Christmas Chez Moi

I went to buy my Christmas tree yesterday - it was already netted when I bought it so it was only once I managed to get it in the stand (had to buy 2 of those and take the first one back as the trunk was too fat) that I realised I had a tree that was as wide as it was tall!

I didn't go out with the National Trust today but did do a little tree destruction at home - took quite a number of the branches off the tree just to neaten up it's shape a little.

I always love getting my Christmas decorations out of the boxes, but it was all the more special this year because this is the first time I have had a tree in my flat (well the first time in the flat that I bought last year - my first owned home) as I didn't have a tree last year (too much going on). So out came the box of decorations and with them many happy memories.....

The 3 moose on the tree, one I bought myself when I visited my aunt in New Hampshire, one my mum bought me when she visited my aunt in New Hampshire and one my relatives in Vermont (one of whom died this year) sent me......the Snoopy ornament I have had since I was a child, the Inuit I bought in Newfoundland, the many I've bought at German Christmas markets I visited with my parents or friends in Aachen, Cologne and Berlin, others from Freshly Blended's Annual Ornament Swap .....I am still in search of my "new" decoration for this year.

I love this traditional German decoration that my friend Mariana gave me - it's from Seiffen, a small town in eastern Germany famous for it's Christmas decorations (that have spawned many a cheap imitation).

Here's the mantelpiece - my parents gave me most of these decorations -  apart from the Danish tomten which I bought myself from the Danish Christmas shop 2 years ago.