It happens every year. I always show y’all our “finished Christmas tree” and then less than two days (or even hours) later I decide it needs a little tweaking. In 2009, we called our tree “done” and then proceeded to change out our red living room curtains for gold ones and add a big bow to the top of our tree. Last year, we added a whole roll of ribbon and some swirly branches to the top after I did the big reveal.
This year, I’m just going to embrace the fact that we will more than likely be changing our tree up at least once before the big 12-25 hits, but it’s lookin’ good so far.
Just like our Christmas mantel, the color scheme for our tree this year is much cooler than in years past. No reds this year!
Here’s a 2009, 2010, and 2011 Christmas tree side-by-side for fun:
The biggest addition to the tree this year were the dark teal and brown ornaments I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby after Christmas last year. I only found about 6-7 teal bulbs that weren’t broken (they’re real glass), but I made sure to spread them out over the side of the tree that we see.
Are you a “front of the tree” decorator too? I’m ashamed to admit that the back of our tree has probably 1/3 as many ornaments on it as the front! But who’s going to see the back anyway? Our cat?
Here’s a wider view so you can see the mantel and the tree together. Those leafy curtains from Ikea really helped set the color scheme for Christmas this year. It was pure luck that I decided to grab teal and brown ornaments last year and they match the curtains so well!
Instead of placing the curly twigs (their proper name is ting ting) at just the top of the tree like last year, I shoved them in all around the tree. They make the tree feel full and whimsical without ribbon. I used the gold twigs I painted last year and the leftover brown ones too.
This is only the third year we’ve had our full-size tree. We picked it up right after Christmas in 2008 for 50% off at Walmart, and it’s still going strong.
If you’re just starting to accumulate seasonal decor like we are and you don’t want to spend a ton of money, my best recommendation is to go ornament shopping after Christmas. It takes a little planning if you’re wanting to change up your color scheme for the next year, but you can usually walk away with ornaments for 75% off or more. Hobby Lobby is the best I’ve found for after Christmas sales. I think nearly all of our ornaments were purchased for 80-90% off!
So there you have it, our “I’m not calling it done yet” Christmas tree!
What do you think?
