To not have a theme for our Christmas tree?

[Fern86]

Our Christmas tree is so random.
4 kids and we pretty much let them do whatever ever they want re decorating the tree. Decoration day starts with a trip to Dobbies so everyone can choose a new bauble. Nothing matches yet i tell myself it’s kind of magical but I keep seeing all these wonderful themed trees and wondering if we should be making more of an effort?!

"Theme"? What?

We just put all the random shit up every year. I think that's true for most people.

No you shouldn't be. The only theme a Christmas tree needs is Christmas-tree-themed!

I know this is corny but you are making wonderful memories for your kids 😊

Ours is random decs we've collected over the years, souvenirs from places we've been, ones the kids have made, all chucked on by two small children with no sense of spacing or coordination. I love it.

We have never ever had a theme for the Christmas tree in my family.
A lovely mix of things!

No theme… random and colourful all the way!

If it makes you feel any better, ours looks like it’s been thrown together by a gang of chimpanzees. Which isn’t that far from the truth. The DC have been bringing countless creations home for the tree for the past week. We have everything from obscure one off baubles they’ve chosen at random markets, to toilet roll angels (multiple), painted ceramics and paper chains they’ve started and then changed, so completely uneven and mismatched.

It also makes their little eyes twinkle and they said it’s the most beautiful tree in the world, so it’s staying.

We have a theme every year.

It is usually “all the baubles and other assorted random stuff”.

It’s worked very well for the past twenty something years and I was thinking about recreating it again this year.

Personally - I think themed trees are a bit naff, so impersonal. I have decorations that are years old. I have bought them abroad, one a gift from the kid's reception teacher. A carved one by a neighbour, one the kids have made and my Swedish MIL's decorations when she died. I also buy a new one every year. When I look at my tree, it's a memory bauble/ornament extravaganza.

There really is no right or wrong - it's a Christmas tree.

Merry Christmas

Same here. I hate the current trend of the ‘perfect’ everything for Christmas. Let the kids have fun! And making memories is what it should be about. My tree has shit they made me in nursery; my kids are in their 30s.

My DSis has all our old decorations from childhood. I love her Christmas tree because it is full of our family memories for the last 59 years.
Our tree is similar. DS’s grandma bought him a new bauble every year, she bought us one every year before DS was born.
I think themed trees are very sterile. They look lovely but there’s nothing of interest. They are ok for shopping centres.

Not 'unreasonable' as I'm sure a lot of people do this but let's be honest, it does look extremely shit

This is exactly what we do! DC each pick a new bauble each year, we did the same when I was young and I loved it. Coloured lights, mishmash of tinsel. Plus assorted decorations the kids have made at nursery/school. My DM still gets a couple of things we made as kids put every year even now!

Ours is a hodge-podge of different decorations we’ve collected plus things the kids have made or been gifted. There are baulbles we had when we first got married etc too. I love hanging them up and remembering each occasion

Ok that’s great thanks everyone.
don’t know why I’ve been thinking about it, but I feel better again.
toilet tube decorations are my personal favourite 😂

😭
But actually I think I’ll keep our ‘shitty’ tree just how it is 😂

Many years ago I worked as a supply teacher for a few days in a village school at this time of the year. A tree was brought in for each class, but they had few decorations. I asked the children (junior age) to bring in small boxes. We wrapped them (might have painted the wrapping paper, can't remember) and hung them on the tree, we made all sorts of decorations, paper lanterns, a paper chain that hung round all four walls. Used what we had.
The children were delighted. Brought their parents in to show them. It was THEIR tree.

No theme here.

Way back in our early married life and pre-DC (late 1980s) I decided to have a red and gold colour scheme and my early decs fitted that. TBF we were starting from scratch so it was as easy to buy baubles that matched as not.

However, over the years I have collected decorations from places we have visited. I like to get a new one each year. So we are now at the stage where there are so many individual tree ornaments, many with special memories, that they fill the tree in a lovely colourful display.

The few remaining red and gold baubles don't usually make it to the tree anymore but usually end up piled in to baskets or incorporated in to other garlands and things.

Yours is like mine. Decorations from childhood, grandparents, holidays, some newer ones bought if one took my eye in a garden centre or similar. Nothing matches and I love it. I don't like the matchy matchy themed trees, they're boring.

No theme on our tree. Just random bits collected over the years, plus the kids’ handmade decs. It’s special though, every year we smile as we pull something out of the box, trying to remember where we got it from or when it was made.

A "theme." You mean, like the lovely and gracious Melania's White House vampire blood trees?

Themed, matchy matchy trees and decoration are soul-less, dull, and boring. A sign of people with no creativity whatsoever, who blindly follow the latest influencer trends.

Our tree when it goes up at the weekend will be a mish mash of vintage, handmade, charity shop bought, holiday souvenirs and stuff we've accumulated over the years.

My tree is not up yet but am now agog to get the boxes down from the attic and rediscover once again all ds's "that's beautiful, darling" cardboard creations from years past.

Last Christmas we visited Brighton Pavilion and, to be fair, their themed trees were amazing - but it's an actual palace and they make you pay through the nose to go in!

I think it's classier not to have a themed tree tbh although of course to each their own.

"Themes" are marketing scams designed to con people into paying for decorations they don't need. With the added bonus of creating more landfill.

My tree has ornaments ranging from 70ish years old to random stuff I made when I was a child to the odd thing I bought in the last few years.

It's fantastic.

I also have a 60-year-old pom-pom tree (also fantastic).

Noooo the best thing about Tree Day is the trip down memory lane as we pull out all the crappy decorations! My kids are teens but we stil have handmade stuff from over the years, our 2020 gingerbread man wearing a mask, things we've bought or been given over the years. We have a star which hangs on the tree that is over 20 years old that DH bought me when he was merely a DBoyfriend 😍
Our theme is Look What We've Collected Over The Years 😁