O Christmas Tree

This is our Christmas tree. For the past four years since
we've first moved here and had our first ever family Christmas,
we've had a real tree and this year is no exception. 

We all went down to our local Homebase the previous Saturday
to look for our perfect tree and chose this 4 ft Nordman fir with
soft, longer-lasting needles and a nice pine scent. It fits just right
in the corner of our living room and of course, as soon as it was
in place, we just couldn't wait to decorate it!

The girls especially were very excited. The tree decorating actually
got a bit chaotic at one point when Lulu started hanging baubles
 wherever she can reach and Markie kept wanting to be lifted up
so she can hang the angel at the top. But it was still fun and really
sweet to see them so eager and wanting to help. Now that they're
a bit older they're able to join in the activities and preparations,
making the festive season more enjoyable and memorable.
In fact it's been one best of the things this Christmas for me.

About our tree ornaments..around half of them are shop bought.
I'm always on the look out for them in the post holiday sales and
put them away for the next year. We have a few that were given
 to us by my parents-in-law, like the green star below.
They also gave us the little tin. It was my husband's when he
was small and they found it when they were clearing up their
garage last year. It's the only Christmas item we have from his
childhood so it's pretty special. The ceramic angel was a
souvenir from our holiday in Italy. I'd be very sad if this gets
broken or lost.

The rest of our tree decorations were handmade by yours truly.
These are some of the first ones I made four years ago when
I decided to save some money and make my own. I love them
 because they got me interested in sewing and making, and
 crafts like crochet that I haven't done since I was in school.
A few months after making these I bought my first sewing
machine and made my first cushion cover.  My interest and love
 of crafting started and really grew from here. So these little
 fabric trees, felt angels and felt Christmas puddings
will always be treasured and will always have their place
on our tree.

We're really delighted with our tree this year and as the old
Christmas song goes it 'brings to us all both joy and glee'.
O Christmas tree!

Before I go I'd like to thank you for visiting my blog
throughout the year and for all your lovely comments.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a very happy
New Year!!