, I wandered through as slowly as I could and then out of nowhere I spotted a very large box... CHRISTMAS TREE! So I pulled the box out and examined it - prelit 7.5 ft Douglas Fir. Not too shabby. So I asked the dreaded question, "How much are you wanting for it?" She (being good at the game) asked me how much I wanted to give. I stalled... "Ummmm" (This was not me being good at the game, this was me trying to remember if I even had a check book in my car). She interrupted my thoughts with, "How's $5?" Typically, I am a hard sale, I LOVE to play the game (My dad is Randy Rogers and I've had three years worth of "how to argue" training - this girl isn't afraid of a little negotiation) but I was so flabbergasted all I could force out of my mouth was "Sold." (Miracle #3: I actually had $12 cash in my pocket. That NEVER happens. I dare you to mug me, you will be disappointed. I NEVER have real money.) So,  this is the grand debut of my $5 Christmas Tree...

Duh tuh duh da! Not bad for five bucks huh?!

Brandon attempting to fix the pre-lit lights because they didn't work...
Not that I'm complaining. You get what you pay for.

First, I lay all the ornaments out on the floor to see what I've got to work with. Then I start grouping them together based on color and style so I don't stick twenty round brown bulbs on the tree in the same place, they need to be evenly dispersed!! And in my personal opinion (I am by no means a tree decorating expert), it's best to put all the big ones on first and then fill in with the smaller ones. Typically, after the big ones go on then my favorites go next so that they get the prime branches!! (Brandon sweetly plays by all my rules, but let's me know if I start getting bossy... which inevitably happens every time. Bless his sweet little heart and thank God for his patience!)

Getting the ornaments ready to decorate!

My trees don't have a theme per se, I lean more towards color schemes. So on this tree I went with shades of greens, golds and browns to match our living room. I love incorporating different textures and styles; therefore, you'll see some ornaments that are covered in sparkles and others that are covered in woodsy moss. There are fancy ornaments and plain, simple and complex, traditional and original! And my personal theory on ornaments, is a lot like my theory on butter - the more the merrier!

With King as our last name, we had to have a few crowns!

 

So, after about three mugs of hot chocolate, two trips to the store and Christmas Vacation PLUS Home Alone 2... Our Christmas tree was complete!! I think it turned out pretty nice!

Hope everyone had as much fun preparing their homes for Christmas as we did! If you're a Christmas ornament lover like me, don't forget that Hobby Lobby is running 50% off all ornaments right now! It's always good to stock up for next year, then you feel like you have something new and you only paid half the price. Oh, how I love a good sale! (No, this post isn't sponsored by Hobby Lobby... but I sure wish it was!!)

I'll be sharing the tree in our bedroom next week and sometime I'll show off our tiny little not Christmas tree! So check back often!!

Be Blessed!

Raegan