This year, Freddy who is four has got a real grasp of Christmas and is learning all about the traditions and beliefs associated with Christmas Day at school. He will be performing in his school Christmas play on stage at our local theatre, and he is going to see his first proper pantomime. It has taken him to a whole new level of excitement, but he is adamant that he does not want to talk to Father Christmas when he visits to give out presents at the school disco!
My grandson Ted is one a week before Christmas so this year will be his first proper Christmas and we are so excited to have him here with us, along with his mummy and daddy. I can't wait to see his little face when he sees his little pile of presents wrapped in pretty paper, the twinkling lights outside and the house all decorated with Christmassy things.
With these two precious little boys ready to enjoy Christmas Day, I want to create a magical setting and give them a day to remember filled with love and laughter.
Last year, I made a big Christmas display in the alcove of my living room with festive teddy bears, books stood on the window sill, candles, ornaments and a rather large, real Christmas tree festooned with baubles, decorations and candy canes. This year, said alcove has become home to a second sofa which provides extra seating for my ever increasing family. This has posed a bit of a problem to my usual Christmas decorating arrangement. Space is going to be very limited this Christmas with all the extra bodies and the extra furniture. There is nowhere obvious to put a full size tree in our living room. Also, with Ted just getting up onto his feet and becoming more mobile, I don't want him to get injured by the needles of a real tree.
So I have been looking around at all the different tree options online such as artificial trees, fibre optic trees, cascading snow trees, pre-lit trees, ready decorated trees and pop-up trees and thankfully I think I may have found the ideal artificial Christmas Tree for us among the trees for sale at The Range. It's a slim tree for use when space is limited. It stands six and a half feet tall but has a much smaller diameter than normal artificial trees, so I can put it in the narrow space between my corner sofa and the wall where it will be out of harm's way, yet still look fabulous covered from top to bottom with decorations and lights. It could work!
Failing that I can buy lots of little potted trees and dot them around the room. Or maybe go all modern and spray paint a big, bare branch in silver and suspend it from our ceiling covered in baubles? Or maybe I should go all out and have a giant inflatable tree in my back garden? Ian has suggested a Christmas tree on wheels so we can wheel it out of the room when we need the extra space!
I'm quite enjoying having to think outside the box and get a bit more creative with my Christmas decorating this year and I'm certain there is the perfect tree out there for us. Whatever I do, I'm sure it will be enjoyed and appreciated by the two precious little boys and the other members of my wonderful family that I am honoured and blessed to be spending my day with!
 |
