I've been waiting to share all things Christmas. Don't ask me why. I just have an unhealthy love of Christmas. I didn't want to start talking about it too soon... I know I love Christmas and I know it can be a bit overwhelming in OCTOBER - haha. I love the holiday at its core - celebrating the birth of Christ. I also, however, love the time with family and partaking in our family traditions. UGH, and the decorating. I love decorating for the holiday. Something about Christmas brings a fresh perspective to our space every year. I start to see things differently and I look ways to usher the holiday season and new year into our lives with casual, comfortable and chic Christmas decor.
The big move of #summer17 came with a lot of requirements. I had to shed dead skin of previous years and to prepare for a new covering in a new area. In addition to shedding the old, I shed a lot of our belongings to make the move a little easier. When I say a lot, I mean a lot... like 70% of everything we own. We downsized from a large (nearly 5,000 sf) single family home to a townhouse to an apartment unit until we learn the area for a move into a house. As it relates to Christmas decor, I kept our family ornaments, and 1 box of small decor (our stocking holders, the stockings, our holiday candle houses, etc.). I didn't keep any of my Christmas trees. I did not keep the fiber optics tree from the kid's room last year:
I didn't keep my beloved pink tree from my craft room last year:
I didn't keep the beautiful flocked tree from our family room:
Man, I was mistaken. Sadly mistaken. Time ticked on and, before I knew it, Christmas was upon us. Before I could process, it was Black Friday and I was determined to find a good deal.
Did you know thrift stores have holiday-themed decor around the holidays? I knew the Christmas goodies would be on overload and I needed to check the thrift store before I shopped retail. I got dressed and I left. Just before I pulled off, I got a call from Hubbs. He wanted to accompany me on the trip and asked if I'd wait for him and the kid to come down; it was officially a family affair. No, I don't usually like to have them come with me. They're just naysayers and haters on my love for all things granny. ** eye roll**
Yet, here we were headed to Goodwill. We arrived and I walked to the tree section. You heard it. SECTION. There were more than a dozen trees and that's not including the drug store trees sold as a retail closeout (there were about 4 dozen of those brand new trees). We found a HUGE tree. 9 feet. $35. It was made of the typical fluff-n-go tree stuff except it was about 5' in diameter at the base. Hubbs was excited. He knew it was a nice tree... I investigated and I wasn't as sold. It was nice and it was large but, eh. It was okay. I kept looking. In a huge bin, I found a box. There was a piece of greenery hanging out and it looked real. I enlisted help from Hubbs to open it and there it was... a beautiful, plush, high-quality tree! I had to have it. We asked for the price and, because of the quality, the manager priced it at $34. We bought it, brought it home, plugged it up and *gasp* she was beautiful!
I looked up the information on the box. It has LED clear lights (although, the center portion flickers due to a shortage), life-like branches and you can see that it is a high-quality tree. I had to google the name on the box.
There it is... the tree of my dreams! I checked the price for the height we bought and OMG!
- Plug it in to check if lights work.
- Notify staff of defects for a price break.
- Google for a comparable tree to see if you're getting a great deal
- If you don't find the prefect tree on your first visit, don't be afraid to leave and return on another day.
The inventory is ever-changing and the hunt is always an adventure. I love the tree and I can't wait to share how I decorated it affordably tomorrow!
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