Do you prefer your tree

[Liberty Belle]

to look like the old fashioned kind with mismatched ornaments and a touch of gaudy, or do you like it to be a Home and Gardens tree with a theme/color scheme and look very tasteful?

I like both, but I'm a sucker for childhood memories, so our's is the old fashioned kind. I do have a smaller Alpine tree that I decorate more tastefully, but it's not our main tree.

 

[rie'smom]

2 of ours have a theme- family room is snowman and living room is religious. The keeping room tree has mismatched ornaments.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I like my tree to look more formal, and though the ornaments don't all match, there is a definite theme. I drive DH nuts when decorating it because I have to have all the colors "balanced."

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

mismatched - like everything else in our lives

 

[usnuzuloose]

It is just ornaments that I like. Nothing matches or themed.

 

[krcit]

My tree has all mismatched ornaments and I love it!

 

[luvflorida]

Our tree is a mix of old and new. We have ornaments that are over fifty years old, and they look it. They've lost their original shine and some have been chipped in places, but they are some of the most cherished ornaments on our tree.

Always hanging in a very visible spot on the tree, are the special baby ornaments that were bought the year each child was born ('80, '84 and '90), and there are a few special grandson ornaments. We always buy a few new ornaments every year, too.

Our tree is definitely not a showroom piece, but it is full of family memories. Every ornament and decoration on the tree is there for a reason and has a story to go with it.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Mismatched ornaments! I normally have a tree of Precious Moments figurines, but I didn't put it up, yet (and may not....).

I'm gonna have a bare tree when the kids go off and leave, though!

 

[nmmom95]

We do one of each. The tree in the living room is the "good" tree, with white lights, silver and gold ornaments, white bows and silver & gold poinsettias. The family room tree has colored lights, mismatched ornaments, all of the ornaments my kids made at school. The glittered pretzel wreath has a place of honor on this one! lol

 

[shelemm]

Our tree is all arts and crafts ornaments (some quite old). Many tiny cloth figure my wife made when she was a little girl. Some new stuff we add on, but nothing breakable and no two alike.

We like to play a kind of "I spy" game with the kids. Where on the tree is.... a red scarf! And then they scamper to find the ornament (like a small wooden penguin) wearing the red scarf. Many years of amusement. As they get older, they get trickier with the clues.

 

[princesshannahsmom]

To be perfectly honest, it all depends on what mood I am in when it comes time to decorate the tree.

I have multiple boxes of different ornaments.

First, I have the "blue and silver" box. It has blue and white lights, blue, silver and white ornaments (of any kind), blue bows and both a silver star topper and a big blue bow/ribbon topper (again, depends on the mood!). That is what I have up this year.

I also have a "red and gold" box. Same as the blue and silver box, except red and gold, lights are, believe it or not, red and white!!! I had a weirdo idea for decorations that year!!!

Then, I have the "green and red" box, again, same as blue and silver, just green and red.

I also have a small box of pink and white ornaments, which can be used on a very small tree. DD was born 2.5 weeks before Christmas and DH set up a tree in our bedroom while I was in the hospital. It was pink and white to commemorate DD's birth. That is also where the "Baby's First Christmas" ornament is! When we put up the "traditional" tree, we use the decorations on it sometimes.

And finally, I have the traditional box, it has all of my oldest ornaments (passed down), DH's (very few) passed down ornaments, ornaments that we have bought here and there on vacations and such and all of DD's crafty ornaments. This one gets used the most, but sometimes, I just want something a little more "perfect"!

 

[jen0610]

to look like the old fashioned kind with mismatched ornaments and a touch of gaudy, or do you like it to be a Home and Gardens tree with a theme/color scheme and look very tasteful?

I like both, but I'm a sucker for childhood memories, so our's is the old fashioned kind. I do have a smaller Alpine tree that I decorate more tastefully, but it's not our main tree.

Grew up with both. The family room tree was the kid tree, homemade orniments, popcorn garland, colored lights tree. The living room tree was white lights, snow flocked, lace ribbon thread thru the branches. Clear, white, blue and green orniments.

 

[olwyngdh]

My tree tells the history of my Family. I have the bells from my Grandparents 25th anniversary cake, the worn and tattered Santa and elf that were on my parents first tree, glass balls handed down from my great grandmother, ornaments my children have made, that I made as a child, that my mother made as a child, as well as ornaments that tell the story of my husband and my marriage and our travels as a military family. Do they match? no, not in a modern clinical sense, but they do match in spirit, and they bring the memories of those who have passed into our home each Christmas. They match in the sense of being wrapped in the warmth of history.

 

[MIGrandma]

I've never had a theme tree, always just old fashioned mismatched ornaments, ornaments the kids made in school, handmade ornaments from my MIL, and even one glass clip-on bird from my childhood tree when I lived at home with my parents. And the tree has colored lights.

I also have a 5' tall Alpine tree that has clear lights and all decorated in lodge style "up north" ornaments with moose, deer, bear, etc. That tree stays up all year though, it's not a "Christmas" tree.

 

[Pakey]

My tree is always very formal. I have OCD; I don't think I could sleep knowing there was a mismatched tree in the house.

 

[lspst8]

I like the mis-matched trees the best. I've only had my own tree for 4 years since I bought my townhouse, but it is already covered in mismatched decorations. I get an ornament every time I go on vacation. My parents' tree is also mismatched, and I love helping my mom decorate it. It's so much fun remembering where were got all of the decorations -- almost every ornament has a story! Gosh, my mom has ornaments my sister and I made in pre-school.

I could see having "formal" tree if your house has enough space for 2 trees, but for me, I greatly prefer a more homemade looking tree!

 

[indimom]

I LOVE the gorgeous themed trees you see in department stores, etc.
BUT, since we only have room for one tree and I can't stand the thought of not putting up the ornaments we've collected year by year and the homemade kids' ornaments, ours is the mismatched variety.
I've been known to add fabric bows and coordinating ribbon to tie it all together though!

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Mismatched! We buy whatever ornaments we like. We try to get one from every vacation, so have all kinds of random ones. We have my mom's beautiful old wooden ones from Germany, ones the kids made, one my husband made in kindergarten and some clothespin ornaments my brother and I made as kids.

I guess we have a little bit of a theme, in that the tree is almost entirely colorful, whimsical, wood or clay ornaments. No balls on our tree, except a couple of NHL ones. They look out of place and tacky, but dh and dd think they're as important as the baby's first Christmas ornaments.

 

[SC Minnie]

I like the very formal Christmas trees but to me they aren't 'homey'. We collect ornaments from our travels. We have since Dh and I were dating. We enjoy decorating the tree every year and remembering all the places we have been.

 

[SnowWtch]

We have mismatched ornaments. We got married in December 2005 so for our wedding/shower we asked for ornaments. We also buy ornaments for special memories like a pickle from Germany in EPCOT on our honeymoon. Our tree is full of things we like and memories we share.