O Tannenbaum...

I love Christmas trees.  I could sit and stare at the lights on a Christmas tree for hours, mesmerized by their beauty.  As a child, I used to love sitting in the living room with the room lights off, gazing at the tree and the patterns made on the ceiling from the colored lights.

With Christmas just around the corner, I wanted to write a quick post on inexpensive ways to decorate your Christmas tree...

Here is my tree this year:

I find tree skirts to be extremely expensive.  Last year I bought a 70" diameter round red tablecloth at an after-Christmas sale for about $10.  This year, I folded the tablecloth in half and then draped it around the base of the tree.  I'm really pleased with how it looks, and if I ever decide to change it, I can use the table cloth for something else!

My mother's tree growing up had crocheted snowflake ornaments on it every year that have been in her family for a while.  I like the look, so I wanted to make some for my tree.  I found two different patterns online via Ravelry (love that site) and came up with these.

The ribbon on the tree is left over from my wedding.  The "tree topper" was a pew bow that my mom rescued after the ceremony.

My husband found a set of house numbers in a drawer when he moved to our house in years ago.  I love the shape of these numbers, so I decided to hang them on the tree, too!  Someday, when we live in a different house, we will have something to remember our first home by...

The red wooden bead garland was an after-Christmas special last year, as well.

In an effort to add more hand-made to the tree, I found an origami dove video on YouTube and made six little white doves for the tree.  They look a little bit like they could be mistaken for humming birds... hmm... The peace doves are significant at Christmas time, because we celebrate the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, the Prince of Peace.  We can rest in His peace...

I also have mini cookie cutters and real pine cones (wedding leftovers) adorning my tree... These speak to my childhood family Christmas tradition of making sugar cookies and my love for hiking and nature. :) 

Hope you find some ideas here you can use! :)  And Merry Christmas!