Time to Trim the Tree Part 2 Beads and Bows, Garlands and Gifts.

Today I have been 'dressing' the corner of my formal living room where my Christmas tree stands, bedecked in all its traditional colours of red, green and gold next to the cast iron fireplace.

This is the perfect opportunity to show you how I 'finish' off my tree with beaded garlands and bows and introduce to my angel - she needs a name and I'm giving you the opportunity to name her - I'll choose my favourite - so leave me a comment and suggest a name for the angel who has graced the top of my tree for almost ten years! I'm also going to show you my fireplace display and give you a glimpse of some of the gifts I wrapped today to place under the tree. I hope to do a separate post on gift wrapping but with my baby ready to arrive during Advent, I should not be 'promising posts' - so I'm showing you some of the ways in which I embellish my gifts for my family - always wrapping them with love of course!

This is my lovely fireplace which warms our home during the winter months; of course, it is summertime in Australia. I am English born and have experienced the occasional 'white Christmas'. Decorating my tree in traditional style is one way in which I express my heritage - I think it is lovely to incorporate some traditions from your 'homeland' into your Christmas celebrations. This is why I have not been tempted to go for a totally 'Australian' look - no 'surfing santas' in this home, though I do have a ceramic kangaroo ornament hanging from one of the branches, I use gum nuts on my wreaths and my dining room has a different 'cooler' colour scheme of white, green and silver which is better suited to the strong Australian light.

After the lights, baubles and ornaments are hung on the tree, I move onto the beaded garlands, draping them as gracefully as I can. I admit I take some time to do this, I want the garlands to drape evenly in 'gentle, even waves'. I am never fully satisfied and have to set aside any 'perfectionist tendencies' or I would spend all day on this! I have always added bows to the ends of the branches using ready wired bows which are designed for this purpose. Sometimes I also add in silk flowers but as my collection was a little faded I have not used the silk 'Christmas lilies' this year. I have seen some beautiful trees adorned with silk flowers instead of bows in the December issue of NZ House and Garden magazine. This is something I might try next year!

And here she is - introducing ---- Oh yes, she is the Angel with no name! Please suggest a name. She's a Kiwi by the way! I purchased her from a well known NZ department store 'Farmers' where I bought many of my decorations in their wonderful post Christmas sales.




This is a glimpse of the gifts and decorations under the tree. I don't see the reason in decorating a tree if you are not going to place any gifts under the tree! It all adds to the excitement and anticipation of Christmas. My twin girls have opened the occasional gift before (usually the wrong one!) but now at four are old enough to know they have to wait - we are counting down the days to Christmas with our homemade Advent calendar and they are receiving tiny gifts when it is their turn but just to be sure, they check with me each morning asking 'Christmas today?' and sigh when I say 'No, not today ' and tell them to go and count how many days to go using the calendar.



I do like to coordinate my gifts with the tree. The gifts that will be placed under the tree are wrapped in gold and I have added embellishments which reflect how I decorate my handmade wreaths. I use ribbon, silk leaves and flowers, cinnamon sticks and even silk butterflies. Usually, I decorate at least one gift for each family member in a more elaborate way. I place these at the front of the present pile for greatest effect. On others I just use ribbon or a simple finishing touch such as a gold star or a glittery decoration. Any gifts I receive from family which do not match in, go into gift bags or boxes. Tucked away in the set of 3 gold boxes tied with red ribbon are gifts from my mum in the UK. This gives the recipient an extra surprise. I usually add a tag to the box 'Gifts from Grandma'. So do not be afraid to place those gifts from grandma which she wrapped in 'Mickey Mouse' Christmas paper into a gift bag. Don't waste time re- wrapping them (and possibly offend grandma in the process!) if they do not tie in with your decor, just disguise them! There are so many inexpensive gift bags and boxes available at the discount gift shops or better still, reuse a plain paper bag and have your children decorate the outside with cards recycled from last year. I have used the same set of gold 'hat boxes' to 'hide' gifts for many years. I just use a different bow and decorate the lid of the top box for variation.

I gathered some greenery from just outside my front entrance (I am so blessed to have this decorating resource a few steps away!) to decorate my fireplace - remember the fire will not be lit! I have also tucked sprigs of conifer around the gifts under the tree. Other items I have to hand are pine cones gathered from a recent trip to a local park, cinnamon sticks, green apples from the fruit bowl and a set of coloured, glass tea light holders.


I purchased these tea lights at the 'Reject Shop' for $1 each a few years ago. I use adhesive gold letters to spell out 'Faith, Hope, Love, Joy, Peace' and of course 'Jesus' who brought us all these when He arrived as a baby in a humble stable at Bethlehem all those years ago. I have set out a few of the figurines from a tiny Nativity set - another reminder for my children of why we celebrate Christmas. My main Nativity set, my Willow Tree figurines, a very special gift from my husband, are the focus of my Christmas display on the timber table in my hall. I will show you this display in another post.



I hope you have enjoyed visiting my home and seeing just a corner of my formal living room. The lights have been twinkling for several weeks now and I have loved spending evenings with my family relaxing in this room. Tonight I will enjoy it even more when I sit down and watch one of my favourite shows - You might be surprised, it's not 'Better Homes and Gardens' but 'Man versus Wild', (the ultimate 'How to Survive' show) on SBS. My children love this show too and I enjoy being with them, watching something of excellence which is also educational. 'Bear' has not yet done an episode on 'How to survive the Christmas season' but my advice would be to simply enjoy the preparations, start tomorrow, if you haven't already and don't leave it all to the last week. For further inspiration and ideas visit me again at 'Christmas at Eden' but just remember if I am not here I'm probably having a baby!

With Love and Joy,
Ann