O Christmas Tree
The Christmas Season in our home is heralded by the Credit Union Christmas Pageant in Adelaide (and the subsequent arrival of Santa as part of that parade). When I was a child, it was a tradition to watch the pageant on TV in the morning and then put the Christmas Tree up that afternoon.
We started this tradition with our own children but the past couple of years we’ve put it off until after Trailer Boys birthday (which is December 1st). This year the kids were asking, so we decided to put it up Sunday (a week after the pageant but earlier than December).
I guess this means for us, the Christmas season has started. You can’t have too much of a good thing right? 
The kids were SO excited and did lots of dancing around the lounge room during the tree decorating and afterward.
Here is Farmboy putting the tree together while the kids watch:
I remember as a child how loooonngggg it felt waiting during this part. All you want to do is get started with the fun bit - the decorating!
And here we are a decorating:
Once upon a time I had a more “magazine-ready” tree. Colour co-ordinated and perfectly balanced. These days we have a very “kid-decorated” look to the tree, complete with all sorts of home-made decorations. I will admit that it took a bit of an effort to step back and let them do it “their way”. They won’t be young for long and I want to enjoy this part of Christmas while we have them. There’ll be time for “perfect” Christmas Trees later (although I think I’ll keep the hand-made decorations).
And of course, the finished product:
Yes, we already have presents underneath. Aunty Santa has already been. 
I had lots of fun shopping for my nieces and nephews this year. We’ve already done presents with family on the East Coast but the rest of the gifts were languishing in the office. So I was pleased to get the tree up and have somewhere to put them. It feels good to have this part of Christmas sorted, wrapped and ready to go.
Want a sneak peak at what’s inside these presents? Here you go (any sister in law’s reading this might want to look away now if you want to keep it a surprise):
I bought all of these presents from the kindy toy fundraising catalogues. It made life so much easier and I really enjoyed browsing through the 4 catalogues I had looking for something that would be suitable. I tend to be a bit of a “perfectionist” when it comes to gifts - always wanting to get the perfect thing with the perfect “wow” factor. I’m trying to be realistic in that it isn’t really possible. If I can’t always get it right for my own children, how can I expect to get it right every time for my nieces and nephews? Anyway, I REALLY hope they like what I’ve chosen (and yeah, I did go a teeny bit over budget this year on some of them - but I had so much fun that I’m sure that counts for something!!!).
Now, I’ll leave you with a final shot of my little “santa”:
He’s so excited about the tree and Christmas and starting school visits and his upcoming 5th birthday (complete with pirate party if mum manages to get it organised). Life is good when you’re an “almost 5 year old”.
Anyone else got there tree up yet???
Ho, Ho, Ho…..
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How exciting! After ignoring all the Christmas stuff that has been around here since late October
it dawned on me today that we’re at the business end now. We don’t put our tree up until the first weekend in December, but that’s not all that far away now!
Not until the last weekend in November.
Oh god. I’ve got to find somewhere to put it!!
No we haven’t got our tree up yet (we also tend to do the first week in December… unless we get really eager and put it up early
). I always like the look of the lounge room when it’s all decorated for Christmas, and it always feels sad taking everything down afterward. The place always seems so bare.
I’ll try and remember to take a picture of the tree after Christmas (my in-laws are getting me a camera for Christmas).
Way to go girl. Get that tree up early. I’m proud of you!
It’s that time of the year again, the excitement is in the air already. People have started with their shopping and children have already drafted their wish lists.
Well done on your tree, you have sparked my xmas spirit very early.
Hi Wendy! Dropping by for a visit, sorry I didn’t call ahead of time ;).
I love the look on the wee one’s face, Christmas time is so magical! Your tree looks just beautiful! I gave up decorating our tree about 4 years ago, now the kiddos are in charge of it, my little elves do such a great job!
Although we are needing a new tree, ours is like 100 years old or at least it looks it. Hope we can find one that is on sale!!
Merry Christmas already!!!
His,
Maria
Oops & sorry. I just realized this isn’t Wendy’s site. Nontheless Lightening, I think your post is sweet and I enjoyed it!
I LOVE family-made trees. Magazine-ready trees belong in office buildings.
Well….in my opinion.
Our tree is up (last weekend) and downstairs is all decorated for Christmas. Will probably do upstairs today.
I always take everything down on the 27th so I like to have it up early to enjoy. Plus it really does help me get into the spirit of the season.
