I did it you guys! I decorated for Christmas before Thanksgiving! My husband has put his foot down every year in the past. It became our tradition to put up the tree on Thanksgiving night. I did love staying up until 2 am most of those nights decorating it, but I'm over that :) Plus, I always loved the idea of my kids helping with it, and since we never get home that night until past bedtime anyway, it always ended up being me. Last year, as we were driving to Thanksgiving dinner at the in-laws, I noticed my husband listening to Christmas music. I asked my husband why he could listen to Christmas music on Thanksgiving but why I couldn't have Christmas decor up. He mentioned that Thanksgiving is the gateway to the holidays. So, I said, then you are okay having Christmas up on Thanksgiving? He said, "Yes." Mind blown. You mean I can have the Christmas tree up during Thanksgiving dinner? He agreed. Then of course my next question was why do I have to wait until that night? He told me that he never forced me to wait until the night, I could do it in the morning. Now I saw his messed up logic and decided to decorate for Christmas whenever the heck I wanted :) lol
This tree went up on Sunday night. Yep! Plus, I read that people who decorate for Christmas early are happier. So, the earlier the better, right? :) And to my surprise, he didn't care much. Just sent me a text showing a bunch of dead reindeer saying "You did this, hope you are happy." Ha! According to him, each time you listen to a Christmas song before Thanksgiving, you kill a baby reindeer. Apparently, each time you put up a Christmas tree before Thanksgiving you kill a heard of them. So, I am sorry if there is a sharp decline in the reindeer population because I have about 4 full sized trees up already :)
I try to decorate my tree a little different every year, but the past 2 or so years I fell into a rut. I liked what I did and just changed it up a smidgen. This year, I decided to do something a little different. I actually had most of the stuff on hand and only had to buy some new ribbon and a few accessories. Without realizing it, I ended up going in a woodland themed direction. I say this every year, but I think this is by far my favorite way I have ever decorated my tree :)
Here's a guide on how I decorated it.
First off, my tree is not flocked. I wanted to flock it this year, but got overly excited to start decorating it and didn't want to waste more time :) So, to add a little 'frost', I sprayed some Sno Blow onto the tips. I also added about 4 frosted garlands throughout the tree. I found these at Hobby Lobby a couple of years ago.
I then added burlap criss-crossing down the tree in three spots. I placed this frosted mesh garland on top of the burlap. Both the burlap and mesh are found at Hobby Lobby.
Next, I added this cute "Merry Christmas" sign. Also from Hobby Lobby. I guess from now on, just assume everything is from Hobby Lobby unless I note otherwise :)
I placed two of these reindeer onto the tree, one bigger than the other.
I placed three grapevine wreaths throughout the tree. These wreaths are about 12" in diameter.
Next was the super fun part. I decided to put all my old olive buckets to use. I hung three of them on the tree then filled them up with pinecones and faux wood. The olive buckets are actually from three different places: Amazon, Gordmans, and Hobby Lobby.
I found these huge frosted pinecones and added them to the tree.
I then added four frosted branches throughout. These branches were from Michaels a few years ago, although you can find similar ones at Hobby Lobby.
I also added the faux wood sticks throughout the tree.
For the top, I placed a wood star that I found at Target two years ago. I also have these cute frosted snowflakes I found at a local store years ago and added them throughout along with frosted white balls.
Until Christmas presents fill up the bottom, I have pillows, a basket full of blankets and cute little trees to take up space.
I really wanted to flock the tree this year, but glad I didn't. "Frosting" it was the perfect choice, although if I get more time next year, I'm going to for sure flock it :)
This pup loves his spot in front of the tree. Seriously, he rarely laid there before the tree was up and now he lays there all the time. Must love Christmas as much as me! :)
In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing the rest of this room along with the other trees and rooms in my house.
Serious question now, when do you start decorating for Christmas? The way that I see it, my pumpkins go up September and down at the end of October. That's two full months. If I kept them up until November, that would be three! Then Christmas would only get about 1 month. That's not fair in my book. I spend so much more time on Christmas decor than anything. I think it's only reasonable to put it up the beginning of November :) Totally justified, right?
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Your Christmas tree is absolutely gorgeous! I have always been a lover of neutral colored Christmas decorations, they seem so wintry and cozy to me. Your artistry shines in the decorations you chose, their placement on the tree and the way you wrapped that beautiful ribbon in and around the tree. I've never been able to accomplish that element, yours is perfect! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeletep.s.My younger sister hosts our family Thanksgiving every year. She has a quite large and beautiful home and when we arrive on Thanksgiving morning, that home is fully decorated for Christmas, including a tree on each of the three levels. She's often said she decorates early for herself, she says it puts her in a holiday "frame of mind" as she prepares food and home to receive our family on Thanksgiving Day.