Tag Archives: christmas tree

How To: Get a 9.5-ft Frasier Fir Out of Your Family Room

Today, I’m going to share an easy How To, which may come in handy for those of you who still have live Christmas trees in your home. Let’s start with giving your tree a look-see. If it’s dried and droopy, like Exhibit A below, it is ready to be removed. A good indicator of this is when limbs have fallen so low, your tinsel and/or light strands slide off.

2012 Christmas Tree -- TwoPurpleCouches.com

First, remove all decorations, including any tinsel, lighting, ladders, ornaments, toppers, etc.

ornaments -- TwoPurpleCouches.com

ornaments -- TwoPurpleCouches.com

Assess all exit options, i.e. windows and doors, for the best fit. Trim any excess/excessively large branches as needed. Helpful Hint: place branches on a spare sheet or towel to catch any dripping sap.

tree trimmings -- TwoPurpleCouches.com

Attempt to cover tree with tree bag. Laugh when bag barely covers half of the tree. Say to yourself, “maybe we should only get a 7.5-ft tree next year so it fits in these 8-ft tree bags?”

bundled tree -- TwoPurpleCouches.com

Carry tree to pre-determined exit. I would recommend wearing gloves, as there is lots of sap, and a potentially molding stump to contend with.

TwoPurpleCouches.com

If exiting via a deck, heave it over the railing. Remove bag.

TwoPurpleCouches.com

Drag into wooded area.Creepy grainy photos are optional.

TwoPurpleCouches.com 

TwoPurpleCouches.com

Now all that’s left is to sweep up lots and LOTS of needles!

Congratulations! You’ve now successfully removed a 9.5-ft fir tree from you home!

Snitch-eriffic

Looking for a cool ornament DIY? Why not a Golden Snitch!? I made this guy last year, following this tutorial via Tiny Apartment Crafts.

IMG_2105

All-in-all, it was pretty simple, though shaping the wings was a little challenging (maybe I bought the wrong wire?). I also purchased a set of small gold ornaments from Target that came in all different patterns, so I skipped the painting step.

If you make one, send me a pic so I can see how it turned out!

Our Trimmed-Out Christmas Tree (and other decorations)

I shared my mantel on Monday, so now, it’s time to reveal the full monty tree. Here she is in all her nine-foot-majesty:

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And lit up:

www.twopurplecouches.wordpress.com

Lovely, right?

One of my favorite things about Christmas is remembering. There are so many memories that I associate with our ornaments and decorations that I love uncovering every December, like this one that we bought on our honeymoon in Maui…

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Or this one to commemorate our big move last year…

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But I think my MOST treasured set of Christmas decorations is our Nativity set, which my mom handed down to me last Christmas.

www.twopurplecouches.wordpress.com

www.twopurplecouches.wordpress.com

This set has been in my family for exactly 60 years. My grandfather purchased it in 1952, when my mom was 9 years old. It’s still in the original box, with the original postage stamp, and the original hand-written address.

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I never met my grandfather. He passed away years before I was born. So I love that I have this little piece to remind me of him. Every Christmas, when my mom, dad and I would get out the decorations, I was given two important tasks: screwing in and checking each light bulb for the tree strands, and setting up the Nativity set. And I usually spent the rest of the holiday season playing with the animals, prompting my parents to exclaim that next year, they were wrapping up the Nativity animals instead of buying me toys.

What’s your favorite part of decorating for the holidays? Any special items that you’ve built memories around?