Just like with your hairstyle or wardrobe, decorating a Christmas tree can be an outward display of your style and taste. Whether you showcase special handmade ornaments from your children, go all out with a specific theme or color, or present an eclectic mix of carefully collected ornaments, you're making a statement and telling a story. 

What does our Christmas tree say about us? Well, for starters, it's pretty clear we're both Type A. If you're not a handblown painted glass ornament, you're not coming to the tree trimming party in our house. Sad, but true. This method of decorating is something Alex's Mom passed down to him, and this family tradition was near and dear to his heart. Therefore when we bought our first tree together back in 2000, we set out to follow suit.

Over the years we've collected hundreds of these ornaments, and especially like to seek them out as treasured souvenirs on our travels. This week, when we decorated our tree in anticipation of this weekend's Holiday Designer Tour of Homes, we took a trip down memory lane as we unpacked box after box of our beloved keepsakes. 

We noticed some clear patterns emerging, and had a good laugh at our expense. Clearly, we both enjoy our travels, as we have cities from around the world represented. This is the Rosenborg Castle from our trip to Copenhagen last year.

We're also very food centric, as desserts...

...and alcohol make frequent appearances on our tree. 

We like to pay homage to aspects of our lives, like the ongoing legend of our "peanut ghost.

We have a deep sense of patriotic pride.

We love animals, as is evident from the multiple dogs, a cat in a stocking, and exotic animals like crocodiles, hippos, and sea turtles.

We adore our pets, and have gone so far as to recognize their favorite things -- a squirrel for Lulu...

...and a mouse for Mel. (He's a mouse gladiator after all.)

We also know which ornaments are our spouse's favorites, and we ensure that these ornaments are hung by the "right person." I'd be crazy to try to hang Alex's stormtrooper ornament.

I also like to hang ornaments in related groups. For example, my favorite pug ornament is always hung next to the fire hydrant. No one else probably notices, but I get a kick out of it each year.

We celebrate treasured childhood memories, like Alex going to see the Nutcracker with his parents...

...or my undying love and affection for the Care Bears!

All in all, our Christmas tree may not be a "designer tree," but we feel it's a reflection of us, our family, and our home. And for that, we relish our time decking the halls. 

Speaking of decking the halls, we're thrilled to announce a special Twelve Days of Christmas promotion here at Old Town Home. Beginning next week, we'll be giving away twelve gift cards to local stores over twelve days to make your holiday season a little brighter. Stay tuned for more details and how you can enter to win.

What special traditions do you employ for the holiday season each year? Do you have a special ornament or decoration that brings back memories for you and your family? If so, we'd love to hear about it. 

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Comments 13

Comments

11/28/2012 at 12:19 PM
You guys have a gorgeous tree! Right now we're a mismatched, anything goes kind of tree decorating couple, but eventually as we spend more Christmases together I'm sure we'll become more refined!
Wendy
12/2/2012
Thanks, Ashley! There's something to be said for mismatched/anything goes!
11/28/2012 at 1:52 PM
I love glass ornaments, but since I face overseas moves every couple of years, I own almost none. I also buy ornaments when traveling, but always non-breakable ones. The sole exception? Every years since we started dating my now husband has given me a Waterford crystal tree ornament. They are beautiful, personally meaningful since my mom is Irish, and they are virtually indestructible because they are so dense- 5 moves in 14 years and not one has broken.
Wendy
12/2/2012
Sounds lovely, Colleen! Waterford is great -- I just wish my Waterford wedding stemware was as indestructable as your ornaments though. Oops. :-)
11/28/2012 at 1:56 PM
All of the ornaments that I chose are hand painted glass, like yours! Some are Victorian in nature, others are "vintage". Not real vintage, but made to look that way. My husband likes ones made from wood. So our tree is really a mishmash of it all. We collect ornaments from everywhere, espically our travels.
Wendy
12/2/2012
Sounds beautiful, Antonella. Happy holidays!
Whitney
11/28/2012 at 8:33 PM
Oh I really enjoyed this!! Your ornaments are beautiful and I love that they represent different aspects of your lives :)

I was really excited to get 5 boxes FULL of vintage glass painted ornaments from an auction a few years ago. For FOUR dollars!!! I can't wait to get those on our tree this year!
Wendy
12/2/2012
Four dollars? Wow! What a find!
11/28/2012 at 9:06 PM
Every year I try to do something different with our tree, but for the past five years or so there's been consistency with our inconsistency by placing red & white birds all over the tree. We also collect special ornaments on our travels so those are on the tree as well.
Wendy
12/2/2012
Love the bird idea, Becky! Sounds beautiful and festive. :-)
12/1/2012 at 2:52 AM
(I don´t speak english....)I like very much the glass ormaments, are originals!!! Very funny! Happy Christmas!!
Wendy
12/2/2012
Thank you, Monica! Merry Christmas to you too! :-)
Lizzie Saito
11/15/2013 at 3:46 PM

I love the vodka and the Darth Vader ornament! These give the tree a surprising touch with a "badass" feel to it. I also have a great Christmas ornament collection which is mostly hand blown glass figurines from Murano and Russia. Thanks for sharing!

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