Libby
I am the Christmas Grinch - nothing before December 1!!!
My tree doesn’t go up until December. that’s the christmas month, so that’s early enough for me. Besides, my daughter reminds me every single year that the tree shouldn’t go up until after her birthday which is in the last week of November. My big tree is staying in its plastic bag under the bed this year. I have a much smaller tree which will have no presents underneath, instead having brightly wrapped gift vouchers hanging amongst the other ornaments.
Tree day is Dec 1st in our house as well as our wedding anniversary and my brothers birthday
The fruit and veg gift you got with the velcro and the little knife and chopping board is awesome! my girls have that set and they love it to pieces. Good purchase there
Tree day is the first weekend in December for us….and I have a guilty secret. When my kids were younger I used to let them decorate it, then when they’d gone to bed I would “fix” it. Not to perfection, just even it up a little, ok a lot, ok I pulled all the decorations off and did them again. I’m such a bad parent!
Now my two are teenagers and Stephanie is more of a perfectionist than me when it comes to all things beautiful so I’ve been relegated to the lounge while she barks orders at her brother. He will make such a tolerant husband one day!
Heh, no tree up yet, but then again I *have* been a Christmas grinch for the last 2 years, and haven’t even had a tree up at all! This year though, the girlfriend has put down the foot and bought me a Xmas tree with a command to put it up come December… so you can bet your ass I will
Journey - it sure isn’t. I have a number of other tasks to work on with the kids over the next few weekends and past experience tells me Christmas will be here before we know it. December is so insane with end of year stuff that I’m hoping to have the bulk of them out of the way before it gets here (I too, am running out of time).
Bettina - LOL. Do you need a bigger house or a smaller tree? We had a lounge room twice the size in our other place but we don’t have a real lot of furniture in the lounge which helps. The corner where it is is our “reading corner” throughout the rest of the year.
Jason - A camera for christmas sounds great! The tree is making me smile every time I walk into the lounge room.
Trey - LOL. Helps that I don’t have a wife that needs convincing.
Knew you’d be in my corner on this one. 
Thando - Excellent. I do like to inspire the Christmas Spirit in others. In it’s truest form, it is an EXCELLENT spirit. Peace on earth and goodwill to all men and all that.
Maria - I’m so glad you dropped by, even if it was by accident.
Hopefully you’ll come back again. Kids really make Christmas don’t they.
Dina - and lounge rooms of people before kids.
Yeah, there is something “real” about a “kid decorated tree” isn’t there.
Libby - woo hoo!!! I like to start with the tree and add a bit of decorating each weekend as we get closer. I agree that it does help with the whole Christmas spirit.
Jeanie - at least you have a good excuse this year.
River - that sounds like a lovely idea.
Marita - glad to hear it’s a good gift. I was a bit bummed to notice Kmart have decided to bring out a similar range for half the price I paid but hopefully these will be good quality and last well. I can really see my 3 year old niece getting right into them. Hopefully she’ll let her Aunty have a play too when we holiday together in January.
Sharon - Bwwaaahhhaaahaaa. I was sitting on the exercise bike tonight looking at the tree and thinking “I wonder if they’ll notice if I just move one or two decorations”.
I confess, I’ve done some “fixing” myself in the past.
Our tree goes up on Dec 1. The kids are already REALLY excited about it. I’m not so excited because it means one of us has to haul all of the suitcases and other paraphernalia out from under the stairs to find it. Oh and we have a wooden advent calendar. The kids have worked out that whoever opens the first door doesn’t get to do the Christmas Eve one - so you can imagine the fights in the back of the car over that one already.
stumbled on this while playing around on the web today. you’re kids are so cute! i just entered mine in thecutekid.com contest …theyve been doing galleries lately like the one for halloween right now, but im sure theyd prob do a christmas or holiday one. you have perfect pics for that! especially your boy with the santa hat, so cute!
[...] with brigade stuff so decided to follow in the footsteps of other early tree putter uppers like Lightening and decorators like Kelley so we dragged the boxes out of the shed and got a start on things [...]
What a great tree! It looks like your kids had an awesome time decorating it too. Mine needs some presents around it!
My mom always put our presents under as soon as she wrapped them too. We tend to wrap a little closer to Christmas around here. I’m still waiting for things to arrive in the mail that I ordered online.
Love the tree!
Your tree is beautiful. I like involving the children. Thanks for sharing. Here’s mine.
http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-tradition-decorating-tree.html