Decorating the Tree

We usually try to decorate our tree after M.'s birthday each year but this year, it just didn't work out. We ran out of weekends or would have to wait until the week before Christmas. Luckily, the sleepover for M. tonight was canceled so we decided to slip in our Christmas decorating early.

We had dinner, made cookies and hot chocolate, donned our Santa hats, and decorated the tree. Even K. put on a hat this year!

S. had a great time decorating the tree. Last year he was a little young to enjoy it or even to put very many ornaments on the tree. Actually, I think he enjoyed all the cookies and hot chocolate more.

I love our Christmas tree. No, it doesn't all match. No, it doesn't have a theme. It has lots of memories. I love all the handmade ornaments collected from through out the years. I have ornaments from my childhood--one that I made, one from my 5th grade bus driver, and a few from my grandmother. I also have many ornaments that my students gave me from my teaching years. I put their names and year on the back of each and each year that I put up the tree, I love to remember all my great students.

We also have lots of ornaments that the kids have made. Each year they make a few new ornaments in which we put their names and the year on. We also have all those lovely ornaments that they made in pre-school. I love the ones with their pictures in them!

We also decorate the tree with crafts and drawings the kids have done. We just nestle the crafts within the branches. We have the best tree ever!

I got out an ornament this year that my grandmother bought for me long ago. It is a bear that blows bubbles. I have never figured out how to put it in the tree but managed this year to balance it on a branch and bend all the needles around it to hold it steady. I don't want it to tip because it is holding a bowl of bubble solution! It seems to be working so far and J. and S. want me to turn it on each day.