Growing up, we only ever had one tree. Our home was small, so only one made sense. However, that never took away from the coziness of the glow from the lights and the charm of our quiet (and packed) living room!
Since I’ve moved back to our family home, lugging my tree with me, we are going to have two trees again. Last year was the first time we had two trees we could decorate and I’m really looking forward to doing it again this year!
I love the idea of spreading Christmas cheer throughout our home. I know that lots of people put little Christmas tokens in each room of their homes, but that wasn’t the case for us growing up. The decor lived mostly in the living room and dining room, with some extra sparkle in the front porch to greet and welcome guests.
The way our home flows, there are certain spots where you can see through to rooms that are separated from one another. We have french doors that provide this sense of separation and privacy between the more “formal” rooms and our casual family room. They allow for a peek into each other. It’s really rather charming!
And so, seeing glowing Christmas trees from different rooms adds to the special atmosphere the holiday seasons welcomes in. And walking into another room with its own Christmas tree, layers the coziness even further.
Last year, we discovered an abundance of beautiful, handcrafted ornaments. These baubles are especially precious because my Oma and Omama made them when they moved here to America after the war.
What’s even lovelier about them is having our family heritage on display.
In recent years, I’ve taken the moments of unwrapping ornaments slowly, savoring the discovery of which ornament is about to be uncovered. I intentionally use the time as a way of slowing down, being present, practicing gratitude and enjoying the process rather than checking a to-do off the list. It’s become a really special moment for me, unwrapping ornaments with meaning.
For me, ornaments are the most beautiful when they have a history, a story or a cherished memory that comes along with them.
That’s why I like to decorate my tree with the ornaments exchanged with dear roommates during our annual ornament exchanges. We had this tradition of gifting each other with ornaments that are meaningful to the person receiving them. There are some that I love and can’t wait to put up and others that, well, I do not love. But I love the memories and the care behind the gifting of those ornaments. This tree lives in the evening salon.
Our second tree will be displayed in our family room. It gets filled with ornaments collected over the years and reflect the interests and hobbies of each member of our family. We grew up playing instruments, my dad loved model trains and our faith has always been a big part of how we celebrated Christmas. You’ll see nods to each of these, along with Oma’s decorative handmade ornaments.
Perhaps in years to come, I’ll add one or two more trees - like one in the front porch or on the back deck. Ones that are just beautiful lights for the glow and warmth and charm of it.
But for this year, I want our trees to keep those precious memories of years past alive. Memories of both our familial historic traditions and memories from my own “untraditional” traditions with dear and precious friends.
If you find yourself in a similar “untraditional” life season, I’d encourage you to create at least one new tradition you can look forward to as a solo thing or with a couple of close friends to do with you.
Don’t forget that homemaking is for you and how you want to recharge from the world. If going all out with Christmas decor is that for you, fantastic. And if keeping it simple, yet warm and cozy is more your thing, also fantastic. It’s the posture of your heart that matters most.
With love,
