On Saturday the Attic24 boys went to purchase the Christmas tree. They know what a huge fusspot I can be if I am involved in The Choosing Process so they refused to let me come. I trusted them to choose the bestest, freshest, bushiest, evergreeny tree they could find and they did good. They did indeed come home with one big, huge, bushy, fresh, evergreen tree. It looks and smells extremely Christmassy and I love it.
But as fresh as it was, on it's journey through the front door, through the hall and into the lounge, it did manage to shed a humungous number of it's needles. And I'm not just talking a light sprinkling, nope, I'm talking pretty much full carpet coverage. I'm talking down on my hands and knees with a dustpan and brush sweeping up for a very, very long time and almost filling a carrier bag full of them. In fact, for a supposedly non-needle-drop tree, the amount of needles it shed was mind blowing. But no matter, I am not dwelling on it, it still has plenty of needles left on it's bushy branches.
Setting up Tree took a surprising amount of time, and when all the furniture moving, tree positioning, tree straightening, tree securing and needle-sweeping was done, there was no time left for the business of decorating on Saturday. That became Sunday's activity.
Early Sunday morning, still in our pyjamas and the decorating commences. My jobs come first :: the lights get put on, with only one bulb to replace. The Little People watch eagerly, there is much excitement.
Next I hang the beady garlands around the branches, all twelve metres of them, with only a very small tangly-garlandy hissy fit. So far so good.
Then it's my turn to sit back and let the Little People take over.
Brightly coloured baubles are unpacked from the bauble-box.
Delicate glass ones wrapped in tissue....
...and cheerful sparkly ones tumble from the box. Plenty to go round. One or two squabbles over who gets to hang which colour, but all is well.
Next there are bells...
...and cones...
...and Christmassy characters from years past.
Candy canes and reindeer, hearts and birds...
...cinnamon sticks...
...wooden toys...
...hearts and stars and gingham ribbon bows.
These are all my decorations gathered over the past decade or so and I love them all. I find Christmas decorations so utterly desirable, so hugely hard to resist, that I cannot help but buy more and more each year. And I have to say, that when we unpacked the boxes this year, even I was a little taken aback at just how many there were. And yet I love them all, couldn't contemplate a tree without it's branches laden with colourful Christmas treasures.
Luckily our Christmas tree has many, many bushy branches, and Little Fingers are kept very busy filling them.
It was a joy to watch my Little People so hard at work, concentrating so hard on the job in hand.
I did not interfere once, left it entirely to them. Some of the branches (on Little Lady's side in particular) did get very busy. There are some crowded spots. But I have left the tree exactly as it is and love the slightly chaotic look that it has. Love the way the upper branches are quite bare and the lower branches are jam packed (I was instructed to hang certain things on very particular high-up branches, but only once or twice).
We have a rusty tin star on top of our tree...
...and the whole thing looks quite homespun, rustic, colourful and surprisingly very *Attic24*, don't you think? It is not co-ordinated or themed, yet it is happy and homely.
The coloured baubles go wonderfully with my crochet blankets this year, the colours are almost identical.
And here is a view of the room, it does look very cosy, if I say so myself.
Tomorrow I thought you might like to see the rest of my Christmas decorating efforts?
Yes, please do stop by the Attic for a mince pie and a cuppa and I'll show you around a bit. See you then xxx
I have been reading your blog archives and was in SHOCK when I realized we have some of the same ornaments! I just took our tree down for this year and we have the girl inside the star (mine is a white star) and the little red angel girl on horseback in common!
Posted by: Amy | January 03, 2010 at 03:08 AM
Belatedly, thanks so much for the tree pictures. Here in US, perfectly-groomed, commercially-farmed, cone-shaped trees are ubiquitous and often all that's available, unless you live in the country and have access to someone's personal woodlot. So I miss the "real" woodland trees from my childhood like yours. A pleasure to see.
Posted by: Lynn | September 25, 2009 at 10:56 AM
So much yummy, Christmasy, delicious goodness! Everything is so lovely.
Posted by: gardenymph | December 18, 2008 at 04:41 AM
Gorgeous. I want to stop by and I want to stop by NOW *Stamps foot*
Posted by: A Thrifty Mrs | December 16, 2008 at 02:39 PM
fabulous! Your beautiful pictures and blog always make me smile Thankyou so much for brightening up my day!! July x
Posted by: july | December 16, 2008 at 01:25 PM
It's lovely we haven't done ours yet, will have to this weekend though or it will be too late. I just adore little ladies chubby hands and her little girly jewelery makes me smile everytime I see them.
Posted by: Claire Barron | December 16, 2008 at 12:31 PM
Aww, it looks precious. :x
Posted by: Elena | December 16, 2008 at 10:27 AM
Love the tree, the little ones did a great job.
