Real tree. Pearl beading. Tiny blinking colored lights. Tons of ornaments, although they're going to have to shift from 1940s German glass indented fragile pieces to macaroni art and stuffed things. But the 1940s pink spire will stay (at least as long as I can keep dh from snapping it in two.)

EGB--what exactly is a "dh"?

My tree has garland, but no tinsel and multi-colored non-blinking lights.

DH is an internet chat term for husband. The D is changeable depending on day and mood, but usually stands for dear or darling. On other days, however........

Derivatives are DW (wife), DD (daughter), DS (son), etc.

Live tree. (Well, used to be live, once you cut it down, it's dead.)

Colored little superbright lights. Lots of 'em.

Wide, churled ribbons instead of garland or tinsel. If you have cats, tinsel can mean a trip to the vet. They think it is pretty spagetti.

Ornaments: If you have pets or small children, put the fragile, beaded and delicate up high; the satin balls or wooden carved down low.

Every year, our tree looks different. And every year MOML proudly announces, "This is the best tree we have ever had!"

Fake, pre-lit tree. I use wired ribbon in gold and mauve and twisted together in a way to make ribbon thingys to play on the tree (saw it on HGTV). Then I have white and mauve poinsettias that I place on it along with gold and mauve decorated balls. I still have a few ornaments such as "Baby's first Christmas" and other special ones that I have to still put on the tree, but it's pretty simple but pretty.

We start with a fake tree, put on net lights, and decorate with ornaments from my childhood and things that my children have made in school and in church over the years.
We use ever so little tinsel. just enough to make it sparkle so it looks very antiquated, but beuatiful. You dan definately tell its a family tree. We play Chrsitmas music and have a family time as we decorate creating memories of each year in our busy little heads.

A live tree with white lights (non-blinking), red glass balls, pine cones (spray painted gold) tied on with red ribbon and that's it. Simple and beautiful.

Garland....with lots and lots and lots......yikes....of ornaments. I say that because it's my "job" to do the tree thing and my wife decorates the rest of the house...guess I still have the better deal, even with all the ornaments!

We ended up with a live tree, Fraser Fir, which I've now learned drops needles like.....hummm what would rop needles fast? Anyhoo, I'm sweeping daily.

The antique garland (half inch in width and coated with real silver) made it on the tree and satisfied his tinsel wishes. I told him if we used the real stuff he had to pay the vet bills He was quickly convinced!

Colored little lights...so many they blew a fuse twice so I had to rewire them around the tree to three different plugs

Saturday the house looked like Christmas threw up on it, but today it's quite nice The cats haven't knocked the tree down, and have only eaten a few decorations Brats!!!

Fake tree, watering a real one is a lot of work, especially when you have a husband, a 10 yr. old, a 4 yr. old a 2 yr. old and a 5month old. None of the throw on tinsel. It looks tacky, and you will still be finding it around the house next december. Lots of ornaments, especially if the kids made them..

So here's the story...

First we put up the fake tree. It was getting old and raggy and my engineer husband couldn't get the lights to work. "It doesn't make any sense why they light here and not there!" So, out went the fake tree.

Then we cave to adult kid pressure and go out and get a 10' real tree and a stand that cost more than the tree. Struggle putting it up and start at least once daily needle vacuuming to keep the 2 dogs and 2 cats from eating it. (Ah, yes, that's why I went to fake!)

Then, after spending the better part of 2 days decorating it, I sat down last night at 11:00pm to admire my handiwork.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear....
but a tree leaning forward with Radkos quite near
to falling and breaking and making me cry!
We tied it to weights so it points to the sky.

And I just finished taking off the glass ornaments so the engineer can try to make it stand up straight without relying on the rope the cats seem to find ssssoooo interesting!

Next year, a fake table tree, I swear!

LMAO Oh bjp that was so funny. I can completely sympathise with the poem I had the tree decorated and went downstairs to find my sweetie "adjusting" the tree because it wasn't straight. 210 (I counted just for fun) Radko's swaying with each kick to the trunk!!! After the CPR was finished...I told him if he touches it again he's a dead man.

Ahhh the love that goes with the holidays

bjp, in case you change you mind and decide to do the big tree again next year, I have a suggestion for you - and anyone else who puts so many ornaments on that the tree nearly (or actually, in my case) falls over. We now have our tree stand bolted to a 3' x 3' piece of plywood. It works like a charm and I don't have to worry about the tree toppling over anymore.