Our favorite Christmas tradition by far

We love our Christmas tree in this household! Sometimes I think I should buy a fake one so we don't have to mess around with the buying, the bringing home, the falling needles, the throwing out part...and then I just can't. I love the smell and the excitement of having a real live tree in my living room. It just makes me warm and fuzzy inside. I mean, what other occasion do you bring a tree into your house?! Never! I also don't understand people who don't get a tree, it just doesn't make sense in my mind. :)

This year we were all sick in early December, so we waited to get our tree until we felt better. I really wanted to try getting one at a tree farm and take family pictures there, but the day we were set to go (it had to be a Saturday so Bogdan would be off work during daylight hours), we woke up to snow, so that was that. We headed to the farmer's market and picked up one for us and one for my parents and did the decorating right before bedtime. The kids did the decorating, but they only got about half the ornaments up before bedtime, so I finished up with my mom the next day. She came over unexpectedly and started telling me where each ornament looked best, and a couple hours later, we had hung the rest and rearranged everything. Don't you love how moms always like to tell you how to do everything? At least mine does, ha!

I am kind of obsessed with ornaments, and always manage to pick up a few new ones every year (to my husband's disapproval). I have always had a very eclectic tree with lots of color and ornaments in all shapes and sizes and styles. It's my favorite look, and I'm glad I went with what I liked and have loved my tree ever since.

I have also always decorated the whole tree, top to bottom, regardless of babies in the house. I just make sure I put the really special ones on the top branches, but we have just taught the kids ornaments are breakable, and they do really well with it. I have been disappointed a few times when I found the broken pieces of an ornament with sentimental value under the couch once, or others hidden under the tree skirt. But overall the kids have been really good around the tree. Just talking to them and letting them know they need to be careful has worked for us.

The kids have all gone to the same school from kindergarten on, and each one of them has made a hand print ornament for me in kindergarten. The teacher adds buttons, eyes, a nose, a hat, and a scarf to make each finger a snow man and they are my favorite. Olivia gave me hers right away this year instead of waiting for Christmas cause she was so excited to join the club!

Naomi oversaw the decorating this year. After all, she's the boss around here.

My favorite ornaments are the huge glass balls with glitter polka dots. We've broken a couple over the years, but I still have three and I'd like to keep it that way.

A shot of the tree...

...and the same shot with blur.

This year we didn't get to decorate gingerbread houses or bake Christmas cookies because we've basically been sick all month and our oven is broken, but Christmas is about much more than those things anyway. The birth of Christ can be celebrated in every heart anywhere in the world, without a tree and without gifts. That's the beauty of the holiday season, and the real reason for all of it. Let's not forget that.

I'm actually taking the ornaments off tonight after Naomi goes to bed since the tree's crispy as can be now and tomorrow is garbage day. The older three are sleeping over at Bogdan's cousin's house tonight (they love it there) and I can actually get something done around here. Naomi, stop rolling around in bed and go to sleep already!

xoxo,
Tanya