The Beauty of Decorating a Christmas Tree

Every family has their own special way of making the Christmas tree look just right.  As I have just started my second year of marriage my family traditions are still new. However, my husband and I have definitely accumulated many old traditions from each of our families.

I have adopted my mother's views on getting a Charlie Brown tree.  Growing up I thought our tree had the most space between all the branches in comparison to our friends' trees, but I've realized in the more recent years that even my mother's trees were never true Charlie Brown trees. There were people out there with even MORE space between their branches. I know. I saw them. I, myself, am leaning, I think, to more space than even my mother preferred. My husband is leaning to more branches. We will see what the years will bring us and what our newish family will adopt in the end. As for this year, we have a decent amount of space between the branches.

Our Family's Steps to Decorating:

1. Tree Top - I have always been a fan of a star.
2. Lights - Per my husband's family I have learned that the tree does not look quite as nice if you do not wrap the trunk , as well as the branches. Also, per my mother and sister, one must stand away and squint at the tree. This way you can tell if there are any spots lacking light.
3. Christmas Balls - These are fillers. They go in the back for a touch of glisten and color.
4. Ornaments - The heavy ones go closer to the trunk, so as not to make your branch "slouch."
5. Sitting from all angles - very key! Look from all angles as  you decorate to prevent bald spots.
6. Icicles - I prefer glass icicles. Although my family always used tinsel on the end as well, I often remember just having to clean up my dog's puke with silver tinsel in it. So, somewhere along the way I nixed tinsel from my own idea of a tree.
    

In all the years I have taken photos of Christmas trees, they never come out looking very nice. This may be because my tree doesn't look nice, and maybe it's my own denial coming forth, but I think there's a special setting and maybe a certain type of tree that looks good in photos that I don't know about. How do those magazines do it? Of course their trees don't have their tops cut off of them, but still.

 

 

 

What are some of your rules for Christmas tree decorating?