O Christmas Tree

I've posted pics of my Christmas tree on the blog the last couple years; here's this year's!

Silly me ... I realized after decorating the tree that I'd forgotten the cranberry strings; usually they're the first thing we put on it, and lemme tell ya ... it's MUCH more difficult when you put it on last! It's just the top 3rd of the tree, but I have a star at the top. A friend of mine has Frosty the Snowman's top hat on hers. I wonder what my readers have? I got a great angel for the tree many moons ago but it turned out to be too large so I just sometimes put her on the mantle.

These cranberry strands were such a terrific buy. Years ago I'd purchased a few uber expensive strings at a home decorating party and I LOVED 'em but should have purchased more, and had kept a lookout for them for years. I found these at a dollar store in Flint a few years back and grabbed their remaining stock - 9 strings! - and threaded them together so they're one long continuous string now. After every 6 cranberries these have a peppermint candy which at the time I'd have preferred they'd left off but I guess I've grown accustomed to. At the time I thought I really didn't need all those strands, either, but our tree has grown in recent years and now I'm glad I grabbed all 9 sets.

Geoff decided to rearrange the Santas I'd needlepointed in years past. At first he wanted to add them to my creche, but I gently persuaded him to leave 'em on the sofa table. He thought they looked better flanking the star that I keep our Christmas cards in. See the poinsettia at the far left? That was supposed to go home w my Mom this evening but I forgot to even give it to her. I put it inside a baked bean-looking pot that my sister had purchased some years back (had I ever mentioned that I was born in Boston MA?). The wreath holder and wreath both came from a craft show I went to with my stampin' buds, Pat and Kim, a couple months ago.


... and here's a close-up of the Santas - they're all Petei painted canvasses - most from classes I took years ago at Needlepoint for You in Auburn Hills MI. Some are "old world" Santas and some are their interpretations of different nationalities. I've others in various stages of completion that I really should get back to one of these days ...


I'd needlepointed the figures for this creche before I started on the Santas - and I put that up this year. It'd been on hiatus the last couple years as methinks I've enough Christmas and Halloween supplies to stock a small store, so I rotate what I put out.


Next year my DH has suggested we put up the ornaments I've needlepointed over the years on the tree again. This year I only included a couple home-made ornaments each from me and both of my two boys. Some years ago my youngest asked me why our tree couldn't look like all his friends' trees - which he said contained plain ornaments. So, we switch off now. A couple years ago I picked up a pkg of red ornaments from IKEA (my first ever trip to one that opened south of us). Last year I used all hi-gloss ivory ornaments - another t'riffic deal from a dollar store. This year I used the ivory ones but added some red (mainly from assorted cardinals I've collected - BIG surprise to my friends here!), some home-made, and some VERY sparkly gold glitter 3D stars (yep - these are from Family Dollar).

OK, enough about decorations. My older brother (hi Jac!) sent me a picture of his real tree, so this post all started to show him my fake one. We switched to a fake pre-lit tree in 2002 - I love Quicken, and had to look it up!

Merry Christmas, folkes!