Christmas Kitsch

After 3 consecutive nights of trying, I finally have my Christmas tree up and decorated. This is my second year having a real tree that I chose myself from a tree lot. Even though my teeny, tiny house is almost too small to move around in comfortably, it is at ground level, which makes it much easier for a single gal to haul a tree in from the car. In past years when I inhabited 3rd and 4th floor walk-ups, I had my Grandmother's old fake tree (apparently, this is a common tradition - see Miss Bess's post regarding the phenomenon) and it really did have a charming, Charlie Brown-esque quality! But, I must say I LOVE having the real tree. I love the smell when I open the door after work, I love the way it glows softly in the corner in the evening. Oddly, my cats pay absolutely no attention to it whatsoever. They both like to oversee the watering of the tree every night before I go to bed - they both have their noses in the tree stand and have a little sip for themselves. But otherwise, they don't even seem to notice it. Hmmm.

My other Christmas decorations consist of a hodge-podge of knick-knacks that I've collected since my college days, and of course my collection of Colonial Williamsburg caroling dolls. I know, I know - its bordering on creepy! Some people really hate these things, but my mother started givng me one every Christmas several years ago, and I've grown rather attached to them. I mean, come on, they're dolls for adults! Anyway, this year I put fresh pine all around them. I think they look pretty spiffy.

So, I hope you enjoy the photos of my holiday decorations. I am an appallingly bad photographer, as my friends know, so I swear my tree really looks better than it does here!