Do you regularly buy new Christmas decorations?

[caperplips]

I don't mean buying a couple of new tree decorations to add to the collection each year, I mean more like deciding on a colour theme and starting fresh most years?

I know someone who redecorates her home in the latest trends on a yearly basis and then decorates her tree to 'match' each year. I am horrified and fascinated in equal measure!

We don't do this, we have been collecting our decorations since we set up home together 18 years ago and for us a huge part of Christmas is taking them out and looking at them and remembering where and when we got them and each year we add to them. I truly LOVE a lot of our decorations and cannot imagine throwing them away.

I stick loosely to a traditional slightly nordic style, lots of red and white and wood and felt and old fashioned looking baubles and when the tree is up I love nothing more than sitting with the fire lighting, fairly lights twinkling and sipping a baileys whilst admiring it all. None of it matches but I like how it looks

I just wondered how often you replace ALL your decorations or if you do?

I am waiting patiently for the FB update including many photos of my acquaintances latest colour scheme, so far we have have had all teal, all silver, all purple, all baby blue and all white -all on a white tree - each colour was a different year!

The old decorations come out every year. Some date from the early 80s when I was broke - bows made from bits of ribbon and card. They look as good now as they did then. Otherwise, mainly wooden figures apart from some gold & silver stars, all bought in the mid 90s.

I have never replaced all my decorations - that would be super expensive. I buy a few new ones every year which gradually changes the style over time...

We probably have enough for 4 trees, the removal men were very amused by the number of boxes marked 'christmas decorations' when we moved! Some years we have the nice pale blue, silver and white decorations. Other years its more of a mash up. I always buy new ones in sets of 3. This year we're buying a fair few new red and white ones as some of the old cheaper ones are on their last legs. I wish I had the room for more trees.

Ours are a collection that we have bought over the past 25 years - we buy them on holiday or as mementoes of special occasions. We also have 1 from my parents tree - it was originally a set of 3 and when we left home I took one, my sister took 1 and our parents kept 1 so there is a link back to my childhood home too. That is Christmas for me - family. Our tree is never the best dressed or in fashion, but it's full of memories and I love getting the decorations out, it's like welcoming back old friends.

No, ours are 30 plus years old and part of the charm of decorating the tree.

Traditional - red, white, silver, gold and green. Somehow, blue, purple etc don’t “fit”. Am old gimmer.

Same as most other posters. Same every year with additions. I have a strict red/green/silver/gold theme though. No modern colours. If the dds want those they can have them in their rooms so they don't offend my eyes!

I remember as a child opening the boxes with the same decorations every year and I loved it and looked forward to it every year. That's my excuse for sticking with the same decorations year on year and actually the same artificial tree for 15 years. The kids know how to put it up even if the colour coding has faded. It's part of our family traditions!

And also I don't see the point on spending money on that stuff.

Our local facebook page has started a Christmas decoration exchange where people can swap their stuff. It's brilliant and encourages recycling, reduces waste, etc. I can't be asked though.

We started our married life with a cheap set of red/gold baubles and have added a couple every year or as we've been given them. This year the children have made baubles at school and they will be added to the mish mash. My parents have a fairy on their tree that belonged to my great- granny. Decorations should be about the places you bought them or the people who chose them for you, reliving those memories as you decorate is an important part of our Christmas traditions.

I sometimes buy a little ornament if I particularly like it but the tree is the same one I've had for about nine years now which has plenty of little baubles of all types and colours. Some of them hold memories of where I lived at the time.

I find over-coordinated trees a bit boring tbh. I've been trying to buy a box of multi-coloured marble-sized baubles for the tree but the only ones I've found are colour-themed. I don't want just silver, gold, lilac, red or whatever which are all the rage at the moment. However, fashions change so maybe next year.

A different annual colour scheme for a tree? FFS. So wasteful. Just buy decent stuff, once, and keep using it.

