Nautical Christmas
Our first Christmas tree was my favorite. It was the biggest tree they had and boy did my eyes light up when I saw it. Jeremy looked at me like I was crazy and was unsure it would fit through our door but I was persistent. Every morning when I opened my bedroom door the smell of pine filled the entire house. It was my first Christmas in Florida and I was inspired to have a nautical theme. We had 4 boats, 35 star fish, 15 feet of nautical rope, and lots of ornaments some hand made by me. Other than the size of the tree, it was my favorite tree because it was our first. It was our first holiday in our home together. I have fond memories of meeting Jeremy’s parents for the first time in front of the tree and long hours talking about memories. That was the year Jeremy’s mom, Kathy, brought her vintage train that was passed down to her from the 50’s. The train now resides in our home and later became the inspiration for our third Christmas tree.
Fun fact: This boat was a foot and a half long! It was gifted by a good friend of ours.
Fun fact: There were so many lights that they blew out and we had to redecorate the tree!
Wishing Tree
Jeremy lived in South Korea for two years and one Christmas he had a small Christmas tree that he adorned with paper cranes he made. The story had my wheels turning and I knew what our second Christmas tree theme would be. Mid September we began folding paper cranes (when I say we, I mean Jeremy). I on the other hand made geometric ornaments from wire, straws, and spray paint. Every ornament on the tree was handmade. One of my favorite parts was the lanterns because they look like they were lit but they were not. The creativity and how original the theme was what made this tree special.
Fun fact: This was not the original tree. The first one was too small and I undecorated it and put it upstairs in our room. I had always wanted a full size tree in my room!
Fun fact: Jeremy has been making paper cranes since he was a kid. He read a story about a Japanese legend that said that whoever folds 1000 paper cranes gets one wish granted. He think he might have hit that number this Christmas (lol)
Polar Express
The vintage train is one of our favorite things we have in our home. Both Jeremy and I loved trains since we were kids and this one was not just a beautiful antique but an heirloom we had in our home. We loved it so much we wanted it to be the inspiration to our third tree together. One day when I was around 8 I saw a train that ran inside a tree and that memory stuck in my head like glue. From then on I always wanted one and for this tree I had to have it and boy did I search in till I found it. We had a Santa’s list ribbon made by my friend @claudiastrenger , a calligrapher who embedded the names of all of our loved ones. We dubbed some people naughty and some nice all in good fun (I’m on the naughty list)! Many of the ornaments were bought from antique stores or toys bought online. A favorite part of the tree (other than using the vintage train as ornaments) is Jeremy’s mom at thanksgiving gave me ornaments passed down from Jeremy’s grandmother from his dad’s side. She also gave me vintage postcards received by Jeremy’s great-grandmother and they are so whimsical. I don’t have family heirlooms so having something like this meant so much. In all of my trees I make sure to add Love and something memorable.
Fun fact: This is our first artificial tree. We are traveling a lot and cannot have a real one. So flocked tree it is and it was perfect !
Fun fact: Jeremy’s great-aunt was a railroad nurse, and these postcards belonged to her mother. This ornament grouping is in her memory.
Fun fact: Our cat Pearl couldn’t stop eating this tree! We found out that the flocking is mildly toxic to cats, so we have to spray the tree with natural cat repellent often to keep her away (she’s never ate it again).
Fun fact: This is a real working train. It’s so much fun to watch it go around the tree. The original idea was to do this with the vintage train, but it sparked a little too much to be safe! (lol)
Fun fact: I had this idea to do a Santa’s list, but I couldn’t find the right color for the fabric. So I dyed it with coffee! This awesome calligraphy was done by @claudiastrenger
Fun fact: We picked up this train at a thrift store in Martha’s Vineyard. It was supposed to be display-only, but we think the manager had a little too much wine at lunch and sold it to us. Apparently it had been there for years!
I hope you enjoy our Christmas trees along with our memories. May you and your family be inspired to add a touch of love and history to your holiday. May your days be merry and bright!