tinsel is out, yeah? so what am I supposed to drape?

[RoobyMurray]

My Christmas trees always look like I've covered them in glue and ram-raided Homebase.

I get that Naice baubles n shit is good. But what about the horizontal plane?

We have tinsel, beads, and strings of little gold bells.

More is more in this house.

So basically:

beans
beads
popcorn
twisted ribbon
popcorn (really?)
strings of gold bells
octagonal acrylic chandelier style crystals
bunting
er, pasta
paperchains

or tinsel.

or nothing? Is that an option?

Oh sod it, I'll just relinquish the decorating of the tree to the artless males of the house and slope off to drink wine in the stylish yet homely twinkle of SILs tree.

I think the gist of this thread is that you can empty the contents of your kitchen cupboard on your tree. I guess then if you get snowed in you can just nibble on a bit of decoration to keep you going.

Tinsel is out??

Fuck the lot of you,

TINSEKL FOREVER!!!

For now, with young DC, more is definitely more. We really could do with a bigger tree to fit on all the decorations we keep buying own :)

I figure a tasteful themed one can happen when we're GPs and our kids are doing the more is more approach - and we can hand down all the tat heirlooms

My tree prior to having children was beautiful. It had gorgeous ribbon, berries, pine cones, all took me hours to decorate and I adored it.

Last year the DSs (3 and 1 at the time) took over. Cue tree covered in Tinsel. But I'll let them have it for a couple more years!!

I LOVE tinsel!

TINSEKL is SHIT!!

Another tinsel lover here

I can't bear the thought of a souless themed tree. Every year I cry when I get the decorations out and dress the tree. Every bauble has a tale behind it and I love wrapping the tree in tinsel and coloured lights.

I have another little cry when I pack it all away again on 12th night, because that's another year gone, as quickly as the last .

TINSEKL is not a spelling mistake it is actually how they say tinsel in IKEA.

Hmpph.

hehe TINSEKL

Tidy, I cry every year when I see our shite tree. Then I cry again when I go round to SILs and see the possibilities of real tree beauty.

Tinsel is never out, its awesome

Plus i think its a bit wanky to decree a dec out or in, xmas is not about class its about full on bright sparkly tack o rama!:o

I use tinsel deep inside the tree, around the trunk. Gives the right amount of glitter without being too tinselly.

And I have a main colour theme on my tree, with lots of added personal bits - stuff DS has made, bits from when we were kids, etc.

I've gone off beads a bit lately.

My second tree is a bit of a free-for-all.

My tree has evolved from multicoloured tinsel explosion when the DCs were young. Is now silver/mirrored/clear glass baubled vision of themed loveliness. With silver beads and a string of what looks like minature silver icicles. Quite poncy I guess.

But many of the decorations have a history and the first tiny cardboard gold now non matching angel I bought 25 years ago still gets tucked away in the centre, along with gift wrapped Oxo boxes from when I was young and skint.

Tinsel is nasty stuff, specially the really fat fluffy ones in purple or white. Strictly themed trees are awful too - who, other than an estate agent's lobby, would have a ready-decorated tree in one colour?
Beads or necklaces (fake pearl can look good) and lights. Ribbon if you're artistic. But if you buy a decent real tree you won't see trunk or the middle anyway.

All just my opinion though, buy and have what you like. As long as your famiy likes it, don't worry about the fashion. Else we'd all have those 'orrible black fake ones by now .