Dear Christmas Tree,

I am coming to the close of the Mama E Christmas Tour. Not because I want to. But because I have to. I didn't take all the photos I wanted in the quality that is good for sharing... Oops. Next year I will capture it all for you, because you need to see this woman's decorating skills! And Christmas is a lot more than Christmas at our house. We are taking photos traded out, everyday wreaths exchanged, trees in every room, lights outside, garland on the banister... not one detail is left out. My mom has incredible decorating skills. Now I am going to leave you with the final tree. This tree is where all our presents go. It is in our American themed basement, so she even ties that into the tree. But we have had a bear tree for as long as I can remember. And this year I learned some tricks of the trade and helped her fill the tree with all the decorations. So without further ado...

There you have it. Mama E's Christmas Trees. More coming next year!

Love,

Deidre

Dear Family Tree,

A few more steps pass the entry way and you enter into our family room and kitchen area. We have really high ceilings, which means a really tall tree. And always a gingerbread tree. When I was in elementary school my Mom let me help decorate a pile of the gingerbread men. You can still spot the child crafts on the tree.

See the orange lights? Well. One year some of them starting smoking and almost caught on fire. A few faulty wires and crazy coated bulbs can cause some serious problems. Needless to say they were turned off and replace before our house caught on fire. Good thing my mom has a keen sense of scent. Oh, and can you spot the child's crafting in the bottom right hand corner?

This is the tree that we always find our Christmas Eve gift under. We all sit in the living room where the tree is before bed and open our gifts... which are always pajamas. 

Love,

Deidre

Dear Christmas Tour,

You will be hearing from me a lot this week. Because it is almost Christmas. And I have a lot to say and a lot to share. I went home to Mama E's this weekend and I feel like you need a proper tour of her home. She is big into themed trees and going all out. So I want to introduce you to the trees in her home and all her decorations. I didn't get a chance to take photos of them all on our way out today, but she might have time to snap photos and send them. Fingers crossed, because I think after you see the first few you will be dying to see the rest!

This is the first thing you will see when the front door of my home is opened. This tree changes colors from year to year depending what is going on. For a long time it was silver and black from a wedding, but now those decorations are on my tree, so you will see them later. The tree is full of some new things and some old things. Red, gold, and angels. Garland up the stairs full of lights. And in the back you can see more trees coming!

The angels have been around forever. We have always had an angel tree. For a while it was in my bedroom, then it was moved to the front room, then the living room, and now the entry way. There aren't as many harps and angels, but these three angels are part of my childhood, and I love that my mom still uses them.

What a great first impression, right? My mom is ALL about Christmas, and this is just the first few steps into her Christmas Wonderland.

Love,

Deidre