Advent: What’s in a Christmas Tree?

I told you a bold-faced lie yesterday. Oh yes I did.

We have five trees. I’m an Aggie, math isn’t my forte.

First up, coincidentally, the AGGIE TREE – WHOOP!! Hang with me, there’s a fun back story here.

This tree is a good 35 years old. It was Scott’s childhood tree and during our first few years of marriage we were living on peanuts. Our grocery bill was $90 month and that pretty much broke us. We had to eat PB&J the last week every month because we ran out of grocery money. Ah, the good ‘ol days. And, since we couldn’t afford groceries, we certainly couldn’t afford a tree. We dug this sweet thang out and it’s been with us every since. The base broke off several years ago, so Scott fashioned a new one. It now proudly resides in our office in all its Aggie glory. It’s lived a pretty darn good life. Those ornaments are a collection of many an Aggie Mom’s Boutique shopping trips over Parents’ Weekend.

The next three trees mean a lot to this momma, probably more than the big family one downstairs. When I was a kid, my mom made a wreath for my brother and I that was uniquely “us.” Mine featured a teddy bear. I felt strongly about not just decorating the house, but making Christmas personal for my kids. We chose to purchase inexpensive trees and then fill them up with lots of memories. The day after Thanksgiving, we pull these out of storage. Decorating their own tree is definitely the highlight of my kids’ day. I should really record that joy on film sometime. It just gets more fun every year.

May I present, the Girls’ Tree. It is all pink and girly and full of dolls, Nutcrackers, crowns and more pink. *love*

In stark contrast to all that pink, here is the Boys’ Tree. It is unbalanced, completely random, full of sports-related ornaments and just what they wanted. As a sidenote, I did not match the boy’s shirts. They did that all on their own! You know what I love most about these photos? That “I Have Clean Hands” sticker. For one, it’s questionable that’s truthful advertising. And, two if you’re a non-Texan, you may not appreciate just how awesome the sticker is. There’s a great BBQ place in town, Rudy’s, and they have a sah-weet hand washing machine. Obviously, that’ where we went for lunch. Oh, in the spirit of full disclosure, I moved their tree to the balcony to take pictures because the lighting in their room stinks!

Aww, and how could we forget the baby of the family’s tree? Here’s Luke’s masterpiece! The Noah’s Ark ornaments were purchased in San Diego when I was pregnant with Clare. They’ve long called the nursery tree home and when Clare graduated to a big girl bed, Luke inherited them. Every night he names the animals and says “My twee!” It is so stinkin’ cute. Sorry there’s no tree + Luke photo. He was not having it. Welcome to 3.

A parting shot of the Family Tree, adorned in all our favorite ornaments – old and new, glittery and homemade, fancy and sentimental. They all reside here because it’s where they were meant to be, in the heart of our home.

Merry (almost) Christmas!