It's officially Christmastime.

Because the Christmas tree is up! It's not Christmastime until the tree is done.

We had wanted to go cut our own, but that wasn't in the cards this year. Maybe next year! To Home Depot it is.

We debated between a Noble Fir and a Fraser Fir which looked really similar. Hans liked the stronger branches on the Fraser, I liked the thicker feel of the Noble. We ended up going with the Noble after finding out that they (supposedly) last longer than the Frasers.

In the past, we've always just wrapped the Christmas tree round-and-round with lights, which Hans hates doing. I saw on Pinterest (of course!) that there's another method, where you hang them vertically. You section the tree off and work up and down. A little tricky to get the hang of at first, I think we both like this method better.

I was squinting at the lights because it helps me see where the dark spots are! Hans thought this was very funny.

And, of course, we went and picked out our annual keepsake ornaments. Hans went with Christmas Darth Vader (who makes sound when he sees movement - how long before that gets old?) and I went with a claymation classic (I LOVE claymation christmas movies!) We also brought back a starfish ornament from Hawaii that blends in nicely with our tree.

Last year I really wanted to add some kind of bows and ribbon, but was a little too wimpy to give it a try. After seeing it done so successfully all over the place this year, I decided to dive right in. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out - only thing is, next year I'll wrap the ribbon and THEN hang the ornaments, not the other way around like I did this year.

And not bad for my first bow tree topper, huh? It looked pretty gross after I finished it, but once we attached it to the top and fluffed it, it's not so bad.

Now I just need a new tree skirt. Our old one is too small. I'm considering DIY-ing one, but don't have any good ideas. Suggestions?