Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Our ‘Unglamorous’ Christmas Tree



As a little girl, decorating our Christmas tree was SUCH an exciting event.  Our tree was very basic, a simple sparkly-branched type no more than three or four feet high.  However, I can still remember most of the contents of our decoration box fondly… the multi-coloured lights that would blink on and off, the pretty little angel with her wispy white-blonde hair and rosy cheeks, the fat jolly kitsch-looking Santas and the tiny colourful presents of which the purple and gold were always my favourites. 

When I moved into my own home, I had visions of a stylishly decorated tree, one that stuck to a simple colour scheme and had ornaments neatly balanced amongst the branches.  Baubles were evenly placed, large ornaments kept towards the bottom of the tree and tinsel was not favoured. 

Now that I have children, my idea of what makes a Christmas tree special has changed somewhat.  The importance of our tree is no longer placed on how it looks, but on the tradition of decorating it together as a family and the sentimental value behind each ornament.  There is tinsel (which Grace thinks is the bees knees in all its shimmering glory), baubles are squashed together in some parts, homemade creations adorn several branches and the colour scheme we’ve gone with is definitely best described as ‘eclectic’.  But the look of joy and wonder on Grace and Sophie’s faces as they helped decorate our tree last weekend confirmed that it was perfect.
 

 
As many others do, each year I buy the girls an ornament, with the intention that they will both have a boxful to take with them when they one day leave home…a collection of decorations that they will hopefully drag out with fondness and use to decorate their own trees.  I’m hoping that as they do so, memories of the tree from their childhood will come flooding back and they will recall all the fun we had decorating ours together as a family…
 
 
The top handmade ceramic snowflake ornament was crafted by Paul's cousin's wife Sarah.
The Willow Tree ornament was a gift from one of my past dear students.

12 comments:

  1. Your tree looks quite glamourous to me :) But your right its who you share it with not how you decorate that makes it special x

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  2. How sweet. You've truly captured the beauty of Christmas, Amanda. It's not about having a tree that's "picture perfect" and it's not about the "latest trends." Christmas is about excitement, togetherness, and making memories with your family! Enjoy the season,
    Claudia

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  3. Your pictures are sublimely elegant! I am sure with your sense of style you have made all your eclectic elements look beautiful!

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  4. I like the idea of buying a Christmas decoration each year for your children. And you are right gone are the days when it is about the look of the tree - it really is the excitement of putting it up. Some of our decorations have already had sizeable chunks bitten out of them this week x

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  5. Beautiful image. I love that tradition of buying the girls a new deccy every year and I agree, it's not about the perfect tree, but the great memories created :)

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  6. Those photos are beautiful Amanda, the snow flake is just gorgeous, Paul's cousins wife is very talented. I love the tradition you have buying a decoration each year for your girls. It is such a special tradition to have with your girls and as they grow will love seeing all of the decorations they have been given by you over the years. My Mum likes to buy my girls a decoration for them each year and although they don't all match the thought and memories that each of them hold are so special. I know that when the girls take their decorations with them when they leave home I'll be sad not to have the mismatched decorations. xx

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  7. What a lovely tradition! Your girls will be so grateful for it when they are older. Our tree is a haphazard mix of bits and bobs but when Bijou greets it each morning with "Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas tree, how lovely you are to me!" I let go all notions of a stylish tree. Wishing you a beautiful day :) x

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  8. Looks really lovely! I still haven't put the tree up yet haha so well done :)
    Ellen xx

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  9. That's so sweet Amanda. I had a special Jon, Kerstie and Chloe ornament for the tree. Still have Jon and Chloe's but Kerstie took hers already. It will be hard to give those ornaments up one day. I still miss seeing her silly reindeer every Christmas. :)

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  10. Loved your childhood christmas tree memories - isn't it lovely that you can recall the little details - so special. We have a branch with precious decorations on our sideboard for now, but I'm looking forward to the day when Sassy can help me decorate a tinsel strung tree with homemade ornaments....x

    (and love your photos by the way)

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  11. beautiful childhood memories ... thank you for your kind message {just started back a couple of weeks ago} and it feels nice to be documenting again.
    your little ones are just beautiful x

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  12. That sounds like a perfect Christmas tree to me! It's all well and good having a magazine worthy one but nothing is so special as one that has meaning to you and your family.

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