"Trim Up The Tree With Christmas Stuff."

Like bingle balls, and whofoo fluff.

#6 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Decorating/Putting Up The Tree.

This, is where it all begins. Decking the halls.

If there is anything I love more than looking/buying Christmas decorations, it's putting them up.

As a child this was one of my favorite nights of the year, as an adult, well, it is still one of my favorite nights of the year, though the official Charlie Brown Christmas tree doesn't take too long to put up. I look forward to a full blown decorated tree once we have the room.

This would usually be done on a Friday or Saturday night in early December. In later years my sister and I magically pushed this tradition up to Black Friday weekend. We would usually get pizza from Amico's or Pontillo's and then haul up all the decorations. Christmas cassettes (Beach Boys, Sinatra, Burl Ives, Elvis, Chipmunks, Tony Bennett) and later CDs a-blastin'. Our original tree, the one we grew up with was made by Mountain King. First the colored Christmas lights (Noma), then the silver tinsel. Our tree toppers varied throughout the years, the first one I remembered was a star, outlined in gold tinsel with different colored lights. We later moved onto a clear plastic star with the colored lights inside the star, pretty stunning.

Then the ornaments, oh holy cow, the ornaments. Boxes and boxes, we should bought stock in Hallmark years ago. Before long, we couldn't put them all on the tree. The generic bulbs and such generally would get fewer in number each year, so to make room for our ornaments that were given to us on Christmas eve. On the other hand, I wouldn't have it any other way. Our tree was a time capsule of us as kids, what we were into and what we liked. Where else can you find a Christmas tree with I Love Lucy, KISS, The Beatles, Disney Princesses, Babe Ruth and Barbie? That is what I liked best about our tree. That tree was all us. That sense of personalization is something I look forward to passing on.

My love for Christmas decorations, the tasteful and tacky, came from those early days. From the very nice nativity scene to the dancing and singing Santa dolls, I love it all. As I said, if there was an open spot in the house, it was Christmas-ed up. Even the drinking glasses for dinner were Christmas themed. We had Christmas nightlights, if I recall. No detail was spared and nothing was left without decoration. The entire process would usually take at least a full night and part of the next day. As always, wait for the sales and scoop up your treasures at sale price.

Decking the halls and trimming the tree have always been a highlight of the season for me and that will only continue to grow as time passes. Somethings you just don't outgrow.