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Trimmed, Mostly

In this house, no one loves Christmas more than I do – no one. (And yes, I realize this is just between me and Scott, but I totally win.) You’d think this means I’d go nuts in holiday decor – and while I have this fantasy of soft, glimmering lights, tinsel and garland on every surface – this type-A crazy person can’t fathom having so many surfaces covered in things.

I know, I can be a total buzz kill, but I promise you that our home is constantly flooded with Christmas tunes every minute of every day. (My playlist alone has days of Christmas-y cheer, and I’ve no problem listening to what the radio DJs spin, either.)

All this to say, in our home, we really keep things simple. Our tree has been (mostly) trimmed, and each of our three kiddos have a tiny stocking that we’ll stuff with treats and catnip.

While the thought of so many covered surfaces makes me itchy (it’s really pretty in my dreams though, I’ll admit), I’ve been fighting Scott on the idea of an over-the-top tree. A white one! Or a pink one! And we’ll cover it in big, colored ornaments – ornaments bigger than my head!

He never goes for it (but believe me, I’m working on it). For now, we decked our tree with childhood ornaments, silver and gold, and – in the grand Christma-versary tradition – new ornaments from our trip to the PNW!

This year, we picked up a fish to commemorate the Ballard Locks in Seattle, a mini ballerina cake topper from Cupcake Royale in Capitol Hill, and a totem pole from our time in Vancouver. (Sorry, Portland, we spaced and forgot to grab a token!)

While our fish was purchased ornament-ready, we needed to prep the other two for trimming. Just as we did last year with our animal decor, we used a tiny drill bit to create a pilot hole…

… Then screwed in small eye hooks. Done!

Scott insisted we use pretty bakers twine to spiff ’em up even more (as opposed to those simple, metal hooks), and I have to agree – they look much cuter that way.

To finish off our tree, I had plans to make our own tree skirt, but when you’re only 2 weeks out from Christmas Day, we made do with what we had. A few weeks ago, we picked up a $2 flannel blanket from our local thrift store (and I had thought about cutting it up to make the perfectly-shaped skirt), and we simply smooshed it around the base until it was nice and cozy. (Plus, Scott had a conniption about me slicing it with scissors, and I was having my doubts, too.) Obviously, it’s the coziest for some cuties in this house:

In the end, I’m happy Scott pried the scissors from my hands (okay, that didn’t really happen), because the blanket is actually pretty nice. And for $2!

If we had more time on our hands (that’s funny!), I would’ve loved to add some garland to our tree – hence the “mostly” up there. I actually voted for something gold and sparkly, but Scott’s much more traditional than I am, so he nixed that idea. Perhaps next year, I’ll have my ducks in a row far enough in advance to make these simple poms?

They’d even look nice on a white tree. Or a pink one!

Tell us, how is your holiday decor coming along? Do you keep it simple like us, or do you go all out? (And if you go all out, can we please come over so we can soak in all your awesome-ness?)

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  • Jennie12.12.12 - 8:11 AM

    I too have a little gray girl who loves to sit under “her” tree. But she also loves to chew on the lights and paw at the ornaments… How do you get your kiddos to leave it alone??

    I’ve been reading your blog for months but this is my first comment!ReplyCancel

    • Kim12.12.12 - 8:23 AM

      Hi Jennie! We don’t do anything to prevent the girls from pawing at the tree… but they both just LOVE to sit under the lights and make little kitty nests in the skirt. We also make sure the lights are really nestled into the tree, so they’re not hanging down – and only the smallest ornaments go near the bottom. Sorry we’re not much help in that department! Our girls are just prisses that seem to enjoy the angelic glow the lights give off!ReplyCancel

  • Kat12.12.12 - 11:49 PM

    We have a non-traditional tree skirt, too! I took a snowflake printed table runner & wrapped it around the base of our tree. Our fuzzy friend loves to nap under the tree too… but oddly, only when the christmas lights are turned on — she must love the soft glow as much as I do :)ReplyCancel

  • Trude12.13.12 - 5:34 PM

    It all looks so lovely! What a great idea for a tree skirt. My roomie and I do a few fixins, plus a condo-sized tree. We also couldn’t stay away from holiday towels in the guest bathroom (but come on, they have a deer in a scarf on them). I have yet to take photos, but really need to. The tree really makes it so cozy!ReplyCancel

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