My Pinterest Unworthy Christmas Tree and Why I Love It Anyway

My Pinterest Unworthy Christmas Tree may look like nothing special at first glance, but the sentimental meaning behind it can be seen when you take a closer look. Come visit me at the lake and see why I’m okay with not having a picture-perfect Christmas tree in our home.

My Christmas tree. You definitely won’t find it on the cover of a holiday magazine. When you walk into our house you won’t find yourself awestruck by its beauty. I don’t get complimented on it, ever! There’s no theme to it. There’s no color scheme. It’s so overcrowded that the branches are literally hanging on by a thread.

Our Christmas tree is so Pinterest unworthy, but you know what, I love it anyway!

Recently I’ve been stepping up my holiday decorating game since moving into our lake house last summer. For fall, I played around with my color scheme and took a different spin on the typical fall decor by going more coastal in my design. It came out beautiful and I was beyond pleased with it! Take a look for yourself here.

And although I did change up a good portion of my Christmas decorations this year too, our tree was left untouched. Other than a new Santa tree skirt, and a few new ornaments, our tree looks exactly the same as it did last year. And the year before that. And the year before that one.

As controlling as I can be about my decorating (and I know I can be VERY controlling), that is not the case when it comes to decorating our tree. It’s become a family tradition for our Christmas tree to make its yearly debut either the day before or on Thanksgiving. You’ll see Patrick wearing his headphones bright and early in the morning pulling it down from the attic along with my many totes filled with ornaments.

As Zach has gotten older, he has started helping undo the totes and placing the ornaments on the tree. I don’t fret about where they go or if he puts them on backward or not. I honestly just enjoy us all putting them on the tree together as a family and the laughs and cries we share along the way.

Plus, there are too many ornaments at this point to worry about! I just want to get them on and be done.

I think that most people are drawn to our tree just for the mere fact that there’s so much going on all over it. You can’t help but look at it. There are hundreds, upon hundreds of ornaments dispersed throughout the branches. There’s really no rhyme or reason to them either. I can see how someone would think our tree is a “hot mess”!

But if you look a little bit closer, if you look at the story behind the ornaments, you’ll realize the love and memories that are scattered amongst the branches.

Like this one. Our First Christmas together. December 2000. Patrick and I were babies. Just 18 years old. Boy how time flies.

What about this one? Baby’s First Christmas. December 2003. The year our greatest gift, Zachary, was born.

2006. Zachary’s first handmade ornament in preschool. Three years old.

Remembered with Love. December 2008. The first holiday without my Grandma. One of the most amazing women to ever walk this earth.

Here is an ornament from one of my old students when they were in 4th grade. He’s a Junior in high school now.

I have a ton of ornaments from my mom. We always buy one another the Mother/Daughter ornament each year from Hallmark. Fun Fact: My mom worked for Hallmark which contributed to the obsession I have with ornaments. She suffers from the disease too.

All of Zach’s stages throughout the years are depicted on our tree. The Sesame Street days. Super Heros. Xtreme Sports. Hot Wheels. Karate. Buzz Lightyear. And a big bass fish we added last year when we moved to the lake.

Our tree is us. The family we are. Where we came from and where we are now. The thing is, I don’t think I’ll ever change my tree. Why would I change something that is already so perfect? Yes, my Pinterest unworthy Christmas tree might not be the prettiest one around, but for me, the memories that lie on those branches are why I love it anyway.

I’m starting a Christmas Tree Revolution! Who’s with me? Here’s to all the “Pinterest Unworthy” trees that will be displayed this year.