Paper Angels and Pretty Trees

I don’t know about you, but it seems that beautifully decorated homes all dressed up for Christmas have taken over my social media accounts these days. In fact, this week I’m joining a group of bloggers who are going to be sharing some of their favorite holiday rooms. Hosted by The Everyday Home and Town and Country Living, each day we’ll be bringing you loads of Christmas eye-candy.

But friends, these days, while I regularly find myself sighing and swooning and maybe even drooling a bit over all of the impeccably decorated trees and Pottery Barn worthy table displays, I can’t help but wonder about something.

Something that seems to be missing.

Where oh where are the ornaments made with Popsicle sticks?

Where are the cheesy ornaments you’ve had since 1972?

Where are the ones made by little hands at school and brought home with great anticipation, eager to hang front and center on the Christmas tree?

Where are the real ornaments?

So, you see, I decided it was high time to show off a different kind of tree.

One where paper angels aren’t relegated to the back.

Because, you see, I believe that the pretty and the practical can peacefully co-exist.

In fact, I believe that when our decorating is grounded in reality, it might just be even MORE beautiful.

I believe that we can pull out those old family ornaments and display them proudly, seamlessly incorporating them into your decor without hiding them away in the far corners of your home.

And I believe that the best way to blend the old with the new is by putting a fresh spin on things.

Using a fun tree stand, like the basket pictured above, is a great place to start.

And adding a touch of whimsy, like this oversized music sheet paper garland, makes such a great statement.

The thing is, my heart flutters the most when I pull out this type of ornament.

And this one of me circa 1981.

And when I hang those treasured ornaments on the tree next to sparkly mercury glass jars, they seem to take on a shiny new luster.

I don’t believe that Christmas decorating has to be an either/or situation.

We don’t have to either have really beautiful decor OR use our cherished family treasures.

I think that that, if we put our minds to it, we can find a way to have the very best of both worlds.

I want my kids to see that I enjoy being creative in our home and using it as a type of canvas to express that creativity.

What I don’t want is for them to have memories of mommy sticking all of their homemade ornaments on the back of the tree each year. Or not even putting them on the tree at all! Now, granted, for the sake of space some of them do end up on the backside.

But, I really want my kids to know that those ornaments are even MORE beautiful, more important to me than anything I could ever buy ready-made at the craft store.

And that preparing our homes for the season isn’t nearly as important as preparing our hearts.

Thank you so much for meeting me in my family room today At the Picket Fence,