All that glitters...

Now I know I’m pretty much mentioning Christmas every week now and it’s not yet December, but I feel like I need a bit of festive preparation to focus on to keep me sane.

This year I’m very excited because it’s actually my first year having my own proper tree. I feel like I’ve finally reached peak adulting.

How could she have gotten to be an upwardly mobile woman in her thirties and yet not have a Christmas tree, I hear you ask?

Well it’s a combination of many, many years of living in house shares where you might throw up a random tree that someone’s parents donated to the house that was destined for the bin. Then you’d decorate said tree with paper decorations you thought looked amazing after a bottle of wine, which in the cold light of day look like a seven year old made them, and also living with my parents in recent years so there just has never been an occasion for my own tree.

This year, however, myself and husband are finally getting our act together and doing a series of house renovation projects and we are all systems go to get a sitting room finished in December. So I thought it was time to invest in some proper Christmas tree decorations.

Luckily I have on my doorstep the most amazing shop, O’Farrells of Bandon, so on Sunday I trotted down town to see what fancy baubles caught my eye.

Now I don’t know if anyone else has ever wondered this but when I didn’t have my own tree, I often wondered what type of theme I would be drawn to. I love the traditional greens and reds but I’m also partial to the more rustic, woody sort of decorations.

However, all of this went out the window as soon as I spotted the blush pink baubles with pearls and beading, metallic champagne bottle decorations and glittery gold ferns. My inner magpie of course had taken over, you just can’t fight that love of bling. With my theme decided upon, the next thing was picking out what I needed, and while some people could put up a Christmas tree in their sleep and have all the baubles and lights they could need, what about people like myself who are starting out from scratch?

Luckily the O’Farrells decorator extraordinaire Jean Sweetnam was on hand to offer these tips:

“Invest in a good quality artificial tree and have patience when opening out the branches to give the tree some life. Start with lights working from top to bottom, plug them in so you can see how they are spaced. When decorating, start with big items such as your baubles, flowers etc. Then add your sentimental pieces at the end. Add to your collection with a quantity of one decoration every year and in a few years your tree will be stunning! Go wild and add some drama at the top of the tree. Once done sit back with a nice glass of vino and enjoy.”

Truly a girl after my own heart.

I love the idea of still being able to include the sentimental pieces because over the years I have received gifts of lovely decorations including some wedding present decorations and pieces picked up on holidays. I also think it’s important to remember, as Jean pointed out, that you can add to it every year so you don’t need to put yourself under pressure and buy everything at once.

So, lash on the mulled wine, get the mince pies in the oven and decorate that tree!