Is a Christmas tree a vignette? I think so. Especially if it has a theme or color scheme, but truly, a vignette is any display that describes a mood or theme. So, yes, I think a Christmas tree would fit that description exactly.
We actually have 2 trees. I never really thought I would have 2 because it seemed a little excessive AND a lot of work. But, my mother-in-law gave us her old tree along with an assortment of color-coordinated ornaments and I figured, why not. I mean, if someone’s going to give you all of that stuff, you may as well put it up. Plus I had pressure from three kiddos to decorate another tree. There’s no such thing as Christmas excess in the eyes of a child…until after Christmas when you’re experiencing the post-Christmas meltdown that occurs when we’ve been overstimulated and overscheduled for days on end, but I digress.
Ok, so tree #1 is our family tree. We’ve had this beauty for 14 years! That was before pre-lit trees were even a thing. And, I’ve painstakingly strung lights on this tree every year and each year, without fail, one strand goes out after they’re all up. But, it’s totally worth it because I’ve never found another tree with these long needles that I like quite as well.
This is also the tree where all of our sentimental ornaments are hung. Things we’ve collected throughout the years and ornaments that mark special occasions.
So, this year I did a little tweaking to tree #1. I originally had a long strand of silver beads used as garland that scalloped around tree. It looked nice, but after the cats played under the tree for a couple of days, it started to fall down and look like, um…2 cats had been playing (fighting) under it???
As you can see, the bottom of the tree looks a little disheveled.
I had been trolling Instagram for weeks and every tree I saw (well, all the ones I liked at least), had this fat, wired ribbon running either down or around the tree. . So, ribbon it is! Out with the old and in with the new. Plus, ribbon is pretty cheap, so it was a very inexpensive update. I think I got a couple of spools for $6. Not too bad! So here’s the new look with some red and gold ribbon.
I take it as a success when my 12-year-old daughter likes something because she’s a hard nut to crack. She doesn’t like change either. She came home from school and instantly loved the new look! Whew!
Now on to tree #2. This is the tree gifted to me by my lovely MIL.
I’ve never been a big fan of “decorator trees”, but I figured that since we already had our family tree with the sentimental ornaments, I could decorate the other tree with more benign ornaments. I also had an over abundance of gold, white and silver ones, so I guess I now have a decorator tree.
I kept the ornaments paired down on this tree. They all color coordinate, but it’s not too over-the-top. I may add a few more over the years, but for now, I really like how this turned out. I also changed out the gold beaded garland for some gold ribbon.
Do you see that black fur on the blanket at the bottom of the tree? It’s a cat. He’s been basically living under the tree since the day after Thanksgiving.
I’ve had so much fun decorating these trees this year and the other Christmas vignettes that I’ve posted about. I may have to transition them from Christmas vignettes to winter vignettes so I can enjoy them for a bit longer.
It’s also been fun to update a few things because you can get in a rut, even with decor that you only pull out once a year. It’s fun to freshen things up.
Cheryl and I hope you have a wonderful holiday and a very Merry Christmas!
Happy decorating!
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