I really believe in the magic of Christmas, and nothing makes me feel more magical (besides lots of fairy lights) than a beautifully decked out Christmas tree. Since I moved to the beach last year, I’ve been lucky to be able to afford the biggest trees I can find. Lots of people I know believe in narrow trees, but I love a good fat tree and since I buy my own trees, that’s what I get!
Last year, I had a beautiful tree. It was big and lovely and I could actually carry it (since I like to joke that I have freakishly strong upper arms). With the help of the local tree farmer, I strapped it to my little MINI Cooper and off we went. I had a tree stand for an 8 foot tree (and this wasn’t that tall), so I figured it out, put it in the stand all by myself, decorated the whole thing and was happy. And in the middle of the night, it fell over, splashing water everywhere, breaking ornaments I could never replace and making a huge mess. In the practical scheme of things, it wasn’t a big deal, but I was still upset. I managed to put the tree back up and clean up the mess, and I used bungee cords to secure it to the walls. It stayed up the rest of the season.
So I was a little nervous this year. And I realized that this was one job that this handy homeowner girl really needed help with! Fortunately, my sister and brother-in-law were in the area last week and offered to help me with the tree. We went to a local farmer’s market to pick one out. I wanted a good smelling tree (last year’s didn’t smell at all), but I think I ended up with another non-smelling one, because some of the others smelled so good. The woman asked if I wanted a fat tree, and I was already eyeing the one that would become mine. It was HUGE. I’m a big believer (like my sister) in trees that “speak” to me, and this tree did. The tree is as wide as it is tall (and it’s about seven feet tall) and just lovely. It was a good thing we had my sister’s big SUV and not my little MINI, because the tree would have been bigger than the car!
We finally got it back to my house and inside, and it took us a little while to fit it properly into the stand. It seems that the stand got warped in my hot attic this summer, so we ended up sticking some cardboard under one side to give it stability and again bungee-cording it to the wall. The tree is so ridiculously wide that it took me three tries to find a spot that I could reach the top of the tree to put the angel on it!
Now that's a tree!
That night, I popped in a Christmas movie, got out my camera and got to work. I tested all the lights first this time, and added seven strands to the tree (I really like lights).
Lots of lights! Don't worry, I don't store them in a tangle
Looks magical!
Finally got all the lights on!
Then, I set to work adding the ornaments – my brother-in-law had been concerned that I wouldn’t have enough for such a large tree, but my sister and I just looked at each other and said, “Oh yes, there will be enough ornaments.” It took me a while to put them all up – I’m not one for a theme on the tree. I just like to enjoy the memories that come with each ornament and to put every single one on the tree, unless it’s broken. I’m a firm believer in a very decorated, home-y tree.
My Grandpa made these a very long time ago and I'm sure he didn't know that I would now be putting them on my own tree!
My 2009 ornament - Rodney the Reindeer!
I have the snowbuddies collection of ornaments
I love this litle bear - he's English and I'm half-English!
Finally, the ornaments were up and it was time for tinsel. My mom’s been trying to get me to give up tinsel at their house for years and we finally did because of their dogs. But even with my puppy, I decided I’d keep the tinsel and just teach him to avoid the tree. He’s pretty good – the biggest problem we have is when he’s facing away from the tree and wags his tail, tangling tinsel on the end of his tail until he waves it onto the floor! But there’s something about the reflective glow of the tinsel in the fairy lights that makes me think Christmas really is a magical season.
Tinsel is the best part!
The final touch was the angel on top of the tree. I bought it last year, and she was beautiful. The tree crash damaged her a little, leading to a missing thumb and a cracked cardboard star. I like to think she just shows that you can survive a little fall here and there, so I keep her up there.
My poor tree topper!
After putting some water in the stand and adding my tree skirt, I was ready to sit back and enjoy the tree!
My tree skirt - that went on at the very end
Decorating complete!
Of course, it’s so wide that I’m not sure I can light a fire while I still have the tree, because sparks might reach it, but we’ll see. I’m also not entirely sure that I’ll be able to take the tree out, so it might live at my house for a very long time…
