2 posts tagged “tree”

Brianna has helped me decorate the tree for the past couple of years, so I guess it will become somewhat of a tradition.  She loves to see all the keepsake ornaments we have collected over the years (I have some from my teen years), and I just love to bring out the decorations and put them all out while Christmas CD's play in the background.  Really gets me into the spirit!  OK... I'm posting this well into December, but I have to admit that my tree has been up since the last weekend of November!  I'm usually not so eager, but I had a Pampered Chef open house that Sunday and I wanted the place to look Christmasy!

This year, the twins thought they would pitch in as well. 

Not to worry... the extension cord was unplugged!  I didn't mind them playing with it because it kept them distracted from the boxes of ornaments! 

I don't know if they are practicing the art of dressing themselves, but the twins have a habit of putting things around their shoulders or head.... blankets, towels, pants, pillows, and, in this case, garlands.  Brianna did a great job of helping, although she worked me like a tyrrant!  She just would not let me sit and admire the ornaments as they came out of the box.  "Can I put that one on, Mom?  Which one is next?  What's in that box?  Is that one from when I was a baby? Where's another one?"  She did the bottom half and I took care of the top.

The finished product!  I can show you only the top 2/3 of the tree since the bottom part is obsured by the baby gate we had to set up to keep 20 wee fingers off the ever-so tempting, twinkling, dangley ornaments.  They can still reach over, but it's so much easier to tell them "No" to that, then having the whole tree within reach!  I have to say that they are very good about it! 

Those gates really came in handy to section off parts of the living room as the twins started moving around.  I knew I wanted to use them around the tree, though, so we opened up much more of the house for them to explore. 

I just love this time of year, and I think that having kids really brings the magic back to the whole season! I hope everyone else is enjoying the holiday season!

The first weekend in December is when we decorate our tree, and Brianna is just the right age to start feeling the magic of the season.  Last year, she was 2 1/2, so her assistance in decorating was limited.  This year, she was able to do much more.

I have some ornaments that I have had for years, so I explained to her that they are delicate and special to me and I would hang those ones myself.  Once she realized that some ornaments were hers (Baby's 1st Christmas, Granddaughter's 1st Christmas, a Santa Bear with her name on it, etc.), she informed me that they were very delicate and special to HER so she would hang those.  She did a great job. 

Once we were finished with the keepsake ornaments, the standard round bobbles could fill the gaps.  She was in charge of the lower half, and I took the top.  The twins supervised from their swings.

Brianna was quite pleased with the finished tree, and, to this day, she continues to "adjust" the ornaments to make them hang just so. 

 Mike and I couldn't help but get excited when Christmas Eve finally arrived.  Believe it or not, but we promised each other that we wouldn't go crazy on the gift-giving this year, and I swear I spent less than last year!  Not all the gifts were for us... quite a lot were for family and friends!  Brianna's face was priceless when she woke up Christmas morning and saw all the presents!