Oh Christmas Tree

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree....most of us have one as part of our Christmas decor each year. Some families trees are fake, some are real. Some are themed and some are not. Some are simple and some are ornate. Some are small and some are big. Ours is kind of a hot mess...but we think it is beautiful.

Decorating the Christmas tree has always been kind of a big deal in both of our families. Aaron's family always had real trees and my family (most of it) always had fake trees. So when Aaron and I got married 4 1/2 years ago (whoa this is our 5th Christmas as a married couple!) we had to answer the big question...real or fake. I am a reduce and reuse kinda gal so we got a fake tree. It is 9 feet tall and we love it. Every year me...eerr we put the tree up and decorate it.

Confession time here...I am kind of a hopeless romantic when it comes to things like this. When I think of decorating the Christmas tree as a family I think of a 1950's family all drinking warm cocoa and working as a team to put up their beautiful decorated Christmas tree. Ha...who am I kidding...our family looks like me getting all kinds of hot and sweaty lugging the Christmas tree down and putting its million pieces together while Aaron works. Meanwhile Parson is in the Tupperware tub that we keep the tree or chasing the cat with branches that are not already put on the base of the tree.

Anyway once the task of putting the tree up is done, I really really really enjoy decorating the tree. This is because we don't just have some pretty garland and a box of generic bulbs from Target (not that that tree isnt pretty) We have ornaments from every part of our lives before we were married, when we were married, with kids and without. We also have some that have been gifts and some that have been handed down. I wanted to share just a few of the many ornaments that we treasure.

This one we bought in the Bahamas when we were one our honeymoon

This one is from one of my Aunts...it is Cinderellas castle. We all know how much our family loves Disney.

Aaron's Grandparents got us this one last year, Parsons first Christmas

Beautiful Mary and Joseph holding baby Jesus

We have four of these beautiful glass candy canes and they are all different colors. Greenfield Village releases a new one each year and my aunt sends one to us every Christmas.

This one is from our first Christmas together as a married couple

This is a crystal bell that we received as a wedding gift

Parsons first Christmas ornament 

This is an ornament from when Aaron was a young kid

My Grandmother got us this ornament last year and its called "Just the three of us"

This one is very special to me. This was a gift from one of the very first friends I had in GA. Sadly I don't have contact with her anymore. She is off doing amazing things and achieving an art dream. But every year I think of her as I decorate our tree. 

This is not an ornament, but it is still special. This was Parsons Christmas gift last year from his God Parents. It is his very first nativity set.

These angles came from my Grandma, she gave them to me because she had others. These will always be special to me because she handed them down to me. 

Here is our tree in all its glory.

Even though it does not look like the trees in magazines or on Pinterest and even though its not real. It is our tree and decorating it and looking at it brings to remember so many wonderful things in our lives. It reminds us to be thankful for the one true Christmas gift...Jesus.

Patty