My Christmas Tree

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, one full of warmth and good food. I know I definitely gained a few pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas with all the delicious food sitting in front of me. With the holiday season coming to a close, I took down my Christmas tree last weekend. Before I packed everything away, I wanted to savor the tree with all its decorations. I know this isn't really fashion related but I want to share my decorations and holiday history.

The Gifts

My friends have long since figured out my affinity for glass and glass blowing. This was a beautiful gift that I will hang on my tree for years to come.

A gift from my roommate- not only pretty but delicious. I popped the lid open and found delicious Lindt truffles.

College pride!

This is actually less of a gift and more of a prize. My friend hosts her Christmas party every year and it's tradition to do an ornament exchange. This year she imposed a $3 max budget. To up the incentives for finding a great ornament for a low price, the person whose ornament was voted the favorite would win this prize.

The Most Elegant

I like to shop for ornaments at Macy's after New Years when the holiday stuff are 75 to 80% off.

The Blues

Sparkly. It's very simple but has a big effect when the tree is all lit up.

This one is my favorite. I hang it in a prominant spot year after year.

The Most Adorable

Bad doggie! He got tangled in the lights again this year.


The Snowflakes

A gift from a previous year's ornament exchange.

The Homemade

Years ago, when we didn't have a collection of ornaments, I made origami cranes and globes to hang on the tree. It took a lot of time but the tree looked great in the end. I still keep a few as a memory of that time. If you want a low budget but big effect Christmas tree, definitely try it. It just takes a lot of time and wrapping paper.


In high school I was part of the recycling club. To raise money, one year we made these for Valentine's Day. Not only were they works of art, but it was eco-friendly.

I didn't actually make this but it is handmade. It's from Ten Thousand Villages, a store that buys fair trade handcrafted goods from fairly poor regions of the world. They help provide income to people living in poverty and keep traditional arts alive in those areas.