Hi friends. I feel like we haven’t really caught up this week. It’s passed in a flash given that I got home from Tennessee late Sunday night and am turning around and heading back on Friday. Also, between the 5:30 p.m. darkness due to the time change and the four days of cold rain that we had, I was in bed every night by 8 p.m. There were a couple of nights that I was so tired that I couldn’t even convince myself to crack open my laptop! I usually try to work in bed for a couple of hours at night to catch up from what I missed during the day while hanging out with Finn.
Okay, let’s talk holidays. Thanksgiving is early this year (which I love!) but I have been shocked by how many Christmas trees I have already seen going up on Instagram! I’m not here to be the Grinch but I’m on team “respect the bird” haha. My initial reaction to holiday decorating this year was that I was going to skip it…but my grandmother told me I must decorate and “to do it for Finn,” even though I know he won’t remember it. I know he will love the tree and the lights and I’ll love having memories and photos.
So…the tree. I have always been 100% in the real tree camp but I am thinking of going to the dark side this year and getting an artificial tree. All of the work that goes into a real tree feels daunting…from loading it onto the car to getting it into the stand to taking it down and dragging it out to the curb and cleaning up the needle aftermath. A pre-lit tree is sounding pretty amazing at the moment.
That was a huge tangent. 🙂
A few photos from the week…
I made it to two yoga classes this week, which was really amazing. I am feeling this huge pull to get back to a regular asana and meditation practice. I’ve been taking classes at Yoga One, which is our local Baptiste affiliate. I really enjoy no music and no mirrors. I do prefer a bit more flow than Baptiste offers but I am just so happy to be on my mat and for right now it’s good for me to slow down and keep it simple.
There is an amazing bakery, Villanis, on the way home from Yoga One’s Central location. This could be trouble! I grabbed a piece of carrot cake after class on Tuesday. For those of you who are local…it’s really good carrot cake and they gave me a huge slice! They have quite a few cakes by the slice, which I prefer over cupcakes these days.
Finn has been such a joy lately. He’s almost six months old and just a ball of kicking, smiling, bubble blowing energy.
This sweet girl has really been needing extra love and attention. Zoey loves all things Finn and baby related and she’s rarely more than 3-5 feet away from Finn (and ON his toys/play stuff when he’s sleeping or not here!).
I’m going to keep it short and sweet tonight since I’ve got a drive back to Tennessee tomorrow and a late evening teaching. Time to read and rest up.
Real or fake?
When do you decorate?
Cake by the slice or cupcake?
I totally feel you with your dread of Christmas. I’m at a semester abroad in the US at the moment and will not be able to return home for the holidays due to travel plans. Not being with any of my loved ones for Christmas (and not knowing if I’m going to be all on myself for the holidays) makes me want to skip Christmas all along this year. Usually it’s my favorite season of the year, but this time I could cry everytime I think about it. I don’t want pity and I feel like I did a bad job of cheering you up. But I’m sure that there will be some beautiful memories of this Christmas for both of us and it will be worth it.
Oh I am sending you so much love. I am sure you are filled with so many mixed emotions. You can come spend Christmas with me! 🙂
I am all about the fake tree! I know that the real ones are grown on lots for this purpose but I still get bothered by decorating a tree which was chopped down and no longer living. I’m sorry to be morbid, I feel the same way about flowers versus plants. Different if you are going to eat it but just to look at? No, not for me.
Great point….
In fact, real trees, on the first years, absorb a lot of CO2, and these plantations are really good for the environment because they purify the air. And if your city offers the recycling service, if it is a beautiful cycle.
We had a fake tree for our daughter’s first Christmas…it was so much easier since we were already juggling so many new things! She’s going to be 18 months this year, so we’re getting a real one, but honestly it’s so much easier. (p.s. Costco has some great deals on fake trees.)
