Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Show it Like it Is Challenge... O Christmas Tree!

Everyone knows it's illegal to mount your Christmas tree til December 1 (unless you are a department store -- in which case you have licence to do it in - oh - June ;). But I just had a baby and last Christmas Fern was still too young to understand what Christmas was, so we didn't make too big a deal of it. This Christmas? We're going all out. In truth, I'd barely scoffed the last of my Easter eggs when ours went up (well, maybe a slight exaggeration) and there are even presents under it!!

Which just goes to show how much motherhood has changed me, because in the past I had no qualms leaving my shopping til Christmas eve and wrapping the pressies late into the night... this year, I want to be super super organised and only leave SOME of my shopping til the last second. This year, I want to make gingerbread men. Have my photo taken with Santa. Leave carrots out for Rudolf. String lights around the outside of the house (ooops, already done). Make a Christmas cake. Play dodgy Bing Crosby carols. Watch National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (for the billionth time, that one never gets old). This year, I'm celebrating Christmas like I've never celebrated it before. Because this time, I've got my little family to celebrate it with, and its gonna be a cracker.

Anyway. So this year, my Christmas tree looks like this:

Tee hee. Yeah right!

My Christmas Tree this year has never looked messier. Or as garish. It's got no colour theme. It's plastic. And it isn't surrounded by snow. But I've never loved it more. Fern and I spent a good hour shopping together for some new decorations because suddenly my sophisticated collection of European silver glass seemed awfully inappropriate. Glass? Nope. Sparkly gold faux handbag? YOU BETCHA!

Here's our tree in all its glory:


Felt stars; sparkly balls; clip-on butterflies, little birds and some twinkly lights (hard to see in pic)... Yep, she's a beauty all right! Our picks for 2010:

Fern's choice...
... and mine!

Now it's YOUR turn!! Would your tree make Santa jealous or is it a mish-mash of  colourful kitch like mine? Do share, do! Mclinky provided below to share your joy. Oh, and please have a look at everybody elses trees and leave a comment, it really does a little extra Xmas cheer! x

13 comments:

  1. Great challenge idea and I am loving your tree - it is so much more fun with the littlies! I cant believe you can have pressies under there though - how do you stop Fern from ripping them open?

    Our tree is going up this weekend - if Im not in labour! We have decided on the real deal in a pot though and we will try and keep it for the years to come... we shall see how that goes.

    Stay tuned for pics :)

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  2. My husband has enforced the December 1st rule here too :( My argument was that if they are up at the shops they should be up at home too!!!
    We're hoping to have ours up on the weekend so will blog then.

    And I am loving that sparkly pink shoe decoration... somehow I don't think the husband would like that on our tree :P

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  3. Your tree is beautiful- very fun! We will put our tree up this weekend and then I'll pop back... I have been hesitant, worrying about small fingers grabbing, but I want it up anyway..you've inspired me!

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  4. Heheh I love it!! I feel your pain though, last year I ended up going to Ikea for some kid friendly decos and they will be making a reappearance again this year - if only I could be free of this fear of putting up the wretched thing. I'm so scared I'll be yelling at my two all day long to stay away from the tree and to stop pulling things off......

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  5. Love your tree and love your enthusiasm for the Christmas season. I am so behind in Christmas preparations this year due to several weeks of sleep deprivation and a sick little girl. Today was meant to be putting up tree day but I've started wondering how safe it will be with cyclone Gracie around :) Might have to take a leaf out of your book and get some more kid friendly decorations and maybe let Grace do some of the picking :)

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  6. love it! It's so fun.
    we're putting ours up this week - it's been in storage so I can't even remember what's in there! I do know that we add to it every year so it is a complete mismatch but when you've got wee ones that's what they love! I will take a picture x

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  7. tee hee yes I must admit I am finding decorations EVERYWHERE -- Fern is a tiny bit fascinated by it. Oh well... I just wait til she's in bed and decorate the tree again! And it hasnt really been that bad. x

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  8. Love your tree. To be honest oyu'll be waiting a while for me to add mine! We wait for the real ones and put one up usually the second weekend in Dec so as to keep them looking tip top still for Christmas.

    Although i have always LOVED Christmas, before the kids i was very fussy not to have any Christmas related ANYTHING until after my birthday on the 13th but now i;m like birthday, smurfday bring it on! Oh and i also could make allowances for me and not Mr.C who's birthday is on the 22nd! Now Christmas stuff until the 23rd could be a little strange! x

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  9. No Christmas stuff until the 23rd would be strange i meant! doh!

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  10. I'm loving your tree. Never did the mish match theme, as I'm crazy about pattern ... but maybe this year I'll move out of my comfort zone. Unfortunately, we can't do real trees in our condo and with our space being so small we might not even do a tree .. but we'll do something and I'll post it on my blog when it's up!

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  11. i found your blog randomly through a link of a link etc!! you and your family are gorgeous!
    i just put the christmas tree up at work, i have just moved into a new place with my fiance and we don't have a tree yet, should probably get one this weekend!
    take care

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  12. My tree is sadly quite bare. In my attempt to childproof it I had to pack away the breakable baubles and wasn't left with much.

    Oh well I figure a bare tree is easier to maintain. Between Amelie the terror nearly two year old and Chloe the crazy cocker spaniel it has been knocked over four times and I only put it up yesterday!

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  13. We do first weekend in December and I have to admit that I'm going with my theme rather than the Bebito's and we are making decorations together. I do SO like yours. :)

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