On Sunday morning, we got up at a reasonable time and headed off to a garden centre on the other side of Cardiff. I'd been informed by a work colleague that it had a brilliant grotto with Santa and his missus, so that was good enough for me. Out of the three of us, I was the most excited as Mr. TheBoyandMe is a man and it takes more than that to get his enthusiasm enthused on a Sunday morning, and The Boy has not a clue who Father Christmas is.
With enough inner mistletoe for the three of us, we plodded off and found that yes indeed it had a fab grotto with Saint Nick and every-fink! Including a two hour queue!
With Mr. TBAM promising me that he didn't mind if I returned the next morning with The Boy, we had a good gander at the decorations and the pretty lights, played with some expensive carousels that we shouldn't have and explored the multitude of Christmas trees ready to be lovingly picked.
Upon arriving home and wolfing down our lunch, Mr. TBAM went into the loft and got our bargain Christmas tree (£100 reduced to £20 in a January sale five years ago), put The Boy to bed and I got busy 'growing' our tree, took me an hour to do what nature takes decades to do. (Plus no needles, no sap and no rash! Hurrah!)
When The Boy woke up and came downstairs, he walked into the dining room to see the six-footer twinkling away with over 160 white lights on it. A very different reaction to last year, as he paused, took a little step back and burst into the biggest grin ever. We then spent the next hour decorating the tree together, and his skills have definitely improved since last year as he put one decoration onto one 'branch' and didn't take them back off again; always a bonus!
And so to the title of this post:
Christmas 2009: Jingle Bells
Christmas 2010: Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus
Christmas 2011: A Smelly Stocking
This is the star I bought for our first Christmas together as husband and wife ten years ago. Fitting that it's placed on the top now by our child.
You see we buy The Boy a decoration each year to go on the tree, and write on it to commemorate the year it was given. This way when he moves out (at the age of 59, certainly not a day before!) and decorates his own family tree he will already have a good collection of quality decorations to start him off.
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I'm linking these up to three great Christmas linkies
Mummy Mishaps' Christmas Tree linky
Oh, now you've thrown me into a dilemma! The reason Aaron wants to tree up Christmas Eve is to see Leo's face when he gets up (although sure I'll be the one up first with him lol) Whereas I was going to put it all up when he was around with him 'helping' but it would be amazing for him to be surprised by it.
I can't back down now and do it Xmas Eve but now wondering if I should change the day and put it up when he's in bed.
Great post BTW! – love the fact you have decorations from each year, that's a lovely tradition.
Oh I LOVE that idea of getting The Boy a tree decoration every year! I'm going to have to steal that one! Christmas is so much fun with kids now. Get even more excited than I was BC. Hope you all have a lovely one! x
i adore how you are starting some decorations to pass down to the Boy when he eventually moves out of home at 59!!! i really wants ours up but because we were way from home last weekend and away again this weekend goodness knows when we will buy ours 🙁 its a lovely tradition you have started x
I get the older kids to decorate the tree now & they do a brilliant job.
I have the decorations that the children have made over the years adorning my tree & one day they will adorn their own trees.
Fantastic pictures and traditions behind it. We buy a new decoration each year too but I didn't think to write on them. I only thought (while putting up our tree) of buying a special box each to put their decorations in so that they can take them to their own house in years to come.
I love buying special decorations for the tree, it give it that uniqueness and a story behind them. x
We have saved all the kids homemade decorations over the years and there are now enough x6 to decorate the whole tree. Not a tasteful tree but a much loved one! Love your idea of buying a special decoration each year
thats lovely, love your decoration traditions
Thats so lovely and sentimental. getting one key decoration every year. Love that idea, can I nick it? And £20??? blimey!
love your tree all lit up in the dark – i might just have to add mine now like that as i am sat looking at it by myself!! thanks for linking up x
your tree does look very similar to ours…quite possibly the same model… I used to buy a new decoration each year for the kids but more recently it just hasn't happened…I will have to rectify that
x