O Christmas Tree (3 of 3)

We've seen family, we've seen snow, and now it's time for...

Christmas Tree 3 aka The Santa Tree



My mom has collected Santas for as long as I can remember. You knew it was Christmas time when the Santas started coming out. So, when selecting themes for the skinny trees we wanted to theme decorate, there was no question that one of them would need to be a Santa tree.



Skinny tree with red glass balls, glass Santas in antique designs, and assorted other fun Santas we had. All wrapped up with candy cane ribbon.



I was bummed that I didn't get the chance to put up a Christmas tree in St Andrews this year, but I just didn't have the cash lying around to bother getting a tree and all the ornaments to make it as epic as the ones I've done before. But I was bummed because for me, the tree is the holiday. I love my tree. I love the gaudy ornaments, I love the fakeness of it so I don't have to worry about a dead tree rotting, and I love that when I set a Christmas tree up, it automatically feels like the holidays. Christmas trees also remind me of my mom, since that's our thing over the holidays. And it's nice to have something of family at the holidays.

Next year my epic tree is going up no matter what country I'm in.

O Christmas Tree (2 of 3)

Now, we go into the decorative trees. These are my favorites. One of the big fundraisers in my hometown is the Festival of Trees -- different people/groups decorate Christmas trees to be auctioned off to the community to raise money for Hospice. It's always fun to walk through the tree display before they go to their homes in offices and businesses and homes. They're always decorated in a theme and I just thought that looked like fun.

A few years ago, my mother, who digs a good Christmas decoration with the best of them, decided the house could use a big more festivity. And so we pulled out a few smaller, theme decorated trees.

Christmas Tree 2 aka The Snowman Tree



Ah, the Snowman tree. The one I suspect is my mom's favorite. And, if I'm honest, mine too. (But only because I didn't get to put up the tree I've slowly collected for a decorated for the past few years in my townhouse down south when I was, you know, employed -- that thing has feathers on it. You can't beat a Christmas tree with peacock feathers. It's epic.)



But the Snowman tree is a favorite, decked out with a few sets of glass snowmen, individual snowman ornaments we've collected, sparkly snowflakes, sparkly... curly cue... thingies... that are awesome and I don't know the technical name of, and bows made out of snowflake ribbon.



It's a pretty safe bet that a new snowman ornament would always be an appreciated gift.

O Christmas Tree (1 of 3)

With essays turned in I can finally relax for the last little bit of my stop at home. Which probably means that I should do some cleaning up in my room because there's still the tell tale explosion of Christmas around. Although it makes me feel better that it's not the only sign of Christmas still around.

In true family tradition, the Christmas tree is still up. Oh, we've taken the ornaments down and packed them away, but the tree itself it still sitting proudly in the middle of the room because it hasn't made it back up to the attic. When will it get up there? Well... maybe before I head back to Scotland. Or maybe not. I'm taking bets on 50/50 at the moment.

So, I thought that I'd share a few pictures of one of my favorite parts of the holidays -- my trees -- since I didn't during the ACTUAL holiday season.

Christmas Tree 1 aka The Family Tree



The main event. Ole Faithful. The tree cluttered with family memories, handmade candycane ornaments, and year after year collectables. The one that sits there and says hello as we gather round and open presents on Christmas morning.



It's less cluttered this year as my sister has taken her box of ornaments to her house to put on her Christmas tree, and I wasn't here to put my entire box of ornaments on as I didn't get into town until a few days before Christmas. But homey all the same.



The pile of reindeer under the tree. The pile of awesome reindeer that we got from Burger King back in the late 80s/early 90s and have made Christmas appearances ever since. They are a favorite of both the niece and the cat for obvious reasons.

Next time: Decorative Trees