Decking the Halls - The "Dressy Tree" is Up

About 15 years ago, 

I started decorating a "dressy" Christmas tree

in addition to our family tree.

  

It's kinda funny, though -

back when I started doing this -

the fancy tree was my favorite.

Now, the "boy's tree" means more to me

with it's clumped lights

& home-made ornaments.

Anywho -
here's how I decorate the

dressy tree . . . 

First of all, have you ever tried putting

grape vines on your tree? It looks great!

Next, I add my ribbon. The first time I put

the ribbon on my tree, I didn't have enough to wrap 

all the way around. So it is cut into 3 sections for

"top", "middle", & "bottom". When we take

the tree down, they are labeled so the next year I 

don't have to figure out which is which. 

(This was my friend, Colette's, idea - Thanks Colette!)

(There's my curious little dog, Sam, again-he cracks me up!)

As I layer my tree, I go from the biggest items first to

the smallest.

I use these bunches I made early on . . . 

 

I love these little birds with real feathers

(so does my dog, Sam!).

Each year, I add to both our Christmas trees.

I found these balls above last year & fell in love with them.

More "decking" to come - but we're recovering from

the flu, so it's a little slower this year!