Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

It's a great day -- I am eating clementines for breakfast, I'm 99% finished with my shopping, and somebody else is paying for lunch today (it's our department holiday luncheon), so rather than kvetch about what I don't like about Christmas, I thought I'd talk about the stuff I actually like -- namely, my tree.

I complained to my husband earlier that I "hated" our tree, but I really don't. Maybe it isn't quite as Martha Stewart as I would like it to be, but it's really quite lovely. Nothing in the world smells quite like a real tree, and nothing is as pretty as a family tree decorated with ornaments that are quickly becoming new favorites.

Somewhere in my mom's house (probably the attic) there is an entire box of light-up ornaments that used to be belong to me, and will again some day, including the complete collection of Star Trek ships from Hallmark. Somewhere between college and marriage I switched from bright and noisy to classic and shiny, and I acquired this golden pear. It's no USS Enterprise, but it will do for now.

We also have acorns on our tree. I don't know why we have acorns on an evergreen tree, but I love these things.

We also have pine cones, don't worry. (With glitter, natch.)

No idea what this thing is supposed to be besides pretty. I love it. It's one of my top five favorite ornaments on the tree. (I apologize for the weird shifting colorization on these pictures, by the way -- I tried to brighten everything up but I still don't know how to work all the camera features so stuff was destined to get borked.)

We have this butterfly near the top of the tree, right underneath our star. It's supposed to represent something: my obsession with glitter and sparkles and bling, probably. Yes, I am part magpie.

Ironically, this cupcake ornament (Shae's) is the only breakable thing on the tree. I didn't want it to feel lonely, which is why we decided to add some color this year. It was a good decision -- our tree looks less "sterile" and "department store" with the added pops of pinks and greens and blues.

Another of my top five favorite ornaments. From the dollar store. Much more sparkly than this picture shows. I love this thing.

Of course there is a tree ornament on our Christmas tree. I wouldn't be a good ironic little wannabe hipster if we didn't have at least one "meta" decoration, now would I?

A giant, two-pound reminder of whose tree this really is. Okay, maybe not two pounds, but this "S" is silver and rhinestones and it weighs a ton relative to everything else on the tree, which is why it is actually sitting on a second branch, instead of being suspended. This week Shae has been saying the "S" is for Santa Claus.

This year we're starting a new tradition -- the Christmas Pickle, hidden in the tree. Of course other people have been doing this forever, but this is our first time. I actually have a gorgeous pickle ornament that came with the Bride's Tree ornament set that I got as a bridal shower gift, but we have those ornaments packed away somewhere safe until Shae is older and the cats are ... less catlike, because everything is made of glass. In the meantime, we're using this Hula Pickle that (obviously) came from my mother. When Shae finds it in the tree on Christmas morning, she gets an extra present. It's a double bonus for us ... a cute new family tradition that represents our pickle-loving cupcake.