it’s officially christmas time in the stuckenschneider household, aka the most wonderful time of the year.
christmas time is simply beautiful, spirits are happy, and the music rocks (though i think those in retail will tell you otherwise). while it would be lovely to have the decorations up all year, it wouldn’t feel so special, so magical.
it’s our first christmas at our new place, and the lighted garland i bought at target this year works perfectly with our carved wood details.
we are a real tree family. though ryan and i don’t go and cut one down ourselves like my family has, for as long as i can remember, we do pore though the trees at the hardwood store to find “the one”. fraser firs are where it’s at, and this year’s comes in at about nine feet tall. though not as full as we prefer, this one fits perfectly in our living room corner.
getting the lights on the tree is the worst part, in my opinion. somebody doesn’t help much, so i have to climb up and down a step stool over and over again. this year it probably took me an hour and three rearrangings of the lights. we have three strands of lights for the tree, but next year i’ll add a fourth. and the star at the top bugs me, it’s so hard to get straight. i’ll be on the hunt for a new topper during the post-christmas sales this year.
the tree is filled with ornaments i have bought after the season is over (at 75% off), gifted ornaments and a few that have been passed on. i have a loose white, silver and purple theme, brought about by the purple and silver tree skirt i bought last-minute for our first tree. my favorite ornaments vary by year, and this year i seem to be drawn to my animal ornaments. let’s take a tour of the tree.
i die for these tiny (about 1 1/2 inches) animal ornaments i picked up last year at macy’s – there’s a raccoon, owl, hedgehog and squirrel.
this larger white owl is bea-hoot-iful.
i think this was another macy’s purchase (i go every year with my family post-christmas for ornament purchasing), and the glass body is filled with feathers.
yet another macy’s purchase, and an animal, this deer is so fragile but i hope she lasts forever.
these small, shatterproof, glitter balls by martha stewart are always my fave. there’s two shades of purples and two shades of silver, perfectly fitting my color scheme.
on the sentimental side, ryan’s aunt gave us this ornament after ryan’s dad passed away two years ago.
can you see this teeny tiny angel? we got a bunch of sterling silver ornaments passed down from ryan’s grandma, and this is my favorite of the bunch. it’s probably less than an inch tall.
i can’t explain my love for these plain black balls (that sounds kind of bad, huh?), but i absolutely love them.
then there’s ryan’s ornaments. he complains that they don’t get front-tree billing, but i’m sorry, no. plastic sports ornaments just don’t get a place of honor. can’t he see my vision?? if someone sneaks behind the tree they can view them from there 
this year he did get one at the front, after all his complaining…but it’s at the bottom.
{this one has the added bonus of making noise. no thanks.}
can you blame me?
so that’s christmas tree 2011! i’m so excited to add presents under the tree, but as of now, with 25 days until christmas, i have exactly one present bought.
do you have your decorations up yet? how are you doing on your present list?
{justine}
