I'm thinking the tree will be staying up through all of January. This is because: a) we're out of town for Christmas, and I want to enjoy it a little longer. b) There's just nothing like sitting on the couch relaxing with the tree lights twinkling, and c) The thought of taking it down right after Christmas is so not appealing to me at the moment! Amazingly, Sam doesn't really go near it all that much. Only one ornament casualty so far this year.
Unpacking the ornaments and remembering each one is a ritual I always look forward to. They all have special memories and many were handmade or given to us by friends. These are some of my favorites.
This vintage-inspired bird ornament was a gift from Holly. She even hand-stitched the strawberry. Isn't this the sweetest thing?
I bought this cute one from Analise at Silver Bella.
Sam's 1st Christmas baby bootie ornament.
Mario's 1st Christmas candy cane.
A favorite mercury glass pine cone.
Some pink ones I like.
A sweet little cone made by my friend Pam.
These pretty flocked bells were a gift from Dana.
You know what they say, "Once a Marine, always a Marine". {this is George's contribution to the tree!}
A sea shell from a vacation to Hilton Head Island.
A vintage ornament from Pam. Love this!
Just Married.
Vintage Lambie.
Just an old one I like a lot.
I glittered a load of pine cones again this year and tucked them into the tree here and there. Then I placed some on the mantle's garland as well. I just love the way they look, almost frosted. And it's always nice to have natural elements incorporated among the glass and other decorations.
There are more ornaments hanging other places too. We have another pine garland wrapped around the railing that leads upstairs, and this is where we hang our annual family ornaments. Here is last year's:

And the one we got this year:
The boys have colored lights strung around the playroom and a small tree with some of their "toy" ornaments like this train I got for Mario this year.
So nice to see all of these ornaments come out of their safe wrapping each year and to play Christmas music while we trim the tree.
We're at my parents' house now, for the week, and as I type this I'm sitting by their tree while my dad snores on the couch, my mom reads a magazine and George alternates between snoozing and watching TV. All around their cozy tree full of lights and memories. Christmas trees are magical, aren't they?