The childhood thrill of putting up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving has not faded. It's been our family tradition as long as I can remember and we've continued it in our house. I still get giddy even anticipating the tree, but seeing it actually come together with all the decor and listening to Christmas songs while we add the ornaments is a favorite time of the whole year.
It's a beautiful thing to observe my young son getting the same thrill of decorating the tree that I have. He kept asking when we could decorate and this year, he was actually so helpful and ended up placing most of the ornaments on the tree himself. I shared this picture on Instagram and captioned it "It's perfect" because it's so sweet to watch little kids cluster all the ornaments together at the bottom of the tree where they can reach. I die of cuteness!
When I pulled out the step-stool, he definitely wanted to climb up and add the ornaments to the higher parts of the tree.
I wanted to give our tree a special pop this year and am smitten with lettering in the Christmas tree. I was thinking about what I wanted our tree to say and, "O Holy Night" was my first thought. I liked it because it keeps the focus on Jesus' birth, but Hobby Lobby was out of Os in the size I wanted (and that were on sale). I stood there in the aisle contemplating the words I could create with the letters they had and when "Oh What Fun" occurred to me, I realized I could use a snowflake for the "O" and that would be cute.
Since we have a pretty tall tree (9 feet), I went with large letters that are 8 inches tall and made of chipboard.
I spray painted them white and sprinkled white glitter on them to make them shimmer.
Back inside, I hot glued each word to a strip of ribbon and then just snuggled the letters into the tree and tied the ribbon to a branch. So far, so good, they've stayed put. You can see some pinecones I spray painted and glittered inside the tree too.
We've got a few faux presents under the tree just to give it some life until Santa comes. They are actually all the same presents I've used in the past, except for the new black botanical paper from Target.
Our "Believe" pillow from years ago at Hobby Lobby is a holiday mainstay and sits on the Stratton chair from the newly launched Birch Lane. Have you had a chance to peruse their website? They have some great holiday decor on sale now as well as 20% off entertaining and tabletop and also lighting.
And do you spy that little pillow hanging on the door?
I picked it up at the Houston Nutcracker Market and it comes with a key that says "santa" and a pocket in the back. We'll have to put it on the front door on Christmas Eve.
This large red canvas gift bag is another find from the Nutcracker Market this year. I told my son that it's for Santa to put presents in.
Of course, the real magic happens when the tree is plugged in and the white lights sparkle and shine.
I ended up loving the "Oh what fun" message. Life is hard. We could all use some fun. Especially during the holidays!
I'm thankful to be included in my friend Bridget (Windgate Lane) "Welcome to the Season" blog hop where 10 bloggers will be ringing in the holiday season by sharing a peek into their holiday decor today. I hope you stop by!
Windgate Lane
Honey We're Home
Ciburbanity
Hearts and Sharts
Desert Domicile
At Home With The Barkers
Gourley Girl and Guy
Our Southern Home
Hi Sugarplum
Thrifty Decor Chick
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If you're looking to take advantage of the CYBER MONDAY sales, here are some deals to check out, of course, online only!
Ann Taylor (code CYBER50) and Loft (code MONDAY) have 50% off everything. Ann Taylor is a favorite store of mine lately. That's where I got my lovebird sweater and star button-down top.
Banana Republic, GAP, and Old Navy are offering 40% off (code CYBER).
Michael Kors has up to 50% off handbags + Free Shipping.
Nordstrom has up to 40% off and extra points for cardholders (Level 1 cardholder = 2x the points per net dollar. Level 2-4 = 10 points per net dollar.) Works at Nordstrom Rack too.
Amazon has Cyber Monday deals all week on clothes, toys, electronics, tools, books, etc. After James goes to bed tonight, hubby and I will turn into Santa's elves and order some Christmas gifts for him. Top of his list is this and this! (which is fine by me!)
Nespresso Coffee Machines: Earn $100 credit when you purchase a machine valued at $199 or more. Go here to learn more.
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