I have an addiction for Christmas decorations. I buy one from everywhere we visit. We’ve got 30 years worth 😬 we’ve been on a 3 week touring holiday this year and collected another 20! I have had a rotation system for the last couple of years but OH bought an additional full size tree as a surprise so now we’ve got plenty of room for the ornaments but I’m not sure there will be room for us to eat Christmas dinner.

As others have said they bring back so many happy memories and it is a joy to unwrap them every year. DC, on the other hand, despair at my addiction.

God no!
Just add a couple of new bits every year. Our tree is about 30 years old. It was insane money at the time but it's been worth it and still looks fantastic.

I do tend to buy one new decoration every year - replacing the occasional glass one that breaks (hard floor ) or the sentimental salt dough ones made by DCs when little, but which have gone very peculiar over the years. Utterly uncoordinated but everyone looks forward to the reappearance of One Eyed Rudolph, Devil Kitten, Camp King and the ceremonial placement of the 70 year old fairy on the top.

I do know one person who has her very large tree in her grand hallway professionally dressed ( think I would be tempted to do that if I had that sort of money, if only for the' not having to teeter on a step ladder' aspect)

No, although Mary, Joseph and Jesus have been accompanied by a few more sheep for the last two years.

I choose a new colour scheme every year. If I haven’t got any decs in that colour then I’ll have to buy new ones, but I wouldn’t buy new if I’ve already got enough of my chosen colours. I’ve been doing that since we first moved into our house, this will be the 4th year and we’re having a totally gold theme so I’ll have to top up my collection.
I do have a couple of older bits and pieces that will go onto the tree that don’t necessarily match but they’re sentimental, and this year is the first year DD3y will have her own Christmas tree to decorate how she want to (saves me having heart palpitations when she insists on helping me).

My mum thinks I’m mad to keep changing, but I quite like trying to keep on trend. We’ve just had DS so I’ve no idea what’s in this year, I just really fancied gold for some reason

I didn’t realise that there were trends for Christmas trees. Most years when I buy a few more decs, it’s basically the same kind of stuff in all th shops... I suppose I’ve seen a bit more of the jewel shades in recent years, magentas and teals and peacock greens...

I get a few new ones each year ( or have for the past three years), having had the same ones for 18 years.
I do a theme, but it's not just one colour, so many of the existing decorations go back on.
I also use other things to put on the tree, like shells or feathers, for example.

Mine is also a memory tree. My favourite is a santa that's 60+ he always has pride of place. I would be heartbroken if he got broke ( he was my mums). The cardboard and dough ones the kids made at school, they are all mid to late twenties, always go on but at the back where they can't be seen. I also remember where each one came from, it's a lovely feeling.

I grew up with an artifical tree but I love a real one now. DP suggested a real one in the early years and now it's a tradition that we go and pick out our tree and put it up.

We also started out with a generic set of baubles in red and gold but the year DS was born we got a few posh decorations and began a tradition ourselves and now we pick a couple every year that best reflects our favourite memories of the year. As the cheap generic one break I've more 'memories' than 'generic' and I hope to see in 20 years time what kind of mish mash of a tree I have.

And we've some that are in memory of loved ones - to me Christmas is about being with those you love and who love you, and some years will be difficult, some blessed and sometimes both of those things.

It's not just about one day either for me. It's family time - quality time- from the week before Christmas until the new year.

How refreshing to hear that most people use the same decorations year on year and they have sentiment attached.

I tend to buy all mine in pairs so that there's one each for the DC when they have homes of their own (still a few years off). I think at least 60% of mine have true sentimental value. I bought some yesterday when shopping with one of my closest friends, after a lovely day out with her.

It's so easy for Christmas to become all about consumerism.

It's lovely to read on here, and the other thread about believing in Father Christmas, how many people still value the really important things like family and memories.

Feeling really uplifted by this thread. Thank you.

Bought this one earlier 🤘