O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, how shiny are your branches

The tree is up! I'm hoping it stays that way, but with a big, doofy dog and a daredevil 8-month-old, I have my worries. So far, neither Maren nor Bronco have shown even the slightest bit of interest in it, which is a good thing. I debated whether to put ornaments on it, since I decorate my vintage aluminum tree with--what else?--vintage glass Shiny Brite ornaments that I've scavenged from thrift stores and yard sales, and are therefore pretty difficult to replace should they meet an unfortunate, splintery end on the hardwood floors. I threw caution to the wind however, and hung a few dozen ornaments starting from about three feet off the ground. Hopefully that is high enough to escape waggy, out-of-control tails and curious little fingers.

I do love my aluminum tree, and don't miss having a green tree one bit! I love the way the afternoon sun comes in the window and makes the tree just sparkle--it's quite lovely, and I never get tired of it. It does have a tendency to make the room look a little like a disco, but hey--it's festive. My only regret is that you can't see my tree from the outside of the house at night, as it is unlit. I do have a vintage light wheel that goes with the tree, but because it rests on the floor and is quite fragile, I didn't want to chance it getting destroyed. Maybe next year.

We do actually have a small, 4 ft. green tree in the family room.0 As Maren has pulled it over on herself once already, I'm thinking we'll be going for the extremely minimalist look this year. It is pre-wired with white lights, and I threw a length of silver tinsel on it, and that will probably be it. Even if I put non-breakable ornaments on it, I know they would be too much of a temptation for Maren to resisit. Even with just the white lights and the sparkly tinsel, it is still quite pretty. I love the white lights; they add such warmth to the room.

It's beginning to look a lot like....well, you know.....