Our {Artificial} Christmas Tree

I hesitated to put the word, artificial, in the title of the post. It seems that word when associated with Christmas trees provokes much debate. Part of me was embarrassed to admit it, but here goes:

We have an artificial pre-lit Christmas tree.

I feel so much better now that that is off my chest.

Here's another secret. Our tree doesn't have a theme. It also doesn't have fancy garland or matching ornaments like the beautiful trees that you see in Better Homes & Garden magazine. And if you look closesly most of the ornaments are at the bottom of the tree, because that's as far up as the kids can reach. But our tree is filled with ornaments that reflect significant events, preschool crafts, and handmade love.

Such as our "First Christmas Together" ornament given by a great aunt as a wedding gift.

or an ornament from my 1980's childhood...

or my all time favorite ornament that was made for me by my great-grandmother. She crocheted one for each of her great-grandchildren back in 1980. My mother left the hand-written gift tag on the ornament all those years ago.

But the kids' ornaments really dominate the tree.

My oldest baby's first Christmas:

Every year, our girls find an ornament in their stocking that reflects their current interests, such as Elmo

or smurf girl.

I love the hand prints that each of my girls made two years ago. I found the molds on a clearance rack at Target and turned them into Christmas ornaments. It's amazing how much their hands have grown in two year.

So I guess there is a theme to our tree, our family, and there is nothing artificial about that!

Have you put your Christmas tree up yet? Real or Artificial? Let us know in the comments.


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