A Christmas Tree With a Little Old-World Charm

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, my niece and sister helped me put up my Christmas tree. It's a big tree in a very small space, but I do love how it warms up my living room. 

My niece adding ornaments to the tree

I have a 9-ft slim tree, which fits well in the corner of my living room. To play up my chosen theme, I used about 25 yards of tartan ribbon (with wired edges for shaping!), frosted cranberry garlands, sprays of pheasant feathers, and dozens of white glittered snowflakes. As I mentioned in a previous blog, my Stewart tartan wool blanket became my tree skirt. 

The first time I put up my Christmas tree, I had an extremely limited budget. I had to light and decorate this big tree for less than $100. I found that unbreakable ornaments from Wal Mart (or any from a discounter) can fill a tree fast...and affordably. Floral picks, sprays, and ribbon for garland came from Michael's. And the fun pheasant feathers, along with more unique ornaments, came from after-Christmas sales at Marshall Field's.

Lighting is really important, so I bought two sizes of bulbs (C7 and regular indoor twinkle) for the tree. All said and done, I use about 500 twinkle lights and 100 C7-sized bulbs. One of the twinkle light strands has different lighting configurations, so I set it on a slow fade. It's amazing how much dimension that one change in lighting configuration can add to the tree!

Each year I add a little something new, which allows me to build a collection affordably. Now that I have a great base of non-breakable globe ornaments, I buy special ornaments to add visual interest to the tree. I have found so many beautiful ornaments at Macy's in recent years, and highly recommend finding something special on Holiday Lane. This year I bought Radko ornaments that were reproductions of the 1940s ornaments that hung on my Grandparents' and now Dad's Christmas trees.  I also bought a beautiful globe with the Manger Scene inside, a woodsmen-like Santa Claus, and gigantic glittered pinecones.

There's always such a sense of satisfaction and joy that comes with putting up the tree each year. Since many of the ornaments get rotated, it's always fun to decide which ornaments will fit the theme of the tree, and even more fun to bring back an old set of ornaments that haven't gotten their place of honor in a couple of years. Turning off the lights and sitting in the glow of the tree instantly transports me to Christmases past and reminds me of the magic of the season. 

The finished tree, complete with oversize pinecones, a wool blanket tree skirt, and a crown of feathers.

Found: A Christmas Decor Theme

I love decorating for Christmas, but considering that I have a tiny apartment, I have to be careful about what I choose to display. A well-edited decor theme allows me to create a surprising and pretty scheme, without it looking like a Christmas shop exploded in my living room. 

Every year I try to do something just a little different, try to incorporate new/different colors and patterns. It's amazing how different a Christmas tree can look when one switches out some ribbons, adds a new color of ornaments, or tries a different size string of light bulbs. Every year I also try to add to my collection in some way, enhancing another room's decor. This year it took me a while to figure out how to tweak my existing decor, but a blanket I inherited from my Grandma earlier this year finally gave me the inspiration I wanted. 

I decided on a theme surrounding this comfy old wool blanket; in fact, it will serve as my tree skirt! My theme is a little Old World meets winter woodland. I want to incorporate natural elements into my tree (pheasant feathers, pinecones, wood ornaments), but still give it a pretty shimmer with the ball ornaments I already own. 

My intention is not to create something too "country" or too "rustic cabin". I merely want to reflect my heritage and the beauty of where I grew up. Simple, pretty, slightly mismatched, and completely unique. 

As I complete my decorating later this week, I'll be sure to post photos of the process and the end result, as well as how I did my decorating on a very tight budget. In the mean time, however, are some of my favorite Christmas trees from the last few years. 

 

Above left: the Christmas tree in the upstairs living room at Dad's house. It spotlights a special set of "12 Days of Christmas" ornaments my Mom bought years ago. 

Above right: the Christmas tree at my apartment 2 years ago.

Left: the Christmas tree in the downstairs living room at Dad's house. We call it the "rebel" tree, as we use strings and strings of colored twinkle lights, a rare thing at my Dad's. The tree is covered with decades' worth of handmade ornaments by us kids, antique ornaments that were once owned by my great-grandparents and passed down, and spools of silver ribbon.