our masterpiece Christmas tree tradition
The Christmas tree is in the house!!! Whether you are team artificial or team real, it’s TIME to get your Christmas tree set up for the season. Our kiddos are college age so we took the opportunity to get our tree the day after Thanksgiving while they were home, which is a our tradition. Then we trimmed it on Saturday before they headed back to school. Do you have a Christmas tree tradition?
We always get a real tree, and we usually got our Christmas tree sometime over the weekend after Thanksgiving, but as the kids became college age and timing was critical we have established a tighter timeline. We get our tree on Friday after Thanksgiving and we trim it over the weekend before the kiddos head back to school.
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the silver tip tree
We like skinny, sparse trees, which I have shared all the details in the past. At the end of this post I share previous posts from years past, which give you more details about our silver tip Christmas trees and the traditions that go along with it. If you like artificial trees this is a similar style of tree we prefer.
This year we had a bonus and my father in law, aka: grandpa, was able to join us for the tree tradition excursion. He joined us for Thanksgiving from Georgia, and we loved having him along for the Christmas tree tradition.
the masterpiece family Christmas tree tradition
Once we get the tree home it is placed perfectly in front of the big picture window in the living room. It takes bit of adjusting to get it perfectly straight and centered.
One of the features we loved about this year’s tree is that it has a bit of a crooked trunk, which gives the tree so much character but makes it tricky to place perfectly straight. Once it’s in place it gets a haircut to even out all the branches.
Once it’s straight and pruned, Mr. M strings all the lights. He’s very meticulous about making sure to cover all the branches from the trunk to the tips of the branches.
Next I apply the garland around the tree. I love this Merry Christmas ribbon which I’ve used for the last few years. This gold version is really pretty too and I love the vibe of this one as well.
Then the masterpiece kiddos lead the charge in placing all the ornaments just so. This mamas’s heart is happy we were able to finish trimming the tree before they headed back to school.
I will share the completely trimmed tree in a subsequent post, including more details about the ornaments and tree styling.
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Even Misty got in on the action. This will be her first Christmas so she’s nor quite sure about all the excitement. She’s been pretty good about the tree, so for that I am thankful.
all the Christmas feels
I am so glad our main tree is ready for the season. We also have a small flocked faux tree in the family room, which I will share really soon. It has a woodland theme, which is a favorite around here.
One of the benefits of having grandpa, aka: my father in law, along for the ride, is all the photo ops. Even though we have been using the same tree farm for a few years now, we never took advantage of all the great little Christmas scenes. Well, here we go… ’tis the season.
other Christmas tree posts
“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.”
Burton Hillis
What a delightful post. I rarely comment – but, I’ve been a subscriber for years and greatly enjoy your writings. Love your families’ joining together to make the tree procurement and decoration a memorable family event! I noticed in one of your previous Christmas postings that we have some of the same ornaments ? I immediately recognized the silvered pinecones and glittered Eiffel Tower – there may be others!
Thanks for a charming read.
I love Christmas traditions, In my opinion, that is what the holidays are all about. In years past, we would begin dragging everything out from the attic at the end of October, and then we began to get started earlier and earlier. Maybe covid had something to do with that… this year decorations will be sparce, compared to other years, but it does not stop us from putting up a few decorations here and there. We will be having some work done on our home next month, and I decided I did not need to add dust to the Christmas clean-up. Hope you enjoy your holidays MJ!
BTW, I love your tree! Wish I had ribbon like yours! I love that the whole family gets into the decorating too. 🙂
Oh my gosh, MaryJo, I LOVE that you guys put your tree up together each year after Thanksgiving. It’s such a beautiful shape and I know it makes the whole neighborhood happy to have a tree in the front window. I love the ribbon you chose and I can’t wait to see more. It looks so pretty already! Hugs, CoCo
Awww thanks so much CoCo. I so appreciate your sweet words. XO- MJ