As I mentioned earlier this week, we finally brought home a real mini tree. I put up twinkle lights and hung a few ornaments, and I’m honestly smitten—it’s a total game changer.
Clara and Burger love it too—play a little Where’s Waldo in the dark and see if you can spot them:
The tree feels so warm and charming, and it looks especially sweet with the handmade ornaments I made for the Pinterest challenge. They add a personal, cozy touch that makes the tree feel unique.
These are the only breakable ornaments we’ll display this year since the tree sits on a table out of Clara’s reach. It sparkles like crazy, and I’ve already declared it my new favorite decoration. For anyone curious, we paid $19 for the tree at a local Richmond grocery called Martin’s—picked up near the curb—and it even came with a stand.
We even topped it with a gorilla ornament, so there’s some King Kong action at the top:
For a tree skirt I used a gray pashmina I already owned—just swirled it around the base a few times to create a soft skirt. Other than the cost of the tree, everything on it was something I had on hand or made, which kept the project affordable. I ended up using ornaments that averaged about 71 cents each, and improvised the skirt for free.
We had hoped to find a potted evergreen small enough to later plant in the yard, but after searching for weeks we couldn’t find an uncut tabletop-sized tree—most were five feet or taller. Since it was already December, we decided to go with a cut tree so we didn’t miss out on the real-tree experience this year. If anyone knows of a source for small uncut tabletop evergreens, we’d love recommendations; we tried Lowe’s, Home Depot, local tree lots, and several nurseries without luck.
I have a soft spot for shiny things, so this tree is a perfect match for me. Clara seems to enjoy it the most—she runs over multiple times a day, points at the animals on the ornaments, and excitedly shouts names like “Rhino!” “Hippo!” and “Alligator!” It’s the highlight of her day, and it never gets old for us either.
Surprisingly, John and I have never had a real tree together at home, even though we both grew up with them. About five years ago we switched to a faux tree after snagging a good deal at Target. The faux tree was convenient—no dragging a large tree home in a small car, and no dropped needles to worry about with a pet in the house. While a real tree has its charm, our faux one served us well year after year.
Here are a few of our past setups: back in 2007 we decorated with a simple white-and-silver look, then in 2008 we stuck with that scheme again. In 2009 we experimented with citrus and dried-fruit ornaments, and in 2010 we embraced green, pink, and silver.
Experts still debate whether faux or real trees are more eco-friendly. The verdict often hinges on transport emissions and how long a faux tree is reused, so our approach has been to use our full-size faux tree for as long as possible. We’ll set that one up in the dining room with Clara-safe ornaments so neighbors can enjoy the glow in the window, too.
Have you started decorating yet? Any other tabletop-tree fans out there? I’m so glad we finally tried one—it’s added a new level of joy to the season.
Update: You can check out our favorite holiday decor finds—many of which are affordable and under $15—on our holiday picks page.