Thank you! 🙂
Give yourself a little grace and get a prelit fake tree. And they will be on sale at Target next Friday!! So many of them look amazing, and Finn will just love all the lights. Love all of your updates. It’s unbelievable Finn will be 6 months old! What a sweet boy!!
Thanks much for the head’s up about the Target trees! 🙂 And 6 months tomorrow…crazy!
Team Fake Tree for sure. I never did any Christmas decorating when I was single and to tell the truth it’s still not my favorite, but it’s so much fun to watch my stepsons go through the ornaments and pile them on the tree. And slice of cake > cupcake any day. Not that I’d ever turn down a cupcake mind you…the carrot cake looks delicious.
Yes, it’s a bit lonely when you are single but I don’t want to “waste” the holiday moping or feeling down. I want to make it special for Finn, even though he’s so little.
I also dearly love a real tree but for the last few years of city living it just wasn’t practical. Michaels is having 60% off of theirs now! Although I did find that if you keep it a hot attic over the summer the needle drop is worse than a real tree ?. As a compromise I always like to pick up some off cuts from the tree sellers at the farmers market for simple decoration and the beautiful smell – or a wreath or two!
Thanks for the head’s up about the sale at Michael’s! 🙂 And haha, good to know about the attic. I am so sorry!
I was a single mom with my first and the idea of doing the real tree thing overwhelmed the hell out of me. I also wanted to give my daughter and I a Christmas that just the two of us would always have together (even though she was only 7 months old at the time). Her joy with the lights and crawling around the packages with our little, pre-lit tree (all key things!) was just what I needed. I was too far from home and spending Christmas alone with a 7 month old and decorations were just what we needed. It helped me feel like we were a family ourselves, regardless of what was or wasn’t there with us. I say go with a small, pre-lit tree. The memories you and Finn will make will be a treasure to look back on!
Oh Heather, you don’t even know how much I needed to read this comment. THANK YOU. <3
I put up a real tree because I just love the smell. And it always goes up the weekend after Thansgiving!
I love the smell so much too!
I am team Fake Tree! I love the smell of a real tree (and we had those for several years while I was growing up, we’d even go cut our own), but dealing with the water and needles everywhere made me switch over to fake as an adult. I love that we can just pull it out of the box and it just needs ornaments! You can always do evergreen wreaths and garlands to get the smell if you want (plus those are usually out of the way of any pets that tend to eat needles).
We don’t decorate until after Thanksgiving, but it doesn’t bother me if people put up their decor early! If you love Christmas decor, you might as well enjoy it as long as you can! We have neighbors who put lights on their house as soon as Halloween is over, haha.
Thanks so much for sharing! Haha, I love your neighbors! 🙂 It is a lot of work so I get wanting to enjoy it.
We went to the dark side last year with a fake tree from Target. My husband and I are just way too busy with our businesses to dedicate so much time to getting the real tree, dealing with all the needles, then throwing it out in a couple weeks. When we have a little one on the way and will start getting real trees again in a couple years, but for now this is great.
For most of my life all I knew was real trees. My dad’s side of the family is full of lumberjacks and there would be a fake tree in the house over ALL their dead bodies. But after my parents divorced my mom got a pre-lit artificial tree and it’s SO MUCH EASIER. You can always use room spray or candles or essential oils (if they are pet safe) if you want that real tree smell.
Haha, this is a great story about your dad’s family! And yes, I have been so judgey of fake trees but I’ve got to go easier this year!
We have a fake white tree with white bulbs and skinny little limbs. Guests have described it as “art deco”. It all started when my husband was too late getting to the tree lot to pick out a decent real tree. So he went to Target and got the “fakest” of the fake trees that he could. At first I was horrified but have grown to love it. We decorate it with our special decorations every year and there is no mess to clean up. Not to mention, the cats and dogs don’t get into it!
Ha! I like those little white trees! They’re kind of fun. I’ve thought that I could get something like that and then I can use it as an “extra” tree if I decide to go back to real at a later date! Also, I love that story about the fakest of the fake!
