Trimming the Tree

Last Friday I thought we could have a picture perfect trimming the tree party.  I was going to make snowman shaped pizza and breadstick shaped candy canes while the boys went and got the tree.  Then after dinner we would drink hot chocolate and put up the ornaments all together.  Yeah. right.

Here is what really happened... I tried to talk Trey into going with his daddy to get our Christmas tree like he did last year.  Trey said the tree on top of my car scared him and he wanted daddy to go by himself.  So Jay took my car to work on Friday and picked up the tree on his way home from work so we wouldn't all have to go out :)

Then neither kiddo took a nap that day, so we knew by 5:00 a special after dinner activity would blow up in our faces with tantrums and whinning, so we didn't even attempt it! We did have our pizza and breadsticks and they were a hit!  We put the kids to bed at 7 and then used our tree entry method of putting the tree in the stand on the back patio, opening the french doors and carrying the tree (stand and all) into the house and setting it down 5 feet from the door. Seriously this is the best tree entry procedure ever and results in very little needles all over the house. 

We had our annual discussion about colored (Jay's preference) or while (my preference) lights and then strung the lights on the tree.  Of course we only have enough white lights for the tree, so we went with white :) I really have conceded the past 2 years and said we could go with colored, but when we look in the Christmas tubs we remember we don't have enough colored LED lights for the tree so we end up using the white ones- not that I am complaining.

All our ornaments are personal for us.  They have either been given to us (or our children) as gifts or we have picked them up when we travel.  Our most recent ornaments have come from our Sunday School class' annual Christmas party ornament exchange.  Each year we get two new ornaments from the exchange and I think we have 8 ornaments on our tree from those parties alone! No matter how tacky we are committed to putting them up, even if they do end up on the back like the stinky cheese ornament we ended up with last year.

As we put up the ornaments Friday night, we laid aside ones the kids could hang on the bottom of the tree.  They had a great time hanging the ornaments.  Trey is really good at putting the hook so the ornaments stas up.  Charlotte had to do it all by herself and if you offered to help her hang her ornament she would hug the ornament to her chest and tell you "NO!" 

Really going with our plan B made the event a lot easier and more enjoyable for all involved.  The kids love looking at the ornaments (especially ones with their picture on them) and it has been fun to watch them get into the Christmas spirit.