O Tannenbaum

First Snowfall

Just a dusting of snow, nothing significant, but just enough to blow around and coat the surfaces in white, and make the fetching home the Christmas trees ever so picturesque! I will confess that in my childhood and well into my twenties, our family NEVER put the Christmas tree up until Christmas Eve. Santa decorated it and the first viewing was upon waking on Christmas morning. Then one year my brother and I went out on Christmas Eve to look for a tree and there were none left! All the vendors were done selling them! We finally found one out behind a convenience store, waiting for the re-cyclers to cart it away. We took it home and ever since then I have put my tree up well in advance of Christmas Eve! And I will confess that in those long ago years we used to point in shock at those who put up their trees right after Thanksgiving. It was way too soon! But I have been converted. At some point I realized that I was only torturing myself by NOT putting my tree up at the earliest possible moment! Because I ADORE Christmas trees! I think it is the lights. I just HAVE to have those beautiful lights at this darkest time of year. So now I rush out and get my trees at the weekend following Thanksgiving.

Trees, PLURAL, you ask? Here again I will confess that I got spoiled in my old house where I had room for more than one Christmas tree, and I was growing them in my back meadow, so OF COURSE I had more than one tree! And since I moved to my small house, I have NOT been able to give up the second tree! One has white lights, and the other has colored ones! It takes me ages to actually decorate them, but the LIGHTS go on right away! Here you can see the white tree in my little upstairs studio.
And here is the tree with colored lights in my downstairs dining room turned studio.

(Yes, these are the 1:1 scale trees!)

Obviously, since this is a blog about my dollhouses, you are waiting to see the dollhouse trees? Well, first I must confess that I had bought a mini tree MANY MANY years ago and hid it in the Someday Cupboard House. I even decorated it with pieces of jewelry and beads and tiny birds and cut out paper card ornaments. It is Charlotte's tree, technically, but her house is currently not habitable, so she and the children have gone south for the winter. It seems a shame to not use the tree anyway, so I pulled it out and tried it in the Lovely Old Dollhouse, but it is too TALL! Ken is looking it over. It has no working lights, but Ken is not too concerned.

He likes the rustic decorations. Perhaps it would be perfect in the Castle? We know that in Medieval times there would NOT have been a tree.... other than the Yule Log they burned in the Great Hearth!

But Ken is thinking of holding a Holiday Party there...... the Halloween Party was such fun!

And the tree would make great decoration.... no matter what era we are in!

Meanwhile, SOMEBODY went shopping at Home Depot and spotted these little LIGHTED trees with battery packs... and couldn't resist! They are PERFECT for the Folly.... and they even have a dusting of snow on them! Arthur thinks The Folly is too small to have a tree inside the livingroom, so this is perfect for him.

No fuss, no mess. Just throw the switch and instant seasonal decor!

I think they are so cute, I might have to get another set for the other side of the porch!
And then, of course, there was a larger version of LIGHTED tree at the Home Depot that just HAD to come home with the two smaller trees! This one has no snow and is decorated for indoors. The package said nine inches tall. The Lovely Old Dollhouse has nine inch tall ceilings..... so it should JUST fit ...... except it is an Old House, the ceilings have sagged a bit.... so the only space high enough is the hallway by the stairs.

But Pollyanna thinks it looks just lovely there!

If you don't mind the star touching the ceiling!

And it IS such a big old house, there is plenty of room for more than ONE tree!



So Pollyanna pulled out the little tree that was used last year, but without lights on it.

THIS year she has a string of tiny lights to decorate it with!

It took a couple of tries to make all the plugs work, but when those tiny colored lights actually went on it changed everything!

It's just SO magical!

She had to show Annabelle and Sally May and Chip.

I don't care how imperfect the tree is, when the lights go on, it is just PERFECT!

And whether there is snow flying or not, I like to put my trees up as early as possible!

The snow can come when it will....but at this darkest time of the year, the lights, oh the lights are so essential!

The decorating can wait.... for now the lights are enough!

First Snowfall