We got married in June and I wasn’t even thinking about our first Christmas married until sometime in November. We were committed to staying on budget so that we could save up for a house and suddenly I realized that there were a whole bunch of things that I hadn’t even thought of registering for. Things like a Christmas tree (fake because of allergies), ornaments, manger scene, lights, maybe a stocking or two, and all the regular Christmas decorations that just regularly appeared out of storage every year at my parent’s house.
The thought of having to buy all that stuff was overwhelming–I knew I didn’t NEED all that stuff, but I did WANT some of it. So I started doing research and figuring out how to make it all work.
First the tree–we managed to get a hand-me-down one from someone who didn’t want theirs anymore. It had seen better days, but it wasn’t quite the Charlie Brown type yet. And besides with some lights and ornaments–no one would and no one did even notice! We did buy some lights and a couple of special ornaments, but a friend from church went through their vast collection of ornaments and gifted us with quite a few.
Then I started searching and I decided that I wanted to try for eco-friendly themed Christmas tree decorations. First up, I made cinnamon ornaments. It was easy and fun and it made our small apartment smell like cinnamon for the whole Christmas season!
Then I decided to string popcorn and cranberries. The popcorn was fun and was a delightful way to re-watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “White Christmas”! The cranberries…well not-so-much. Our fingers got stained, the needles seemed extra sharp on cold fingers, and the cranberries were cold and uncooperative with being strung on a string. By the time we were done my husband had silently vowed never to try that again and both sets of fingers felt battered and bruised.
Over the next year I found a couple of yard sales that sold wooden beads that were painted to look like cranberries and those have adorned our tree since that fateful year. Stringing cranberries that year made some lasting memories that we get out and dust off every year when we get out our tree and ornaments for decorating.
How about you? Do you have any fun stories about Christmas decorations?