This year we decided it was time to buy a full sized artificial Christmas tree. Our apartment in Hawaii didn’t have enough space for a full sized tree so we chose a handful of our favorite ornaments, a number of kid friendly ones and decorated our skinny 6 foot flocked tree instead. It was the perfect stand-in for a full sized tree and brought us so much joy those 3 magical Christmases we spent living in Hawaii. Here are a few photos of that sweet little tree in our condo by the ocean, and this tree now resides upstairs on the landing and it’s fully of the kids’ handmade ornaments and cute felt ones too.
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We decided to buy this Ashland 7.5′ artificial Christmas tree from Michaels and have been very happy with it. It’s a good height and was very affordable. And assembly is so easy because once you align the parts of the tree the tree automatically connects the light circuit, so you aren’t stuck hunting around for the ends of the lights within the branches. Maybe all pre-lit trees are like that these days, but I thought it was pretty cool when I realized how simple it was. The ends of the branches are intentionally frayed, which gives it a slightly flocked or frosted look, despite not having any (messy) flocking at all.
Our woven tree collar was a new addition this year as well, and I love the look of it. It incorporates the woven texture that we already have throughout the house in the form of baskets and woven furniture, and I like the height that it has that a traditional tree skirt is lacking.
This year I also bought ribbon and picks to add to the tree, for a little extra visual interest. Hotels and public Christmas trees always have pretty filler in trees and I don’t know why it never occurred to me to add it to our own tree! I just went to Hobby Lobby and bought a bunch that I thought would work together. I ended up buying one roll of 1.5″ wired gold ribbon that I started at the top and worked my way down, 5 frosted branches with pine cones, 5 glittery silver cedar branches, 3 flocked branches, 3 gold berry picks, 3 sprigs of glittery gold leaves, 2 pearl sprigs, 5 trios of large frosted berries.
Similar options are linked below:
I just nestled all of the things within the branches…and that’s it! Here is how it looked before we added all of our sentimental and collected ornaments (and before the tree collar arrived):
Next up we added all of the ornaments we’ve collected over the years. No perfect color scheme or matching ornaments for us. I love ornaments that tell a story and ours are from all over the world and they hold special memories from throughout the years. I also threw in a few felt and kid-friendly ones closer to the bottom. I let the kids hang most of the ornaments because it’s fun for them and they like to help, which inevitably ends up with all of the ornaments in a big ole clump. I disperse them a bit more evenly after they go to bed 🙂 Our tree topper is a beautiful capiz one that I found at Target 5 or 6 years ago. This capiz star tree topper on Amazon looks similar, though the base of it doesn’t look quite as stable as the one we have. Ours has a big clip, kind of like a hair clip with teeth, that helps it stay in place.
While I do love our mismatched ornaments, I have purchased a few pretty ones over the years as well. This year I bought some blue and white ginger jars on Amazon and then replaced their simple black ribbon with fun tartan ribbon. These ornaments sold out quickly this year, but here are some similar options:
Our Christmas tree isn’t anything grand or spectacular, but it makes us happy and brings a smile to our faces every morning when we turn on the lights!
The top I’m wearing in these photos is my off white Dudley Stephens Park Slope turtleneck in terry fleece (this vello fleece one is the more plush option…can’t go wrong with either style, though vello is a bit warmer and cozier). It’s such a great neutral and I’ve been living in my DS fleeces all fall and know it will continue into the winter. My velvet bow is a fun addition to a ponytail. Mine was from J.Crew Factory and it’s sold out, but J.Crew sells an identical velvet bow option in 4 pretty colors. My jeans are demi-boot crops from J.Crew and I love how they’re a more laid back alternative to skinny jeans. Here is the current pair that looks virtually the same (mine are from the summer and are sold out). My simple gold hoops are only $28 and they’re a classic addition to any outfit.
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