Tree Decorating: Assorted Ornmts of all types, or a theme, or a color scheme?

[Bertha Venation]

[Debi]

1. When we decorated the tree we would buy the lights and garland/beading/ribbon matching

but the ornaments remained the same.

[yellowdogintexas]

2. we have Hallmark Collectibles, souvenir ornaments from our travels,

crystal, hearts, cats, trains, bells, bats., pictures of our daughter

even a unicorn

[LiberalEsto]

3. We just put it up, stand back

and take turns hurling things at it. Socks, leftovers from the refrigerator, dustballs, you name it. Whatever sticks, we call it a decoration.

Last year's cocktail franks looked pretty cute until they got a bit aged and began to reek. Pantyhose is not particularly attractive unless it's red or black. And the cats run around under the branches leaving tufts of their sheddings, which, if you squint your eyes, looks almost like gray tinsel.

[lizziegrace]

4. Last year we put up 4 trees

2 full-sized and two table-top ones. The largest was in the living room and had all the family and collectible ornaments on it. The other large tree was in the dining room and had a theme. Silver/gold/white. Underneath were dozens of collectible houses and shops all lit with white lights.

The two table-top trees were primitive style. One had cookies and miniature cookie cutters on it (in the kitchen) and the other had old primitives on it (in the entry hall)

:)

This year, I don't care if a tree goes up or not.

[MorningGlow]

5. Let's call it an eclectic decorating scheme

Hm...just like the house, come to think of it. We put up whatever we've got and call it art. The only thing we can't put up is icicles, because of COURSE our cats eat them and then have silvery things hanging out of their butts. Pulling one of those out once was QUITE enough, thank you very much.

I think I avoid doing themes because of what my mom did every year when I was little--actually till I got old enough to tell her to knock it off, so that would be...about...15, 16 years of the same theme. And that was: fake tree (the old-fashioned kind--wooden pole with holes you jammed the twisted wire ends of the branches into), gold and white lights, gold tinsel, gold plastic bows, and gold elves. Every. Fucking. Year.

Apparently she got the elves and bows at the department store she used to work at when I was little--some rock-bottom bargain with her employee discount during an after-Christmas sale. And dammit, she was gonna use those decorations till they disintegrated or she died--whichever came first. So far those damned elves are looking pretty hale and hearty. Just sayin'.

[Heidi]

6. Other: We do what Ginger's least likely to eat or attack.

One year, I had the great idea of decorating the tree with ornamental birds with real feathers, pricey but lovely. Never again.

[lizziegrace]

9. The macabre family Christmas??

;)

I made little gingerbread men for a small tree in the kitchen. Put little holes in their heads, baked them and let them dry for a couple days. Put ribbon through the holes and hung them on the tree. The next morning, I came downstairs and the cats are sitting looking at a pile of little gingerbread bodies on the floor. The heads were still hanging from the tree, but the bodies fell off at the neck.

The cats kept crying to tell me they didn't do it. Lelapin said we should have kept the heads on the tree and name them Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice. :evilgrin:

Wish I'd gotten a photo of it.

[Heidi]

10. Your cats TORTURED and DECAPITATED the Gingerbread men????

:rofl:

I totally understand. Ginger is all over ANYTHING with butter content. :spray: :rofl:

[lizziegrace]

11. No, actually they didn't touch them

the poor guys fell apart on their own. While I was standing there, I watched another one drop to the floor. The cats were afraid they'd get in trouble and were circling and crying at the bodies on the floor as if to say "but, but we didn't touch them. Honest!"

[Heidi]

13. Oh, dear.

Well, gf, shit happens. We've learned this, at least, by now. :hug:

Remind me to tell you about the time I was called upon to host a luncheon meeting at our home for one of CMW's primary clients. Yes, I forgot to put the shredded carrots into the Aargau Carrot Cake. Ever since then, "Let's not forget the carrots!" has become his team's euphemism for, "Let's not f*ck this up!" :rofl: :spray:

[lizziegrace]

14. Hehe...

:rofl:

The headless bodies made that Christmas a riot. And now we've got a great story to tell. ;) If I spent time trying for a Norman Rockwell holiday, I'd have missed a lot of fun. ;)

[davsand]

7. Our tree is best described as "eclectic."

The topper is a tin pie plate with purple aquarium foil lining the bottom of it with an ornament suspended in the middle.

