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Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Oh Christmas Tree...

Today I'm sharing a few of the special ornaments on our Christmas tree. A few years ago we downsized and got a tree that fit better in our living room. It's a skinny tree, so it doesn't overwhelm the room, but it means less room for ornaments.  I had to sort what I had and saved only the favorites and the fillers!
Our daughter Laura worked in a floral shop for a while and has given me tips for what makes a tree look good, so I'm including a little of that.



First tip from Laura is to use a lot of lights, and don't just wind them around the outside, put them all through the tree, so the lights shine from the middle.




Second - use fillers.  Buy some floral type pics and put them into empty spots in the tree.  I have three types; the frosted pine cones, burlap twirls and white pearly beads.



Third - add several of the same type of ornaments scattered over the tree.  I have several of these birds, along with white and silver balls.



 Then scatter the fun, personalized ornaments where ever you can.  This one was given to me by one of my church kids from a Wednesday night class.  It's an antique kids block.


 This ornament has been on our tree for as long as we've been married.  The day I met Bob's family they were at a cottage and his sister was working on these ornaments for a fund raising bazaar.  She had been given these to make and I helped her.  We both laughed because we thought they were ugly and no one would buy them.  Well, at least one sold, because she bought it and gave it to me the next Christmas.  We laugh every year at the memory.




These are different angels I made when the kids were little.


This is a crocheted snowflake that one of my residents made for me.


This bell was also made by one of my residents.  The detail in it is amazing!



Here are some of the old fashioned Santa's that Bob has carved over the years.

I love the memories that come with so many of these ornaments.  So many have special people attached.  I think that a lot of you probably have similar ornaments with sentimental value.

18 comments:

Joyful said...

Your tree looks very professionally decorated. I'm afraid I don't have patience for decorating. I just have lights and baubles.

Mary said...

How beautiful, you have a lovely tree Mari. I will have to try stringing the lights as you mentioned.

Terri D said...

Your tree looks amazing, Mari! We have a skinny "pencil" tree too that fills our corner just fine. Ours is loaded with ornaments though. Your fillers are a nice idea and look great. Thanks for sharing!

Arlene G said...

Tell Bob he should start an Etsy shop selling those santa ornaments .....I would buy one, or two or three.

Dianna said...

Hello Mari...I loved seeing your tree and all of the special ornaments! Very pretty!

LL Cool Joe said...

Your tree looks beautiful. I just finished ours last night. My younger daughter convinced me to get coloured lights rather than the white ones we usually have and I have to say I don't like them. I don't why I listened to her because she now has her own tree and it has white lights on it!

Ramblings of a Retired Lady said...

We have downsized to a skinny tree. I love your sentimental ornaments and we have many as well and it is fun to talk about them as we hang them. Some are as old as 45-50 years old and still intact. Have a nice Wednesday.

Kerin said...

Love your skinny tree, it's very pretty.
Every year, pulling out the old ornaments evokes happy memories of Christmases past.

I do love a tree with lots and lots and lots of lights on it!
I am thinking that next year, we may just do a Christmas tree with lights on it, and keep it simple without any ornaments at all :)

Merry Christmas!
~K.

Changes in the wind said...

Your tree looks beautiful:) Isn't it funny that our special ornaments often are home made.

Sally said...

So beautiful, Mari. I love that you have 'special' ornaments that mean so much to you. There is only one left that my parents had over the years from the beginning of their marriage. I can't, for the life of me, understand how they were lost.

Your Bob is such a wonderful 'carver'; how awesome are the Santa's. Love those.

No tree here, but I've spread a little 'cheer' around, hoping my daughter is home before Christmas.

xoxo

Jenny said...

Those are some great tips from Laura. I knew about the lights trick and I have lots of matching ornaments but I don't have any fillers. Next year I'll do that! Thanks, Mari! xoxo

Jennifer Hays said...

I love seeing other people's ornaments! I should write a post like this too, thanks for the inspiration. You have some beautiful ornaments. I especially love the one Bob's sister made. What a wonderful memory too. Thanks for sharing!

Jean said...

Beautiful!! I loved reading those tips.

Jean said...

Beautiful! I loved reading those tips. When Lisa was in college she used to decorate my tree for me each year and it was amazing.

Cherdecor said...

Your tree is so pretty! I think that any time we put white on a tree, the white brings light into the tree. I light all the white ornaments that are on your tree. I love your pretty little angels!

We had to rewire or relight our tree this year so we used heavy duty scissors and cut off all the lights because it was too hard to find the ones that were not working. Then came the big job of running lights up and down the branches. A lot of lights makes a big difference.

Just A Southern Girl said...

Love your tree! Great tips for decorating it, too. I’ll keep these in mind when we have a tree next year.

Vintage Girl 901 said...

Mari, your tree is beautiful! It's a lot like mine before I added the red. Love those carved ornaments! Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas.

Sue O said...

Hi Mari, long time no see! I've been out of blogging mode for a while, due to a completely crazy life, but I like to pop in to visit once in a while. I just wanted to tell you that the snowflake is tatted, not crocheted. I don't know if you are familiar with tatting, it's basically tiny knots created with a shuttle. I have a few tatted snowflakes and I adore them because I know how much work goes into them. They grow so slowly, so they are like gold to me!
I hope you and your family have a lovely Christmas.