Year-Round Holiday Tree: Patriotic to Pumpkins

This year I took advantage of the new (to me) trend of keeping one of my Christmas trees up past December. I LOVED the hearts and sparkle I used for Valentine’s Day and the fun and whimsical pieces we chose for Easter (yes, my tree had carrots). We most recently decorated the tree in a patriotic theme for Memorial Day/4^th of July.

We moved in July and have been busy since then, so it has taken me far longer than expected to transition the tree to fall decorations. It sat with just white lights for about a month! (Not So) Secret: I still loved it. There is something about the soft lights from a tree that give a room warmth and ambience. Check out this blog post to see how the tree looked for Easter and Memorial Day/4^th of July.

Perfect Pencil Tree.

As I said in my previous post, I use a tall and thin pencil tree for my every season tree. Depending on your space, it could be overwhelming to keep a regular size tree up year-round (but I fully support that if you have the space and that is your vibe!). Using a pencil tree helps keep the cost down for decorations. With fewer pieces needed for your tree, you also need less space to store the extra decorations.

I am able to store the pieces for each holiday in a gallon size bag. This one is a little full because I took the bulbs off as well. For the past three holidays, I used the white ornaments so those did not have to be stored until now. This is a great way to keep the tree full without having to change out everything.

Hacks.

When purchasing items for my trees, I try to get a topper of some kind, ribbon, and something inexpensive that I can use for filler and “ornaments”. I often purchase items that are meant to be one piece, like a bouquet of flowers or a garland, and then cut them apart. This is much more cost effective than buying individual pieces like wreath picks.

For Valentine’s Day, I purchased foam stickers (like these), punched holes in them, and hung them on the tree with green ornament hooks. On my Easter tree, I separated each bunch of carrots from a garland so I could place them on the tree individually. For the patriotic tree, and now the fall tree, I purchased table scatters and turned them into ornaments.

Topper.

For my other trees this year, I used a large wire bow for the top. However, I could not find a large bow for this tree that I liked. Instead, I chose this adorable squirrel to adorn the top of the tree. There is a good selection of woodland animal pieces at Michaels and Jo-Ann (like this guy!). Mine is supposed to be an ornament or hanging decoration, so I just cut the loop off and wrapped some floral wire around its waist to attach it to the top of the tree.

Ribbon.

I typically use wide wire ribbon on any holiday tree, but for this tree I used a thinner, non-wire ribbon with leaves on it. It went on the tree nicely and I only needed one spool. The wire ribbon is typically more expensive and I have to purchase two for this size tree. I LOVE this one, but they did not have two spools when I purchased my other items.

Filler.

To add some color to the tree, I purchased two bundles of fall leaves with glitter. They were gaudy in a bunch, but they look great separated. I used wire cutters to separate each piece. This is a great way to stretch your decor budget. This and this are similar options.

Ornaments.

For the “ornaments”, I used these mini foam pumpkins. They are the perfect size, a great price, and you get twenty pumpkins. The pumpkins are foam, so I cut pieces of floral wire and stuck one into the bottom of each pumpkin, and then wrapped the other side of the wire around the tree branches. They also come in cream and green.

The Finished Product.

Now I KNOW this tree is very orange…I usually incorporate creams and gold into my fall decor (and that is what I used in other areas of our house). However, my husband LOVES orange and he helped select these items. The orange really pops against the tree!

Your Turn!

This year certainly has been unique, and in some ways, it is flying by. I cannot believe it is already September, and Christmas is only three months away. Go ahead and pull your tree out. Imagine how cute it can be for fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving (attach gratitude and blessings throughout the month!), and then Christmas.

Are you ready to make your holiday decorating a little extra?

Katie G.