I've had years when we had 4 live trees in the house. One year we had a tree that was 12 feet tall. We've had themed trees decorated only in peppermint ornaments. Once we even had a white and blue police themed tree with flashing blue running lights. We've gone to tree farms and cut them down. We've had artificial, table top, large real, and just plain ridiculous. All in the same year.
But the past few years when we get out all of the bins of Christmas decorations, all I can think about is how long it's going to take me to put it all away when the Christmas season is over. Lame, yes. Maybe even a bit on the scrooge-y side. Hey, don't judge.
This year we picked up a tree from Home Depot. It took less than 2 minutes to pick it out. Here was my check list: Tree? Yes. Green? Yes. Will it fit in our tree stand? (Oh, honey, that is another story for another time.) Yes. Perfect.
However, you know when you go some big box store to get a tree, the branches are all tied up in mesh. They cut open the mesh, and you can all "ooooh" when the branches spring down. But in reality it takes a few hours for the branches to "fall." As it turns out, our tree is a little uneven this year with some gaps in it. But you know, no one is actually driving their Christmas tree back up to Home Depot and asking to exchange it. Wait a minute, are you? :-/
Should I have taken more than 2 minutes to pick it out? Yes, probably. Is it a big deal? Not for me. Can I fix it? Yep.
Should you find yourself in a similar situation, head on over to your local craft store. In the floral department you will find all kinds of floral stems. You are going to want to look in the section with long stems. Stay away from the short floral picks for this project.
Find something that will make your tree wonderful and fabulous. Don't try to match the branches. Find something feathery or glittery or totally unexpected. I went with gold because I have mostly gold ornaments. I also wanted something with texture similar to pine needles.
You can fill in the holes by simply poking the stems into the tree. I also evened out our tree (it was a bit lopsided as well) by pulling some of the stems further out on one side, and pushing them further in on the other side.
And just because I love my new Shiny Brite by Christopher Radko ornaments from Home Goods:
Our tree isn't perfect. It isn't huge. But once you put lights and ornaments on it, any tree becomes magical.
XOXO,
Abby
Labels: Christmas, DIY