Will drop by tomorrow for more decorations.
With Smiles
Kathryn
Australia
Posted by: Kathryn | December 16, 2008 at 08:17 AM
Just look at that! Well well done! (Glitttter!!)
Jo
x
Posted by: Joanne Stocker | December 16, 2008 at 07:13 AM
I think the boys did good... lovely shaped tree. It's looking alot like Christmas in your home!!! :)
Posted by: Josie-Mary | December 16, 2008 at 06:45 AM
That tree is PERFECT. I love the shape. And it looks marvelous with all those brights on the branches. Good job to your little angels!
Posted by: elizabeth of course | December 16, 2008 at 03:28 AM
Hello....your tree is perfect and your home looks cosy n festive.....x
Posted by: Mel | December 15, 2008 at 09:12 PM
Your tree is looking very beautiful. It certainly goes with your blankets too!! Looking forward to seeing more of Christmas as Attic 24!
Posted by: Leisa | December 15, 2008 at 08:44 PM
wow, all is wonderful and the atmosphere is lovely ... thank you for the photos
Manuela
Posted by: Manuela | December 15, 2008 at 07:47 PM
Oh lucy, thank you for leaving a comment. Your words brought a tear to my eye. Truly. I have been so busy with work that I feel like I am 103 and have no life at the moment. No tree, no decs up, no shopping done. Really, really bad. I have been keeping up with blogs for a break but thats it. (alltogether now, aahh)!! Will be back in the land of living v.v.v.v soon Kathyxx
Posted by: kathy | December 15, 2008 at 06:54 PM
Oh lucy, thank you for leaving a comment. Your words brought a tear to my eye. Truly. I have been so busy with work that I feel like I am 103 and have no life at the moment. No tree, no decs up, no shopping done. Really, really bad. I have been keeping up with blogs for a break but thats it. (alltogether now, aahh)!! Will be back in the land of living v.v.v.v soon Kathyxx
Posted by: kathy | December 15, 2008 at 06:54 PM
OH! Christmas, Christmas! Season in which everything is more beautiful, bright and colorful, but we can not forget that if our Savior Jesus Christ was not born, we would never have Christmas. Let's live the Christmas in its fullness: family, trees, gifts. But let us not forget the aniversariante: JESUS the biggest character of Christmas and the history of mankind.
Love Lucy!
Posted by: Cláudia - São Paulo - Brasil | December 15, 2008 at 06:37 PM
Definitely homey and happy - love your tree - when can I come over for mince pie?
Posted by: Anne | December 15, 2008 at 06:20 PM
Definitely homey and happy - I love your tree and really wish I could come over for some mince pie.
Posted by: Anne | December 15, 2008 at 06:16 PM
Hey Girlie, blog post title steeling not allowed, lol!! Love the way the tree turned out, very homely. My God, you weren't kidding about the amount of decorations were you? I especially love the little red stars, cinnamon sticks and those funky reindeer!
Posted by: Brenda | December 15, 2008 at 05:48 PM
Hey Girlie, blog post title steeling not allowed, lol!! Love the way the tree turned out, very homely. My God, you weren't kidding about the amount of decorations were you? I especially love the little red stars, cinnamon sticks and those funky reindeer!
Posted by: Brenda | December 15, 2008 at 05:39 PM
It looks lovely, I find it fascinating to see how people decorate for Christmas, I dare say you can tell a lot from how people see Christmas, and decorate their houses accordingly.
It is beautiful and I can't wait till my next visit.
x
Posted by: Alex | December 15, 2008 at 05:28 PM
Oh, my, I was so busy this morning, Lucy, I couldn't get to your house until noon! May I just say.....lovely, lovely, lovely. Your living room, in all its colorful and charming splendor, quietly speaks LOVE. You know what the best part of your post is??? Well, I will tell you. YOU! And how you allowed your little ones to decorate the tree. Most mommies would want perfection...I loved how you let them do their thing and you stood back and didn't change anything...that takes extreme patience and kindness. My goodness, those sweet little children of yours have a wonderfully loving mommy.
Posted by: cathleen | December 15, 2008 at 05:11 PM
Your Christmas tree is just beautiful, with all the colourful balls and ornaments. And I love the way the Little People have decorated it, I think thy did a fantastic job.
Talking about fantastic jobs... your hexagon blanket is a BEAUTY! What an amazingly lovely result. I just can not get enough of it, of all the wonderful colours and the overall look. Very well done indeed (just looking at it makes me miss crocheting... I shall find a new project as soon as Christmas is a thing of the past...)
Posted by: Mia | December 15, 2008 at 05:00 PM
Such a nice tree...look fab with your new blanket!!!..Will pop back again to see the rest of your X-mas decorating efforts...
Posted by: foxgloves73 | December 15, 2008 at 04:57 PM