I was planning to call this post, “A Tale of Two Christmas Trees,” but then Amber over at Wills Casa just wrote a post called “A Tale of Two Carraras,” so I thought I’d better go in a different direction. I ended up with a much more obscure literary reference. Anyone read The House Without a Christmas Tree? (that’s an affiliate link, right there, by the way. If you’d like to go over to Amazon and spend one cent (literally) on a used copy of The House Without a Christmas Tree, I will get a small percentage of that cent). I loved that book when I was a kid.
But because Christmas trees do not serve as a painful reminder of our dead wife/mother in this house, we have not just one but TWO Christmas trees this year.
First off there is our regular old tree in the den. I feel fairly strongly about having one utterly themeless tree where we hang every ornament we have–the ones that remind us of trips we’ve taken, the ones I still have from when I was a kid, the crazy ones the kids made when they were toddlers–ALL of them! I may well revert to a pretty tree where things match at some point in the future, when the kids are gone and/or too old to care, but we’re not nearly there yet.
Last year I was very pregnant and not up for much of a tree hunting expedition, so we went to Home Depot and grabbed a tree out of the big pile of them they had there. But this year, I read about a local nursery where one could not only buy a tree but visit with Santa and ride ponies and such, so we decided to go there instead.
We went the weekend after Thanksgiving, while Dave’s parents were still in town:
Abe very reluctantly met Santa:
Gus much less reluctantly rode a pony:
Ari and Abe looked cute together:
And also we got a tree, brought it home, and hung all the ornaments on it:
Also the kids tried to make ghost pictures in front of it:
Spooky!
Local nursery tree was way more expensive than Home Depot tree, but we got to support a local business (and the pony rides were FREE!), AND I think this one’s way prettier than last year’s. I like how it’s all squat and fat….we have lowish (8 foot) ceilings, but a big, wide bay window for the tree to sit in, so that shape works best (plus I think it looks kind of retro that way).
Last year I told the story about how I passed up a white Christmas tree at the thrift store for $29 because I was just too pregnant to deal with it. I’ve regretted it ever since. I really, really, REALLY wanted either a white or silver tree for my foyer this year. No such tree materialized at the thrift store, so I broke down and bought a brand new one when Target had them half off after Thanksgiving.
My foyer tree is very skinny. I think I’d still like a slightly bigger one someday if one turns up cheap enough, but I’m happy with this one for now. It was $35 (not pre-lit, so the lights were another $21, I believe). I’ve been collecting blue, white, and silver ornaments at the thrift store for awhile now.
That picture’s probably too tall to fit on your screen, isn’t it? Here’s a smaller one, with it all lit up:
Our den, where the other tree is, is in the back of the house, so I like having this one that you can see from the street. 
Apparently I completely forgot to take a picture of it, but I bought some silver mesh fabric from Hobby Lobby for a couple of bucks to wind around the bottom of the tree and cover up that stand.
Abe is pretty into this tree:
Also, he’s really, really almost one these days:
It’s kind of crazy. And he’ll never know what it’s like to only have one Christmas tree. I really feel like we’ve arrived now.
I am still so behind! I have two not-Christmas posts coming up in the next few days! And maybe one more Christmas decorating post, too.
Linking with:
i love the fun tinsel tree! and your kids making ghost pictures is awesome. 🙂
They were pretty delighted; they keep asking to do it again; I have a feeling I’ll have ghosts in every picture I try to take for awhile 😉
Abe on Santa’s lap totally made my morning. Your trees are beautiful!!!
Thanks, Michelle!
omg abe & santa is an AMAZING picture. That needs to be pulled out for years to come.
I just wish we’d found a real beard Santa for the occasion….I would have tried harder if I’d known how hilariously disturbed Abe was going to look 🙂
Yes you definitely have arrived 🙂 I love the vintage looking tree. Gus’ expression on the pony: priceless. Ari sure is handsome looking right along with Abe there. I can’t believe you found so many wonderful blue ornaments thrifting over time. What a score. It looks so good 🙂
Thanks, Katja! Most of the best ornaments were there all at once one day, so I stumbled in at a lucky time it seems 🙂
Love both your trees! My favorite is the picture of Abe with Santa. I’m dying! haha, so cute and hilarious!
He was so funny–he never cried at all; he just sat very, very still while the sides of his mouth drooped lower and lower until we finally rescued him 🙂
That first shot of your family with your in laws is spectacular! And your trees are super!!!! Love the silver tree and sweet little Abe checking it out!!!! Beautiful you!
Thanks, Nicole! It’s always nice to get that rare big group shot where everyone’s actually looking at the camera 😉
You totally cracked me up about your affiliate link! And Abe on Santa’s lap is pretty funny too.
Love your tree and I’m a huge fan of skinny trees. We have a family tree too with all kinds of collected ornaments in the family room. The kids are allowed to do whatever they want. it’s fun and so worth it.
Love reading your posts.
Thanks, Julia! I need to go check and see if the money’s rolling in on Amazon yet 😉
I love both of your trees. Every year, I mean to have a tree with colored lights because my husband lvoes them. And every year I forget until it is too late. So I shall live vicariously through that wonderfully festive tree.
I remember always insisting on colored lights when I was a kid and my mom would try to make our tree more grown-up 🙂
We just went and cut down a tree today and it was so cold! Love both your trees. I’ve been wanting to get a mid century tinsel tree. The silver Target tree looks like a nice option. Love the pic of Abe with the tree.
I did another hunt for vintage trees on Craigslist today, but they’re all more than I want to spend. Maybe someday!
I like your literary reference much more than mine! 🙂 There’s something so lovable about a tree with memorable decorations. I love Ramona’s little collection of ornaments and what nots she’s made. They are just precious.
Love that you have two trees! I’ve already planted the seed w/ Andy that when we have kids we’ll have two trees – one that I get to decorate and one for the kid(s). Genius, right? Love the ghost picture too.
I love that you have 2 trees! When we move to our new house I think we’ll have two trees as well. I love your real tree, the shape of it is awesome, while your vintage looking tree is so chic! Good job!