Oh Christmas Tree

There is nothing I love more to do as a family than the day we get to put the Christmas decorations up. It’s just a beautiful thing – doing the same things again – remembering what happens, what decorations go where, unrolling the advent calendar, getting the tree, putting up the wreaths on the doors…and yesterday was no exception. The girls were excited, Elvis and Bing pumped out the Christmas tunes and last night as I sat under that tree with the lights sparkling, drinking in the smell of fresh, green pine, I was transported back to my own childhood. Christmas really is such a magical time, there’s nothing like it.

We headed off early afternoon to the Christmas tree farm to see if we could find our tree. Not much had changed from last year (you can see 2010 here 2011 here 2012 here) Harper still complained and whinged and there was a shit load of flies buzzing about. NOTHING was going to stop the spirit though…NO WAY. NO HOW.

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It’s quite the business picking the right one. It’s always a bit hot and as I said…those bloody flies! There are fights over who actually gets to pick it, and tears when the one that someone wanted doesn’t get chosen…I really must grow up. We wanted to get something a bit smaller than last year that was huge…and when you are in there you kind of lost sight of scale.

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Then we saw her! The tree! In all her glory!

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Rob was set to work. Harper cried.

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And then it was back home to set her up. Pine needles everywhere, split water, wonky tree straightening. But then, then she was done.

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Our tree is not styled. It’s filled with dodgy Preschool ornaments with glitter that falls off. It’s colourful and bright and funnily enough…it’s not small at ALL! It’s fat. And green. Smells amazing. Created with love. And it’s bloody perfect.

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The decorations are up. The lights and candles are around. The place looks and smells like Christmas. And we all couldn’t be happier about it.

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Have you got your Christmas decorations/tree up yet?
Filled with the Christmas spirit?
Isn’t it just THE BEST?

Comments

  1. Hayley Rose says

    Looks like so much fun! We don’t get real trees like this in Queensland so I have bought a little baby one to grow for us! Hopefully she’s big enough for Christmas 2015 and doesn’t grow wonky haha

  2. Alli @ ducks on the dam says

    Yes! 1st December at our house too. We usually do a live tree in a pot but I somehow managed to kill last year’s tree…… this year the inventive Miss 10 decided on a “stick tree” and so has artfully bound together some larger branches with some smaller sticks, done some minimalist decorating with silver strings and mirrors and it looks stunning! I might sneak a coloured bauble in there somewhere but we have Christmas everywhere else as well.

  3. Well hello, did we or did we not have mirror image experiences yesterday?! Hot Christmas tree farm, whingey kids. We got a big fuck off sized tree too, and it looks so much like yours, dodgy kinder decorations and all. I don’t need a stylised tree – I want something bright and fun that makes the kids happy. I’ve been going to the same Christmas tree farm since I was a kid, and I commented yesterday to my husband how the experience has barely changed at all. In this busy, fast-paced life, I love that. Happy Christmas to you and yours, Beth xo

    • BabyMacBlogBeth says

      It’s such a wonderful thing to do – to keep up a simple tradition like this – I hope we do it forever! Happy Christmas to you too…how on EARTH did it get here so quickly?!!

      • No idea! And on looking at my tree again just now, boy has she got a fair old lean on her this year! Might need to try and rectify that with the hubby this evening – or just leave it as is to go with the slightly dodgy look we’ve got going on!

  4. We have a decor tree this year on account of the move and on account that a real one would last about a day in this weather up here. Kester is not coping but order will be restored next Christmas!

  5. All Christmassed up here- and we’ve gone totally Griswald with the lights on our house this year!

  6. No. And I have no desire to start, but as I am charge of Christmas Spirit, best start thinking about it x

  7. Lynne Grierson says

    The last couple of years have seen me getting all carried away with the styled tree and I would be right pleased with myself when receiving all the compliments about how beautiful it was. This year my 18 year old (the youngest) commented that it was sad that our tree now looked like Martha Stewart decorated it but it didn’t have any “love” in it! I was absolutely gutted but realised she was right! I had stopped putting all the gorgeous (and all the dodgy) decorations that we had collected and been given over the years on the tree and filled it instead with balls and “fillers” in the latest style and colour. We have lived in 15 houses on three different continents in the last 25 years and all those ornaments told a story of our life and our travels. This year we have put as many on as possible, the ones made by the kids and my very clever Mum, the ones given to us by our friends in the USA, Middle East and other parts of Australia that we rarely see now and miss desperately. Our tree is once again a “love” tree. It has a serious lean due to the weight but is as you put it “bloody perfect”!

