How-To ... Our Christmas Tree

Our big tree doesn't have much of a theme, 

but there are a few elements that we think makes our tree 

(or any tree!) really special.

Christmas balls in multiple textures

We have a nice mix of red, gold and ivory colored balls 

ranging in finishes from shiny, satin, sparkle and disco.

Balls are so cheap and add a ton of depth to a tree.  They aren't special, so you can shove them deep within the branches to add depth and they make the tree look so full!

Something organic

We love adding something organic to our tree.  The past few years we're used these pine cones that we plucked from the woods behind my Grandma's house.  

I wasn't sure they would last through the years, but so far, so good!

I love the outdoor/nature feel they add to the tree and it really breaks up all of the ornaments.

Something vintage

Our style from our house to our wardrobes is a total mix of old and new.

I had one of these vintage mercury glass ornaments that I looooved.  I actually ended up finding a set of 8 new ornaments that were a great vintage knock off of my one original.  

All of them now happily live on our tree along with our vintage garland.  

Something whimsey

I love these mercury glass acorns.  

I think it's super cute to have sparkly acorn ornaments on our tree 

since acorns come from trees!

Something special

I have two of these snowflakes.  They were the very first ornaments I ever bought myself when I lived in my shoebox apartment.  I hung them in my two kitchen windows and that was about as much decorating as I did back then.  But I loved them then and I love them now of my tree.

Cheap sparkly filler

Light bounces off of sparkles and it's like you have double the twinkle lights on your tree!

I bought a few packs of these sparkly snowflakes at a dollar store and they make all the difference in the balance of silver/gold and add the best sparkle element ever.

Also, anything can be an ornament.   If you like it, add a hook and slap it on... 

if you like it, it can't be wrong.

 The 'one-of-a-kinds'

 I hate when people don't put their one-of-a-kind fun ornaments on their tree because they "don't go" with a theme or a color scheme.  We love our ornaments that show our personalities or remind us of a special vacation.  

We have everything from a pink flamingo to a Cape May crab hanging on our tree.

Above: a red bicycle because Eric is a cycling fanatic. A ship named 'Morgan' because it is my Grammy's maiden name, my middle name and now the middle name of my super sweet niece.  And a keg of beer, because, well, if you know us it fits right in :)