The Koenigs Create: A Shanty Christmas Tree

I remember every Christmas while in Georgia my granny Ellen would go all out with decorating her tree, every year there was a different color scheme. One year it was gold, the next white, it was one of those things you look forward to as a child. I wanted to keep that tradition going in our new home. So that when we decided to build a family of our own, our kids will have those memories to and they can look forward to the little things during the holidays. Not just for presents but for the decorations, and the reasoning behind everything.

Had I known that entering the National Christmas Tree & Wreath Decorating contest you needed to submit your pictures before December 1st. I would of started my tree during the first part of November instead of half way through. So with a short deadline I rushed to get everything we needed. I had a color and theme in mind and I was on a mission.

January I ordered our very first artificial Christmas tree. All the hand me down trees weren't really our style. I wanted something GRAND! The tree we purchased was the Holiday Time Winter Frost Artificial Christmas Tree. It was beautiful, it was on sale and it was going to be mine. This was the type of tree that when you walk into a home that's where your eyes stayed, and every time you looked at it you would just be amazed.

As the blog title states our theme this year was "A Shanty Christmas" and my colors were gold, white, brown, and burlap. (I'm from Georgia yes we consider burlap a color) It wasn't till close to November that I started seeing Christmas decorations everywhere. Nothing caught my eye until one night while I was out to dinner with my mother and grandmother I saw it. This beautiful, country, burlap tree skirt. My brain exploded with ideas! I quickly snatched it up, clutching it to my chest like a life jacket. $40 bucks later I had a lighter wallet, but my heart was filled with holiday joy! The tree skirt was from Cracker Barrel: Burlap Floral Tree Skirt. Its very well made and heavy duty, it's one of those items that you are able to pass down generations. A good tree skirt you can use every year is something to look into.

Every year Walmart has some ADORABLE decoration. Then they have the ones that just missed the mark. I'm sorry but I'll never be putting blue ice cream cones or donuts on my tree. Stuff like that really makes me question the designer's for Walmart brands. Here's what I did buy for our tree this year:

- Two 50 Count shatter proof ornament sets: (Brown & Gold) $8.99 each set
- 6 Gold Poinsettia's (.97 cents each)
- 3 bundles of these gold spiral rod thingies ($3.95 each bundle)
- 2 rolls of burlap (7.98 a roll)

With all my merchandise in hand I set to work. I'm a huge perfectionist with a slight OCD problem so it literally took me three days to decorate my tree. I would not like the placement of one ornament next to another and would move them constantly. By the time I was done with the ornament placement there was glitter EVERYWHERE! Three night in a row before I would shower there would be a layer of glitter in my underwear, the dogs, the floor, and our furniture.

BUT JAMIE! What about a tree topper? Folks I didn't forget about that. I couldn't find a topper anywhere that I loved enough to spend over $15 bucks on it. Besides a tree like this I needed something that would stand out and shine! None of the toppers in stores just sang to me so I was back to searching...Then BAM and idea! You remember those cute metal stars we use for the decoration on our distressed dresser? Let me refresh your memory. I love this picture. It just reminds me of a fairy tale! Unfortunately I was unable to use the larger star on our tree. It would just be too big and scrape our roof. Yes we do have vaulted ceilings but the tree would just be to tall. So I used the little star and was mighty impressed with the finished product of our tree.

YOU READY FOR PICTURES?!