Subscribe to Our Feed!We decorated our Christmas tree yesterday. I only showed you a glimpse of our new star (not a bow, not an angel) and thought that I’d talk a little more about what went into decorating this year. Previously, our tree was a mish-mosh of old ornaments, colors and randomness. My obsessive compulsive tendencies couldn’t handle the mismatched cornucopia of colors and styles. It took me awhile to pick a direction but after thinking about what we had the most of, the answer was obvious: a fire tree.
Over the years, we have collected a number of firefighter specific ornaments. When I say “a number,” I do mean “lots and lots,” of course. I started thinking about their coloring as I hopped from shop to shop after the Christmas decorations were put out in stores (which was before Halloween this year and while some may find that deplorable, it helped in my hunt). I fell in love with a mix of red, apple green and white ornaments at The Store That Has Everything from Ornaments to Soy Based Yogurt. It turns out that the mix was a popular one this year because I found accenting smaller ornaments at just about every store I went to over the few weeks it took me to make my decision. I purchased a huge bundle of them from the initial store (50 larger ornaments) and a bunch of teeny ornaments from various stores. The colors are gorgeous.
In fact, when I started to pull out our specialty ornaments, I realized that the new ones were perfectly complementary to the ornament that is always displayed front and center on our Christmas tree: Santa as a firefighter.
We have a few variations of snowmen as firefighters as well. The reds of their hats or whole bodies were also perfect for the new coloring of our Christmas tree.
Yes, that last one is actually a bell. And it does jingle. But don’t tell the boys. Please.
We have another Santa but I always put him off to the side now. He was a gift from the owners of Teach, Bank, Blog back in 2005, just a month after BigBrother was born. I love the ornament but I feel bad that it doesn’t have LittleBrother’s name on it. So he hangs off on the side that faces my computer now. I smile at him and he watches me to make sure I’m being nice, not naughty.
One ornament doesn’t really match the color theme but definitely fits the fire theme. A firefighter dalmatian, complete with axe. He may be in yellow and blue but he’s a welcome addition to our fire tree.
The funniest fire themed ornament on our tree is a firefighter… Pez dispenser ornament. It makes me laugh every time I see it.
We also have a special series of ornaments on our tree. Robert’s Fire Catalog releases an ornament every year with the date and a different fire truck. I have purchased one for FireDad every year since we have been married. While we were engaged on Christmas Eve 2003 and I’d like to have an ornament from that year as well, I can’t seem to get my hands on one from that year. Such is life. 2004 is my favorite. 2005 is kind of… pink. 2009 may or may not be opened on Christmas morning. Guess FireDad will just have to find out.
One of the gems of the tree is a Hallmark ornament that is a 1938 fire truck. Our batteries are dead so it doesn’t currently do anything except match our colors and look generally awesome. It sits close to FireDad’s recliner so that he can pretend he’s like Jay Leno and has an antique fire truck. Someday.
I hope to add another ornament or two, other than the one from Fire Catalog, this year. As such, if you’re ever stuck for a gift idea for our family or any firefighter, consider an ornament. They’re usually easy to find. Santa as a firefighter is a recurring theme year after year, likewise with the snowmen as a firefighter. Hallmark almost always has a fire truck ornament but I’m not always quick enough to get them before they’re sold out of our local Hallmark. (20 firefighters on our local department plus the surrounding volunteer departments mean that fire truck ornaments go pretty quickly around here. Ebay is always an option.)
In the end, I’m in love with our “new” Christmas tree. I even bought a new tree skirt. And, yes, that is a firefighter snowman sitting next to the tree. I am pleased that our new Christmas tree not only matches itself but reflects our family. Fire trucks, firefighters and the color green. I mean, it’s a win-win-win for us all!
Especially with a star on top.
because that’s what we do around here from now until next Christmas, rinse repeat. Anyway, our tree is decorated, complete with our new star which had to be wrestled onto its perch. We’ll show you the whole tree tomorrow along with the boys’ tree. For now, our new star, minus the audio snippets of FireDad cussing as he tried to get it to fit right.