I have a Santa Gumby on there, a cardboard cat wearing a Santa hat, a Mardi Gras mask, various plastic flowers and fabric bows, and a collection of ornaments made from wood, plastic, foil, cardboard, fabric, string, crystal--you name it. Lots of stuff on there that Material Girl has made over the years, and any ornament that was purchased may not have exceeded $1.00 in price.

It works for us, somehow. I dunno how, but it is ours and it almost every ornament has some kind of story behind it. The only thing that cost more than $1.00 is the skirt. I actually paid about $20.00 for that because the cat destroyed the other one the year he was a kitten.

I suppose we could have been all about the "decor" but somehow, to us, it was more important to have that tree be about who WE are rather than who Hallmark was marketing to.

:shrug:



Laura

[Bertha Venation]

23. I'd like very much to see your tree.

Sounds like my kinda tree made by my kinda folks. :hi:

[SalmonChantedEvening]

8. Our tree is a mini family history.

Ornaments dating from the 1920's to ones received as gifts that year. I go insane every year, and the tree holds well over 200. I have to be told to STOP :rofl:

Even after they stop me, I sneak a few more on ;)

Merry Christmas Bertha!! :hi: :loveya: :hug:

Edit: Assorted hardly describes it bahahaha

[lizziegrace]

12. I love trees like that

I could look at them for hours. Mine's similar. Probably up to at least 150 ornaments. Unfortunately, I don't have room for my tree. My place is too small. I found a small 4' one to put on a table. That's it for this year.

by the way - STOP! or don't. :hug:

[SalmonChantedEvening]

16. Then I'm sneaking in a few just for you lizzie ;)

Giggling all the way :)

Merry Christmastime!!

:hi: :hug: :loveya:

Time to avatar the season ;)

[lizziegrace]

19. If you get caught and try to blame me

I'm taking the 5th. Drinking a 5th? Pleading the 5th? Whatever. You're on your own. ;)

:)


:loveya:

[SalmonChantedEvening]

20. Ah yes. The Cinco de Mea Culpa.

:D

[lizziegrace]

21. ...

:rofl:

[SeattleGirl]

15. Mine is a color scheme

Burgundy, bronze, gold and creme.

But I like all kinds of trees.

[mykpart]

17. I checked "other" because

for years we did the "put every ornament you own on the tree, and then add some" theme. That was when my children were still at home and my first husband was long gone. The kids always loved decorating the tree.

Then the kids grew up and left home, and I found a wonderful man and married again in my 50s. All the old ornaments were given away, and we started fresh. Now I like to do either a theme or a color scheme, and change it every couple years or so. For the last several years we have had a white tree, and have enjoyed getting different lights and ornaments each year for different color schemes. Then one year we had a green tree with only wooden ornaments, last year we had a small green tree decorated with old costume jewelry. This year I bought a fiber optic tree, but haven't put it up yet, so not sure how I will decorate it. I plan to get out my considerable supply of ornaments and decide tonight or tomorrow. I'm thinking all ivory-colored ornaments.

[SeattleGirl]

18. Ooooh, the one with the costume jewelry sounds wonderful.

Do you have a picture of it?

[ghostsofgiants]

22. Assorted. It's like a collage of holiday madness (and cheer, I guess)!

:P

[quakerboy]

24. Wonderfully smelling Rosemary bush

trimmed to look like a tree, needs no Ornaments.

[annabanana]

25. Three generations of accumulated crap.. Only a little of it "nice" . .

ALL of which MUST go on the tree every year.

From a distance it's quite lush.. a little seedier close up.

This is from last year (It looks mostly the same every year)