A Crock of Christmas ~ Details

Hmmm, I say, as I'm looking around the house.

What can I put my tree into? 

My crock! 

I think YES! 

And that was precisely how this new favorite came about.

My kitchen tree was already up & decorated, mind you, when I had this light bulb thought.

This resulted in some very careful finagling by James & the boys.

The base of this tree was a metal rod & plate screwed into the tree .... waaaaay up into the tree.

So, we tilted the tree over on the counter a bit, held on tight, & the guys took turns carefully

unscrewing the base.

Finally, after lots & lots of unscrewing, it finally came off.

 

We sat the tree down inside & I stuffed pillows tightly around it to keep it upright.

The red checked fabric is what covered the base originally & again makes the perfect addition.

The tree has a strand of red lights & a strand of multi-color/function lights.

It's decorated with an odds & ends assortment of ornaments.

Several were made by the boys when they were small ... & some I made when I was in grade school.

So glad my mom kept all those & has now given them to me to use.

Here are some of my favorites.

I love mittens & this strand of sugary berries garland.

One of my favorite tricks to make an artificial tree look more 'real' ... 

I add sprigs of various greenery & berries to my Christmas trees.

I love the contrasting textures & shades of green.

This is a long garland of berries that I've woven along the front of the tree.

Isn't this old-fashioned red union suit great? 

I added red checked bows to the top of some of my ornaments.

And an apron is a must-have on a kitchen tree!

I have several of these primitive lil' snowmen.

I love this crazy-bearded Santa =)

This tree has several gingerbread men ... even a 'snow' gingerbread man!

This one I love ... a cookie sheet full of adorable gingerbread boys & girls.

 And for the topper, a bird's nest.

 

Several years ago, my sweet friend Paula gave me this bird's nest at Christmas time.

The card inside told of an old German legend.

It said if you find a bird nest in the tree you harvest for Christmas, 

you will have an entire year of health and happiness.
So, in the spirit of the legend, you should tuck the nest into one of the branches of your tree with all the best wishes of the old legend.

I have used it as a topper every year since.

                                 I added a large branch of greenery behind it for some height.

Cooper by the tree ... one of his favorite hang-outs.

Hope your kitchen is filled with the things you love this Christmas!

~

 

Merry Christmas from my kitchen to yours.