I am so excited to finally share my Christmas tree and mantle with you all today! If you follow me on Instagram then you know how much I love this time of year. It’s not just a day, it’s a whole month long celebration of family and spending time together. Our holiday begins the day after Thanksgiving when we put up our tree and decorations. Every year we do something different and over the years I have amassed quite the collection of holiday decor. We have had a jewel tone tree, a traditional red and green tree, and even a rainbow tree, but this year I wanted to go merry and bright and I knew exactly what tree I need to make my ideas a reality. Treetopia’s pink flocked tree was just what I needed! They have so many colorful trees to choose from, but this pink beauty stole my heart the minute I saw it!

This was our first year getting a flocked tree, and I am now obsessed! It may make a little mess when setting it up, but the fullness and warmth it brings to the tree is just amazing. It feels like a pink winter wonderland and I am over the moon with how it looks. I also love that the tree is pre-lit, so I can get right to decorating after setting it up. 

This year we decided to go with a pink, red, and emerald green theme for our merry and bright decor. We began with a little red and white candy stripe ribbon tucked in around the tree, then layered in red, pink, and emerald baubles in an assortment of sizes. And of course to finish it off a few disco balls, because you can’t go wrong with a little sparkle!

Once we have our tree and home decorated, it’s on to a month full of fun family activities. I usually make these into our advent calendar so that each day as we count down we get to do a fun activity. So far this year we have decorated our tree, baked and decorated cookies, watched a holiday movie and decorated gingerbread houses, gone to see a movie, and went sledding on man made snow (the closest we will come to real sledding in central Texas!). A few other activities I have planned include driving around looking at Christmas lights, drinking cocoa, donating toys to families in need, going to see the trail of lights in Austin, painting a Christmas village, making ornaments, checking out a Christmas book from the library, and taking a mini trip to Dallas to stay at a resort that gets all decked out for the holidays with an ice show, ice skating, and sledding! 

By the time Christmas morning comes, we have fully indulged in all the holiday activities and spend a quite morning opening gifts and eating breakfast. Around mid-day we pack up and head to our extended family’s house for a celebration with all the cousins, brothers, sisters, and parents. 

I am so curious to know how you all spend your holiday season? Is it a month long affair like ours, or is it a simple one day celebration of family?