No! Don’t go to the dark side! I love real trees even though I don’t enjoy the clean up I’m always glad we have a real tree – even with small children. I know there are a lot of pros to a fake tree and I get it but I just can’t do it. One of my favorite memories growing up was going with my family to the tree farm and getting our tree and it’s a tradition I’m going to continue with my kids.
We always decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving though I’ve been tempted to do it earlier.
Aw, I love that you have that memory! 🙂
We went to a pre-lit fake tree a few years ago, and I don’t regret it. These days, you can get ones that look really good and real. And…there’s nothing to say that you can’t keep the fake tree in storage one year and get a real one!
I totally agree on the decorations – no Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving!
Great point on being able to switch back and forth! 🙂
Fake, pre-lit tree… but because I love the smell of real trees, I always get a real centerpiece; best of both worlds. We always put up the weekend before Thanksgiving. We travel at Christmas (typically gone by Dec 22), and sometimes Thanksgiving. If I’m gonna go through the work of it, I want to enjoy it as much as possible. It’s totally worth the work. AND, team anything sweet! HA!
What a great suggestion, thank you! I totally get putting it up early to get the most out of it! 🙂
Yes, put up a tree for Finn. It is his first Christmas. He won’t remember it but you will and when kids get old enough they LOVE to look at pictures of when they were little. He will want to see pictures of his first Christmas. My mom passed away last December 22nd. I wanted to skip Christmas entirely. But, we didn’t. It was a little weird but we put up the tree and did as many of our “family tradition” activities as we could. One of which is getting takeout Chinese on Christmas Day. Your traditions with Finn start now! Also, get the darn pre-lit tree. You can always do a real one another time if you change your mind.
Thank you so much for sharing this Amy. It means a lot to me and it was very helpful.
Speaking as a momma to my baby girl that just became a momma for the first time, I want to encourage you to do the artificial tree this year. They are not expensive, pre-lit, you don’t have to remember to water them, and the artificial trees of this era are so pretty. I think you will love it, and I can’t wait to see Finn under the tree!
Thank you so much for the encouragement. xx 🙂
That baby always looks SO HAPPY! Good job, mama.
After having to buy two trees last year because the first one turned completely brown and lost all of its needles within a week… I finally caved and ordered a pre-lit faux one. Feel like I’m cheating! ?
Thank you so much Ashley. He’s a joy. And yes, it does feel like cheating but I’m also craving a little more ease and simplicity!
I’m on whatever team gets any Christmas tree up. I definitely struggle to decorate, but believe that all of the sparkles are worth the effort to bring light into the darkest time of the year.
Beautiful reminder, thank you. <3
Girl! We have a 4 month old and we went to Home Depot last weekend and bought an artificial tree. I don’t have time to keep another thing alive!! Not to mention the mess of sweeping up fallen needles. And yes, babies LOVE lights. You will love seeing him love it the pictures to keep for years to come. Traditions start early! You got this, mamma.
Ahhh thank you so very much for the encouragement!
Villani’s also has a delicious chocolate chip cookie. It’s $4 which is ridiculous, but it’s worth every single penny! 🙂
Oh I have had it…SO good!
I am all about real trees! I love them but it is so much more work. The needle drop gets really annoying. However, I am one hundred percent behind you with the “respect the bird!” I am so tired of feeling like Thanksgiving is brushed over in order to get to Christmas. Slow down, world!!!
Yes! Thanksgiving is such an amazing holiday and it’s getting so overshadowed by holiday and shopping!
Fake tree but real wreath and/or garland 🙂 that’s what i grew up with! The clean up with the garland around our front entry door with needles dropping was much easier since it was over hardwood floors.
Hi Joanne! Artificial trees are better than pre-lit! Pre-lit trees don’t last that long, because once a light goes out, it’s hard to find where to replace it, and people end up chucking them. An artificial tree That you can put the lights on yourself is a good middle ground!
JEN! Sorry, voice dictation mess up.