A Tree Here... A Tree There...

That last post had me thinking about all of the decorating I get to do in the next week or so. I don't always like the decorating process, but I <3 how it looks when it's done.

Today I'm going to talk about the Christmas tree. I do 3 trees (I used to think that was SO overkill, but now I LOVE it!).

One of them is a nativity tree. It's in the front room - or as my friend, B, called it last weekend - the "Grown-Up Room". All of the ornaments have something to do with the nativity. I try to add one to it each year. It makes me very upset how many retailers do not carry nativity ornaments. Last year I couldn't find a single one at Shopko. This year I've looked at Shopko, Smith's Marketplace, and Target. Guess what? NO NATIVITY!!! Shame on you retailers! It's a good thing that I have another trick up my sleeve... This tree has white lights, champagne-colored balls, and strings of pearls. It's where my newly completed tree skirt will be residing from this year forward.

The tree in the kitchen has my collection of Hallmark Nostalgic Houses and Shops. I stopped collecting these a couple of years ago because I have every single ornament and most of the special edition ornaments for the first 25 years of the series. I love the detail on these, but come on! There's only so much commitment I can give to tree decorations... This tree is one of those alpine trees that is prelit. Jon and I have found that it's fairly easy to leave all of the ornaments on this every year, wrap it in tall plastic bags, and carefully carry it to the basement. It's one of the first things I get out each year because it's so easy to just plug it in and have the instant gratification of one of my trees being finished.

The year we moved into our house I was anti-Christmas decor (we moved in the first weekend in December). My mother took pity on her grandsons and brought us the alpine tree. I don't think I've told her how grateful I am that she did that - I really would have gone without, but it's not always about just me...

The third tree is down in the family room - AKA the pit. It's a tree that has all of my annual ornaments (at least the ones before I started the Nostalgic Houses), the ornaments that the boys and Jon get each year, and the ornaments that the boys make. If we get a real tree, this is where it goes. If we borrow one from Jon's parents (like we did in this photo), then it fills the space. (One of these years I'm going to let go of the guilt and just get over feeling that I need to have a real tree. I think it will be much simpler). Anyway - the pit tree gets colored lights. Jon does the lights and then the boys hang the ornaments. I don't even intervene with the ornament hanging process. I just turn on the music, cook dinner, and watch them all at work. The pit tree is the one where Santa leaves the goods.

So - Do you have a real tree or a fake one? Do you have more than one? Where are they and how do you decorate them?