An Old Fashioned Christmas Tree

It is finally here. The Christmas season is upon us. As Scrooge would say at the end of A Christmas Carol, “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy.” (Or a schoolgirl in this case). I love this time of year immensely. Even as an adult, I have never let the magic of it all slip from my mind. It reappears every year, especially when the snow starts to fall against the merry twinkle of lights we display in and outside of our homes. If I could bottle up and encapsulate the magic of this season to last me all year, I would do it. In reality, I do that when I think back to all of our family traditions and the memories we’ve made throughout the years. I also love to think about those “tales of Christmases long, long ago.”

The more I pondered that this year, the more I let it inspire me to do something a little unique with my Christmas tree. I have many trees I display every year, but the one in my living room is where I let my imagination take over. I had looked to Pinterest as I always do to get some inspiration, but honestly, everything I saw looked the same as it does every year. I didn’t feel inspired at all. I wanted something “new”, yet classic. So, my research continued. When I started digging in to more old fashioned style trees, that’s when the inspiration started to come. I had seen several old photographs of some beautifully draped garlands that stopped me dead in my tracks. I immediately knew that was what I wanted to attempt, but with my own personal twist and style. It’s whimsical, elegant, and eye-catching. And what better garland to use for this than pearls? Popcorn was popular back in the day, but with a very large pup, this somehow seemed like a bad idea to me haha!

When I decided that pearl strands would be my choice of garland, I ran up to Hobby Lobby and bought them out. I thought the three strands at twenty four feet each could be enough but that I would likely need only one or two more at the most. Wow, was I wrong! I had to buy out the second location, and I was then sure that six would be enough. Nope. I had to make that third trip and buy out the third location. Three different trips to three different locations. I grossly underestimated the length it would take to make this work on my 7.5 foot tree! Nine strands at twenty four feet each equaled out to be two hundred and sixteen feet of pearls. Draping that many pearls in this fashion was no easy feat. It took me many hours of work and a whole lot of frustration, but it was definitely worth it. It still isn’t perfect, and it won’t ever be, but it is still beautiful to us, and that is what counts. I mean, after two full days of running around to buy them and drape them on, they had better look good, right? Haha!

An added bonus of using the pearls is how reflective they are. They help to bounce the twinkle of the lights even more. They enhance the ambiance of the tree alongside the ornaments I like to hang on it every year. I purchased a container of one hundred ornaments a few years back at Target for around $12 I believe. I loved these ones because of the mixture of the colors, textures, and shimmer. They are white, gold, and silver, and some have a matte finish, some have a shiny finish, and some have a glittery finish. All these different designs, colors, and textures make this tree nice and shimmery. The addition of the pearls finishes it off beautifully.

The other thing I love so much about this tree is where it is located. Where you locate a tree can make all the difference. I mentioned in my post about our Christmas breakfast nook that I like to be very strategic in where I position my trees every year. In the photo above you can see the view of the tree that is from that breakfast nook area.

I love how I can easily view this tree from the living room, dining room, and breakfast nook. Those twinkle lights make a big impact, and I always want to get the best use out of them. My other piece of advice? Use mirrors. Placing mirrors on shelves, mantles, or “darker” areas of a room can really help to bounce those lights even more. Here is one of the mirrors on the opposite wall of my dining room that now has some of that amazing glow. This wall tends to be on the darker side, so adding mirrors really helps to add to the overall atmosphere.

I had my tree in this location last year, and I absolutely loved it. I had considered trying it elsewhere but didn’t want to give up that view from all three rooms. It was just too pretty to change.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading a little about our main tree this year. It was certainly a labor of love, but I couldn’t be more thrilled with it. It provides something unique and different than what I see year to year. It brings back that older style that I love, all while maintaining my own personal style. I have more trees in my home to share later on, including the one where all of our sentimental ornaments go, and I can’t wait to write more about that too. Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving! This year, I am so thankful for all of you who take the time to read my blog. I appreciate you all so very much!