  8. Every year I say I will do a real tree and every year I don’t manage it.. I think it is because I fear the dog knocking it over or other kids on play dates.. BUT Christmas is very alive in our house. I use to have a smaller tree out the front but each year it blows over so this year it is in the kids bedroom and it really is quite magical to put the them to bed with the little fairy lights softly lighting the room.. loving the buzz this year x

  9. Your tree looks lovely. We put ours up yesterday too and It sure is helping me find some Christmas spirit.xT

  10. Love a real tree!

  11. We are well and truelly into Xmas here. Even before December…Only just though! I even made my own Xmas wreath which I love. A few more lights to go and we are done. Love it. You can see my wreath here at http://www.thewindmillpaddock.blogspot.com.au

  12. Lisa Mckenzie says

    No i haven’t got mine up yet ,probably this weekend i think.I love this post Beth and i adore your tree and love that it is done with ALL of the family that is what children remember the most xx

  13. We left all our Christmas decorations in Australia when we moved to the UAE. God I miss them. We’ve a few here now, but not many because the boys are “too old for that”. We have a plastic monstrosity here because for the price of a real one I could feed the family for a fortnight! This year it’s stand is held together by half a roll of ductape, MacGyver style, cause we’re classy like that.

  14. Maryandlil says

    yes its all up and Christmas has begun!

  15. Now that’s how a Chrissy tree should look. I do the tree by myself now, all the kids grown up and left home 🙁
    Can you Beth, or, one of your lovely followers tell me where I’d find a tree farm……I’m up in the Sydney area and think that’s what I’d like this year. I can smell it now!

  16. I just finished decorating our tree before school pick up. I love it!

  17. Sarah Brown says

    Almost All done yesterday and the Elf on the shelf tradition started this year . Mr 5 is wrapped ! Still need to hang the wreath on the front door but I need to paint it first maybe tomorrow …

  18. There’s nothing quite like the smell of a Christmas tree. It’s intoxicating. Gets you drunk on that Christmas spirit!
    This year we’ve got a medium (fake) tree that’s sitting on a shelf so the puppy doesn’t pull it down on himself or make a meal of the baubles. Me being me, our wreath is silver and glittery and our decorations all have a touch of sparkle to them. Yes. My name’s Sonia and I’m a sparkleholic.

  19. We have just moved to our new home in the Southern Highlands and we are looking forward to celebrating our first family Christmas (on Christmas Day) in four years. As our eldest is now 30 & is now a mumma of a 23 month old son herself, most of those dodgey pre-school decos have sadly reached their use-by-date. Will have to wait for the next generation to supply more of those but I still have some special memories of our three “artists” to decorate our new home. Hopefully, I can create a tree of love next week when I can see my way through the forest of boxes in my new garage. Happy Christmas to you & yours Beth, this is going to be a great Christmas xx

    • BabyMacBlogBeth says

      Thanks Fran! I think it is too…Merry Christmas and enjoy your first in the Highlands…you can get the fire on some years…we had ours on Christmas day last year!

  20. Look at that tree! She’s a beauty! x

  21. Annie Maurer says

    Love the Pre School made decorations….our tree is always covered in them and my kids are now 21, 19 and 14. Every year as we carefully pull them all out, the kids reminisce about what year they made them and we have a laugh at how dodgy they look. But they still go on the tree with love and that’s what Christmas is all about!

  22. Magic! It’s just how our tree was decorated when I was growing up (although we had a plastic tree – but oh, how that plastic smell meant christmas!)

    We also did some decorating on Sunday, 3 strings of lights around the traps, a guardian angel over the kitchen doorway, a gingerbread man garland in my eldest son’s room, a glittery gold plastic wreath on the front door and a small Ikea Christmas tree on the dining table. Having a 15 month old running amok precludes a free standing tree this year, I can’t wait til next year when my sons will be old enough to help decorate one!

    I’m really feeling the Christmas spirit this year (a great change from my sleep-deprived humbug self last year).

  23. Yes, yes, and yes.
    We decorated on Sunday – 3 sets of fairy lights strung up around the traps, a guardian angel over the kitchen doorway, a gingerbreadman garland in my eldest son’s room, a fantastic glittery gold plastic wreath on the front door, a 3-d advent calendar and a small Ikea Christmas tree on the dining table. With a 15 month old running amok, a full size tree wasn’t an option this year, I can’t wait till next year when my sons will be old enough to help me decorate one!
    I’ve also managed to get the gift buying underway, and I am really feeling it this year (so much better than the sleep-deprived haze I was in last christmas)!

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