Ringing In Christmas Cheer

One of my first Christmas memories is falling asleep on the couch while my mom wrapped our 20-foot tree with thousands of lights. Christmas is always a special time, and the Monteleone family likes to go all out. When having Christmas at my house last year, I knew I couldn't disappoint. I got a 7-foot tree (which is still dying in my backyard) at Home Depot because the trees were all grown by local farmers. When picking out my tree, I look for ones with the perfect triangular shape and thick branches to hold all of the ornaments. Last year I got a Fraser Fir, which has the most beautiful scent and lovely stiff branches; be careful of the sap.
When decorating the tree, I let it sit for at least one to two days so the branches can fall and the lights can properly be put in. While the tree was falling, I sprayed it with fake snow because I wanted it to look like a winter wonderland. I had my mom help me with the lights because I still can't wrap them around the tree as she does, and then resprayed the fake snow. Once all the lights were put on, I started decorating. I got all of my bulbs at Homegoods and Michaels. I filled in the big patches first with the huge bulbs and then added on the smaller ones on the tips of the branches and all around. It was important for me to add some bells on my tree. It's a Christmas tradition to watch It's a Wonderful Life every Christmas Eve, and in the movie, ZuZu says, "every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings!" I used to ring the bells when I was little, hoping that my grandmother would visit me like Clarence in the movie, so this was a little special tradition that I wanted to keep. I didn't decorate the bottom as much because, as you can see, my cat tore down the lights and bulbs. The last step for my tree was to wrap around layers of white and silver ribbon. I hope this brings you inspiration and help: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.