I had a ‘moment’ the other day… A wash of dreaded panic swept over me as I realised that next week is Christmas! Eek!! Here I was, living in some weird dream land thinking that Christmas was still a few weeks away and that I still had loads of time to get things done, to make some fun Christmasy things to share with you and to go shopping for gifts! Well no. That wave of panic sure did slap me in the face and made me wake up to that fact that there are still so many things I want to do and share before the Festive Season is over for another year!
Over the past week or so, I’ve been wanting to get my camera out and snap some fun little photos of our Christmas Tree to share with you! Having a real Pine Tree for a Christmas Tree isn’t that big of a tradition here in Australia. My brothers and I always grew up with a fake plastic tree, sitting proudly in a corner of our living room, decorated heavily with multi-coloured twinkling lights, thin and scratchy tinsel and ornaments that were about a gazillion years old! It was one of those trees that if you were to get too close, touch it slightly or even breathe the wrong way near it, it would topple over spewing baubles and fake pine needles all over the floor!
These days, our tree is a little bit more stable but just as fake and plastic. We’ve upgraded the ornaments over the years and added some new white-light twinkling lights and fluffier tinsel! It still stands in a corner in our front living room and is the Mecca for all the of the presents and related Christmas items to sit under and around!
We usually set aside the first day of December to set up the tree and hang the decorations around the house. This year we did it a few days earlier than usual and had a fabulous little helper in my five year old nephew, Ayden. With Christmas tunes playing in the background, he helped me put all of the baubles onto the tree, placed ornaments and other Christmasy decorations around the house all while wearing a darling Santa hat on his head! What a little legend!!
Here are a few of my favourite things that we have hanging on our tree…
The little glass Deer is a relative newcomer to our tree. I bought it last year from one of the big department stores we have here called Myer. I thought it was super cute and I loved how glittery and vintage-festive it was! The glass angel was a gift for my mum from one of her students when she was still teaching. It’s one of those legit glass ornaments that if your were to accidentally drop it, it would for sure break! Eek!
The red felt Christmas tree is another little treat I bought from Myer last year. I loved the ‘handmade’ look it had about it and gave me inspiration to make a few myself. (Which never happened!) Plus, I can never resist buying something like this when it’s covered in buttons and fun little pom-poms! And then there’s the classic golden bauble… Perfect to take those fun reflective type photos with! (Spot the blogger!)
The gorgeous Tonga Angel belongs to my parents. They visited the beautiful Pacific Island late last year and bought back this handmade treasure! I love it! Next to her on the tree, centre stage is an ornament I made a few years ago in a Christmas tutorial on my YouTube channel that features my beautiful Lucy. This darling pup died in April and it’ll be one my first ever Christmas’ without a pet by my side. I miss her dearly…
The pattern stag came in a packet of four from IKEA many years ago! I also have a packet of red ones too floating around the house somewhere… I liked the blue ones more at the time so I added them to our permanent collection! The Christmas tree is another Myer purchase from last year. I loved how solid and 3D it looked. And because the felt is so thick and the bell on the bottom so heavy and clunky, it weighs a small tonne making the bow it’s hung on literally bend in half! But no matter how impractical it is, I still love it!
What’s a Christmas Tree without a tacky ornament of Santa Claus?! I have no clue where this Santa has come from… I think it may’ve belonged to my dad’s parents who relished in plastic-y vintage-y decorations like this! I must admit, I really quite like it. I love it for it’s kitsch, old-school vibe and for the plethora of holly stuck on the back of his sleigh! He’s an oldie but a goodie!
+++
So that in a nutshell is our tree. It’s not fancy. It’s not real. It’s not colour coordinated or perfect. It’s simple, homey and lovely. And I wouldn’t want it any other way!
What’s your Christmas Tree like? I would love to know!
I hope you’re all having a wonderfully festive month wherever you are in the world!
Happy Sewing, Friends!
xx
3and3quarters 