Readers share their Christmas tree decorating traditions with us on DREAMCATCHER today…
Mathilde says:
We went to buy the decorations and every member of the family chose three decorations; then we went to choose the fir tree. The smell, the size and the colour all had to be right. Each year we have a different theme, and this year it's an English theme - I am one of Cathy's French readers, and we live in France. Dad starts decorating the tree with fairy lights, then my sisters and I put on the garlands, and finally the baubles. We finish by adding the star to the top of the tree. The ritual of decorating the tree is very important to us and we listen to Christmas carols as we decorate the tree. (Mathilde's tree, left)
Ruadhan says:
Our tree goes up two Fridays before Christmas. One year, my mum's, gran's and uncle's birthday were all on a Friday; Christmas was on a Friday too, so we decided we'd put the tree up on my uncle's birthday, two weeks before. We had baubles personalised with our names and put them on the tree. and it just stuck. And all of this happens at my gran's house in the Scottish islands…
Sophie says:
We decorated our tree on 7th December, after school and before my trampolining club. We put the orange lights and then the ultraviolet ones on to begin with, and then the cream ribbon. I got to put the first decoration on and from there we decorated the whole tree, finishing with the angel! (Sophie's tree, right)
Blue says:
We don't really have decorating traditions. Everything - the tree, the baubles, the lights, the tinsel and the star - were bought this year. Not sure what happened to the old tree, but we're not a family to fuss over tradition anyway. We always have a fake tree because Mum is allergic to pine - but the cats definitely aren't! They are OBSESSED with chewing the tree so we have to keep them out of the living room because we don't want them getting hurt. They've managed to run off with a few baubles but I've always retrieved them after distracting the kitty with a catnip treat. They're only kittens so this is their first Christmas and they're intrigued by the wrapping paper, the tinsel and the open fire. The colour scheme is blue, white and silver… I chose that!
Rebecca says:
Our tree goes up the first weekend of December. We decorate it together as a family and there are lots of Disney decorations on there as we spent an amazing family holiday there in 2011. We normally but a couple of new decorations each year to add to it… and it's a real tree, of course! It has white lights and hanging decorations, and it's beautiful! (Rebecca's tree, left)
Cheryl says:
I've never had a real tree and always wanted one, but I hate the idea of them dying and being thrown out after Christmas. We got a baby one last year, planted it in a pot on the patio and it grew all by itself with no care needed at all. We've brought it in for now, but the lights are outside ones so we can pop it outside every now and then to freshen. And by next year, it'll be even bigger!
Scarlett says:
My birthday is 4th December which is exactly three weeks until Christmas, but we never put the tree up until the weekend after my birthday. If we did it any sooner than this, it would feel as though Christmas was being celebrated before my birthday. Me and Dad put the tree up and Mum decorates it. We aways use lots of baubles and twinkly lights but never any tinsel, as we think it detracts from the simplicity of the baubles. (Scarlett's tree, right)
Koby says:
We always decorate the tree and the house on the first Friday of December, once me and my sister get home from school and my parents finish work. We usually have a real tree and this year is no exception. We decorate it all together and there is always a Christmas CD playing in the background. The tree always has a colour theme, and this year it is gold and red tinsel and ornaments.
Cathy says:
Our tree usually goes up about a fortnight before Christmas, and everyone joins in with the decorating. We don't really have themes… we use the same decorations every year, topped off with a hand made vintage papier mache fairy. Awww! What's YOUR tree like? COMMENT BELOW to tell us!
We went to buy the decorations and every member of the family chose three decorations; then we went to choose the fir tree. The smell, the size and the colour all had to be right. Each year we have a different theme, and this year it's an English theme - I am one of Cathy's French readers, and we live in France. Dad starts decorating the tree with fairy lights, then my sisters and I put on the garlands, and finally the baubles. We finish by adding the star to the top of the tree. The ritual of decorating the tree is very important to us and we listen to Christmas carols as we decorate the tree. (Mathilde's tree, left)
Ruadhan says:
Our tree goes up two Fridays before Christmas. One year, my mum's, gran's and uncle's birthday were all on a Friday; Christmas was on a Friday too, so we decided we'd put the tree up on my uncle's birthday, two weeks before. We had baubles personalised with our names and put them on the tree. and it just stuck. And all of this happens at my gran's house in the Scottish islands…
We decorated our tree on 7th December, after school and before my trampolining club. We put the orange lights and then the ultraviolet ones on to begin with, and then the cream ribbon. I got to put the first decoration on and from there we decorated the whole tree, finishing with the angel! (Sophie's tree, right)
Blue says:
We don't really have decorating traditions. Everything - the tree, the baubles, the lights, the tinsel and the star - were bought this year. Not sure what happened to the old tree, but we're not a family to fuss over tradition anyway. We always have a fake tree because Mum is allergic to pine - but the cats definitely aren't! They are OBSESSED with chewing the tree so we have to keep them out of the living room because we don't want them getting hurt. They've managed to run off with a few baubles but I've always retrieved them after distracting the kitty with a catnip treat. They're only kittens so this is their first Christmas and they're intrigued by the wrapping paper, the tinsel and the open fire. The colour scheme is blue, white and silver… I chose that!
Our tree goes up the first weekend of December. We decorate it together as a family and there are lots of Disney decorations on there as we spent an amazing family holiday there in 2011. We normally but a couple of new decorations each year to add to it… and it's a real tree, of course! It has white lights and hanging decorations, and it's beautiful! (Rebecca's tree, left)
Cheryl says:
I've never had a real tree and always wanted one, but I hate the idea of them dying and being thrown out after Christmas. We got a baby one last year, planted it in a pot on the patio and it grew all by itself with no care needed at all. We've brought it in for now, but the lights are outside ones so we can pop it outside every now and then to freshen. And by next year, it'll be even bigger!
My birthday is 4th December which is exactly three weeks until Christmas, but we never put the tree up until the weekend after my birthday. If we did it any sooner than this, it would feel as though Christmas was being celebrated before my birthday. Me and Dad put the tree up and Mum decorates it. We aways use lots of baubles and twinkly lights but never any tinsel, as we think it detracts from the simplicity of the baubles. (Scarlett's tree, right)
Koby says:
We always decorate the tree and the house on the first Friday of December, once me and my sister get home from school and my parents finish work. We usually have a real tree and this year is no exception. We decorate it all together and there is always a Christmas CD playing in the background. The tree always has a colour theme, and this year it is gold and red tinsel and ornaments.
Cathy says:
Our tree usually goes up about a fortnight before Christmas, and everyone joins in with the decorating. We don't really have themes… we use the same decorations every year, topped off with a hand made vintage papier mache fairy. Awww! What's YOUR tree like? COMMENT BELOW to tell us!
We haven't put our tree up yet - my birthday is 2 days before Christmas so we generally wait until at least after my party, if not until after my birthday, leaving us just Christmas Eve. We always have a real tree and don't really theme it or make it neat, although the tinsel tends to be coordinated. Our decorations are a bit of a mismatched group but I love the personal feel that gives the tree. Our main tradition is that every year my brother and I get to choose a new decoration each so that when we leave home we have a nice little collection built up from each year we've been alive :)
ReplyDeleteThat's cool. I'm german, so my family always put up the tree on christmas eve, and we have candles instead of lights. We also celebrate christmas on the 24th December instead of the 25th.
ReplyDeletesadly, we used to help but now our mum does it when we are at school as dad gets frustrated with the tangled lights and we'd just get in the way. The kittens need to be shut in as they'd knock over the tree probably!
ReplyDelete