Last week we bought a Christmas tree, and finally, after our adventures with the tree stand, we got around to decorating it. So lots of pictures!

We got a U-Cut tree, a little taller than we’d originally planned, but it’s gorgeous.

I grew up with a strong tradition of Christmas and decorating the tree. When I was a kid, every year, my family would go to Holtzerman’s, (sp?) a shop that sold handblown glass ornaments. Each kid, as well as my parents, would get an ornament. We had two Christmas trees – the downstairs one that was the adult tree and had the prettier ornaments, then the upstairs tree for us kids.

In addition to Holtzerman’s, my mom and I had our own tradition. We’d get dressed up, go out to lunch at a restaurant (always a big deal when I was growing up), then go to “The Pretty Package” – a little boutique shop located at the corner of Nicollet Ave and Lake Diamond Road. Every year, she’d buy me a hand-painted wooden angel.

I have thirteen of those angels. I put them up every year, even when I don’t have a tree. 

This year, Blaze and I bought ornaments for our tree, together, so we can start our own traditions. Then he helped me do some of the decorating (because I had to go through the ornaments and make decisions about which ones I was keeping and which ones had no meaning and were getting donated someplace.)

So here are some pictures of the tree, as well as a few of the ornaments.