When I moved into my first brand new starter home with my soon to be husband 20 years ago, I was so excited about having our very own Christmas tree, in our little lounge.  Like everything else in the house it was new and modern, and I wanted my tree to match, minimalist to the max, just white lights and white ribbons, how very then 😉

My tastes soon changed as we moved to a much larger old Georgian house, and our family expanded, we wanted to create a family tradition that would evoke memories, be fun and show our personalities over the years.

So each year, each of us chooses a new tree decoration, nobody is allowed to comment on each others choices, sometimes very hard for me 😉 and from over the years we now have an eclectic tree, full of colour and happy and joyful memories.

This years choices, animals playing a heavy part !

My OH always seems to choose animals, we’ve had a  bear, owl, squirrel and even a gheko, I’m sure he chooses them just to wind me up !  Mine are normally pink and sparkly or food related or hand crafted.  One of my favourites was for the year of a 3rd daughters 1st Christmas, a friend made a papier mache baby wrapped in swaddling.

Supper is always bubbling away  as we busily deck the halls, a hearty one pot wonder ready to be enjoyed, when our home is twinkling in all it’s glory.  It’s amazing as we decorate the tree, singing carols and we find each ornament how we can remember the year and what we were doing, a wonderful tradition, that I hope my children will continue with theirs.