Oh Christmas Tree!

This afternoon, we finally picked out a Christmas tree! A little late but better than never and the prices were outstanding! I decided to go to our local Ace Hardware Store where all trees are 50% off and let the girls pick out the perfect tree. I prefer having a Douglas Fir because it seems to hold up well, the branches are strong and the needles are short enough that it's easy to hold ornaments. Sofia and Olivia decided to pick out a pine tree, which is really bushy and has long (and we soon found out, sharp) needles. It did look pretty and was a great price at $15. We paid for it and two of the hardware guys cut off the base They tied it to our roof with the two pieces of rope I thought to bring and we were soon headed home. Thankfully, it's only about 4-5 miles to our house so we were able to drive slowly on the back streets.

Once we were home, we untied the tree and somehow got it off the top of the car. I attached the tree stand and Sofia and I carried it into the house. Olivia had fallen asleep on the ride from the hardware store, so I moved her into her bed right before we got the tree off the car. The tree was surprisingly light and easy to carry, so we got it into the house and set it up. However, one of the screws on our tree stand is broken, so it leaned to one side but seemed secure enough. After adding water to the tree stand, I went into our attic and got the Christmas ornaments out and took them downstairs. I have over three boxes of ornaments, most of which I've had since I was little and nearly all from my Mom over the years. I really love going through them and remembering when I got them, or looking at the photos and thinking of that time. Now we have many with the girls' handprints or their art work so it makes our tree very special to me. I showed Sofia how to put the Christmas lights on the tree and she did a great job until I finished putting them at the top. Then I let Sofia add the ornaments while I worked in the kitchen. She had a ball and before I knew it it seemed like the majority of our ornaments were out and scattered on our floor! She loves taking them out and making stories with them and playing with them like toys. She did a good job hanging the ornaments, although it was pretty difficult to do with how sharp the needles were and the branches toward the bottom were not very sturdy.

After Olivia woke up, the three of us continued to add ornaments. It was really fun and the girls stood on the couch arm to reach higher into the tree. We finished up with less than half of our ornaments on the tree, but it looked good and we were all sort of tired of getting poked by the needles. Every year I tell myself that I will go through and organize the ornaments, but never seem to do so. Maybe this year I will but now it seems overwhelming with so many unopened ornaments.

After decorating the tree, I set the girls in front of it and took a photo with them and Buddy, who wore reindeer antlers and didn't even seem to mind. The photo really turned out cute and I was glad to have finally taken it since the girls had painted wood frames to put the picture into. We look forward to a fun Christmas!

Our new Christmas tree!

Our tree tied on top of the loaner car. Olivia opened her eyes briefly for this photo, but was asleep before and after.

Sofia decorating

Adding an ornament

The ornaments scattered about the room while she works

Olivia helps

The final touch - adding the angel

Sofia puts it on the tree

Our angel

Buddy and the girls

Clowning around with the fun hats

Our sweet dog!