Ever since I have moved out on my own, I have loved to decorate for Christmas. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, just because of the decorations. My mom would take us downtown to see all the lights.

We’d go to this man’s house whose yard was lit up like Las Vegas. He even wore a lit-up suit to greet the kids. While I don’t go all out like he did, I’ve slowly collected decorations over the past few years. To me the most important part is the tree.

Usually the weekend after Thanksgiving I’ll go to the farmer’s market to pick out a tree, always some kind of fir. The tree goes up at home in the front of the house. The first thing I put on the tree are the lights.

My tree is always decorated in a blue, silver and white theme. I’ve bought most of my decorations from K-Mart specifically Martha Stewart’s collection. I have regular lights, pearl lights, and bubble lights, all in blue or white.

My mom has given me some of her old ornaments that are blue or silver, so I have a nice mix of old and new. It would break my heart if any of these ornaments broke, as most are glass, so I am very careful with them.

I also bought several non-breakable ornaments to put near the bottom of the tree, since I have a couple of playful cats that like to bat them around. I also like to decorate the outside of the house. I always have icicle lights along the roof line and rope lights along the path to the house.

I also have a sled and reindeer for the front yard, and I bought a large spiral tree and several rope light presents to place near the sleigh. I also made a beautiful wreath for the front door. I bought a simple wreath with lights and then bought several of the mini ornaments from K-Mart in blue, white and silver.

I carefully placed the ornaments around the wreath, and when lit up, it’s very pretty. It’s almost like having a mini tree. The most I spend each year is maybe $20-$30, depending on if I need to replace some things or see something I just have to have. The stores are already putting out the Christmas decorations, and I can’t wait to see what’s new for this year!