Ever since our oldest was little, we have set aside the weekend after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas. As we’ve added more children to the family, our traditions have evolved into a party atmosphere full of amazing memories! Today, I want to invite you to create something similar in your home.
Note from Amy: I found this unpublished post in my archives. The photos are from 2 babies ago and 3 years ago. It has been neat to see how our children have changed, but our tradition of having a decorating party really hasn’t. I hope you enjoy this post!
First, let’s set the scene…
The day is pretty much a Thanksgiving leftovers and special treats kind of day. I make a few Christmasy type snacks (think toffee or fudge) and put on some Festive Hot Punch.
Of course, there must be Christmas music! We have a whole stash of Christmas CDs, but this year we’ll be adding the iTunes Christmas stations to our lineup as well since I can play them from the iPad and put it anywhere in the house!
The boxes of Christmas decorations are brought up from the basement and we start to work on the tree. In our current home, we have to do a bit of furniture rearranging first, but that’s not a big deal since Daddy and Blake are there to help.
And yes, we have a fake tree. It is nearly as old as I am, handed down from my parents when Ty and I were first married. Every year it loses a few more needles and every year we say we are going to buy another, and every year after seeing the price tag of new trees, we decide the old tree will make it…one more year.
Next come the lights…
Ever since we were a family of 3, it was Blake and Daddy’s job to string the lights. Frustrating as this can be, it’s a tradition that the guys wouldn’t have any other way. And back to the fake tree thing…one of our qualifications for a new tree involves one that is NOT pre-lit. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find one of those?!
Once the lights are strung (and we are confident they work!), out come the icicles!
Some of you probably just let out an audible gasp at the thought of icicles. Ty has such fond memories of hanging icicles on the tree with his Granny that he couldn’t imagine a tree any other way. Do they fall off and get all over the house? Yes. We just scoop them up and throw them back on the tree!
Once the icicles are hung (and mom and dad have rearranged them so they aren’t all at waist-height), it is mama’s job to pass out the ornaments. The ornaments are stored in packages with each child’s name on them. We have quite a few personalized ornaments, so to keep them stored neatly and to minimize the chaos that typically ensues at this point in the decorating, having them separated out by child makes mama’s life easier.
I sit on the floor with the ornament box and a small box of ornament hooks. The older kids take care of their own bags and hooks, but I hand the younger children their ornaments with the hook already in and Daddy guides them to a spot on the tree.
The final touch is the tree topper. We like to have a lit star as our tree topper to symbolize the star over Bethlehem. We turn off all the lights and everyone stands around the tree as Daddy lifts the star to the top and plugs it in. There are cheers and oohs and aahs as we gaze at our freshly-lit family Christmas tree.
Once the tree is in place, the younger children beg mama to get out the Playmobil Nativity Set. (There are several versions of this set, so shop around for one you like!)
Last year we had to purchase a new one because ours has been loved on so much in the past 10 years since my sister bought it for our children that it had pieces missing and the cardboard stable was in shreds. We opted to buy the set with the hard plastic stable and add on the Wise Men Set.
I also like to have a small set of baby-friendly toys under the tree for the current baby/toddler. This could be something like the Fisher-Price Little People Nativity Set.
or the Melissa & Doug Nativity set.
Of course, there is a lot of other decorating we do inside and outside, but this post isn’t really supposed to be about me, but rather making YOUR Christmas Decorating Day special. So, here are a few ideas for you to get started with your own Family Christmas Decorating Party this year!
*Set the mood with food – This is a time of celebration, so set the mood with some holiday food! Choose a few family holiday favorites and put them out on a tray to snack on during the festivities. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making them or the expense of buying them, lay out some the Thanksgiving leftovers! Grab some hot cocoa or coffee and creamer or cider and get to decorating!
*Set the mood with music – Tis the season for Christmas music! If you haven’t collected any favorite CDs over the years, check out iTunes Christmas radio stations or Amazon Prime’s FREE Christmas albums!
*Start your own family traditions – Our traditions are a conglomeration of things Ty and I did as children and things that have become dear to us as we’ve had our own children. We also ask our children every year what part of Decorating Day they enjoy the most and try our hardest to incorporate those into the festivities.
*Don’t stress! – Stressing over making the party perfect will turn something fun into a disaster quickly. Remember, children are children and the decorating will be a little haphazard and a little chaotic, but if you remain low-key, the day will still feel festive to all involved.
Catherine says
It sounded like you kind of cringed at mentioning tinsel. I thought I would share how we get around the mess, and possible cat hazard. Years ago I found a cute little local shop that sold Victorian Christmas Tree Tinsel. They are made out of twisted tin with a built in hook to hang them up. They stay on ths tree and our cats can’t eat them. They really catch and reflect all the lights from the tree. The best part is they can be reused year to year and have their own starage tin. That little shop dosn’t exist anymore, but I did find them online. Just do a quick search for “Victorian Christmas Tree Tinsel” and you will find a bunch of sites that sell them. Maybe for next year?
Amy says
Neat idea! Thanks for sharing!
Rebecca says
We gave our Christmas tree away last year to someone who needed it and then went out the day after Christmas and bought an expensive tree for 75% off. We kept our own decorations and such though. It was the first tree we had bought in probably 20 years.
Amy says
I know that’s the way to do it, but those sales crowds stress me out!
Rebecca says
Maybe you could just send your husband and avoid it? If you’re like me, you’re not too picky anyway, it’s not like it’s something you have to see and deal with 365 and he knows what you like and want. We went to Home Depot and found this tree and it wasn’t crowded at all. I don’t think Home Depot is a hub of excitement the day after Christmas. 😉
Jillian says
I didn’t realize it’s so hard to find one that isn’t pre lit. We always had real trees up until a few years ago when we bought a bookcase that now sits where the tree used to go. So now we have this skinny little fake tree (slim shady) that definitely needs to be replaced, but the prices are ridiculous!
Amy says
They are ridiculous! Sounds like you have a “Charlie Brown tree”! 😉
Natalie says
Perfect timing! This is exactly how we’re planning to spend this Saturday (including buying all new decorations since we don’t have a collection yet). I remember something similar to what you described from my childhood. Cocoa, music, treats, tree, nativity, advent readings (though I didn’t know they were called that then). Thanksgiving has always been a full weekend celebration in my family, so the first weekend in December tends to be the Christmas kick-off.
Amy says
Enjoy!
Rhoda says
When we lived in TN trees were too expensive so we didn’t have a tree until a friend gave us her “old” artificial one when she upgraded. Now that we are in the NW and the trees are much cheaper, we gave our tree to someone moving to the Midsouth area so they wouldn’t have the high prices to worry about, and we get to enjoy a real tree. But the main thing I wanted to comment on is the icicles. I too grew up using them and can’t imagine a tree without them. But we put ours on at the end after everything else is on. My children love putting them on and picking them up and putting them on again. We manage to find strays throughout the year in the strangest of places–bedrooms, curtains, downstairs in the basement! So much fun. One more comment–traditions with trees are great–one is the putting on of a very old ornament my grandmother brought with her to the US after WW I. It is falling apart and every year I am amazed that it has survived another year. We haven’t put up our tree yet this year, probably this weekend, but I am hoping Grandmas’ ornament is still OK.
Amy says
Beautiful memories!
Linda says
That sounds like a wonderful way to make a party out of decorating the tree Amy! Thanks for sharing! I am sure your kiddos love it.
John puts the tree together and does the lights with me…then I decorate it. I am always tweaking it throughout the season it seems, to get it just right…and then it is time to take it down. 🙂
I hope you and yours will have a blessed Christmas and New Year!
Linda @ Truthful Tidbits