Do you have a themed tree or an 'anything goes' tree?

[TasteLikeCherryChapstick]

My tree is usually mismatched 'tat'. I have attempted themes in the past but then think 'oh I can't leave that off....or this' so I end up with our much loved and mismatched bits and bobs yet again. I always put on the decorations the children have made (and they've made a lot ) but some friends of mine won't put their children's makes on or put them on 'round the back'. Even when said children were only 3 or 4 and were very proud of their efforts.

Neither way is right or wrong, everybody has to please themselves in their own home. I'm really not judging (I am in fact jealous of the beautiful trees my friends have!) I was just wondering what is the norm.

We have two. One is full of multicoloured baubles, things the DCs have made, stuff bought on holidays, memories as well as some really nice things we've collected over the years.

The other is a black tree DH bought for £1 one year and we always have a theme, alternating between tasteful and tacky. Last year was tasteful so it was glass and gold stars. This year it will be tacky. I'm thinking purple and orange baubles perhaps.

Everything in my life home is mismatched, lots of old furniture of different woods, even my dining chairs are odd (recovered in the same fabric but odd).

A 'styled' tree would make me feel a bit queasy tbh, just not me/us at all. I like a bit of character in everything .

Love this thread, this is a 'discussion' me and my DH have every year!
I like a tree with everything on it. I have 2 kids age 5 & 8 and everything they have ever made goes on including random decs we have bought from various holidays.
Last year for the first time we had 2 trees and DH had his own tastefully decorated, themed and very boring tree.

They also help me decorate it and I don't move anything after they go to bed. It generally looks like we have thrown the decoration at the tree and left them where they fell. It drives my slightly OCD sister mad!

Ours has a sort-of theme of red and gold, but within those parameters anything goes. We have decs bought years ago on trips and holidays and ones DD made when she was little (she's nearly 20 now). We have reindeer and stars and snowflakes and huge baubles and mirrors and feathers and all sorts, in various glitter/antique/glass etc finishes, but all shades of gold and/or red. So, it manages to be eclectic and themed simultaneously! We add a few new decs every year - this year we have one from me and DH's anniversary trip to Edinburgh, a couple from a day trip me DD went on and a few me and DD have made together. We all love it! I've posted a pic on other threads but here's another

Reading this thread is making me feel all Christmasy

For me, I like a real tree, coloured lights and tinsel. We go in for the memory decorations thing too.

Kids choose a new decoration each year. Will go to a different shop this year though as last year, I blithely told them they could choose what they liked. Had no idea one decoration could cost that much.

Matching trees don't do it for me.

What is with the tinsel hate? Not so much on this thread, but in general.

I have a colour scheme (red/silver/white) but within that anything goes, and I always put way too much stuff on. I prefer cheerful to classy.

Our tree has all sorts of stuff on it. No tat, it's all been carefully chosen over the years but no theme or colour palate. I do have a garland on my stairs that has more carefully selected stuff as the garland and it's decorations were bought the same year.

I have a log burner and brick fireplace and a friend of mine once said that my living room would look wonderful at Christmas if I just stopped allowing the children to decorate the tree!
My tree made her uncomfortable when the DC were making the decorations, now they are old enough to go into town and buy whatever they choose from the pound shops it is truly painful for her

Mine themed colour wise - red, white, green, gold and silver but lots of the decorations have memories. We've lived in four different countries and have stuff we've bought in each place. I even have the first decorations I ever bought the first year I was living with DH and I bought a tiny tree and some decorations from a local market.

DS never made anything to hang on the tree for some reason but I do have a few bits he made that I put on my desk every year.

We have a kind of theme. The tinsel and baubles are gold and red, and the decorations are all woodland animals - squirrels, foxes, deer etc - which I've collected over the years. I am so excited about the tree coming and getting it decorated.

Random. Everything from Father Christmas to hedgehogs to witches to Happy 21st to an ornamental Guinness bottle. No plastic baubles but a few lovely glass ones. Every one has a story behind it, either somebody gave it to me or I bought it on a day trip somewhere. The one thing I haven't got and still regret leaving behind is the first Christmas tree I bought, for a fiver, the first time I had a whole (tiny) rented house instead of just a room. I left it when I broke up with then-DP and have always missed it.

Yes mine is normally a bit random as I like to see all the decorations out. Often mainly red, green or gold so won't use blue and silver but doesn't matter if it's got other colours. I quite like my glass decorations.

I often buy the odd new decoration in January.

Very mixed here.

When I moved out from home my parents gave me all the wooden ornaments we got from my grandparents, some are 50+ years old now. I treasure them.

We also have lots of colourful balls, lots of glass animals, bells, angels. Then straw stars, some I did as a child in kindergarten.

We buy most holidays something new so a lot of the decorations are connected to memories of great holidays. Even DH's awful Santa he brought from California one year is on it. It is now tradition that he and I move it around all the time, I put it to the back, he moves it back to front.

Also, all of DD's creations are on it. In full view I must say. I find it sad if parents put style before the joy of the children being able to see their creations on display.

We have a colour scheme but there are decorations made by ds and some personalised ones too.

There is a theme, but it is randomised.

So, loads of home made and gifted decorations. I adore all our decorations form down the ages. As we put it up I bore the children silly explain how this decoration was given to me by my Japanese friend, this one was made by ds aged 3 etc etc etc.

But whereever I have any influence (so decs I buy for dcs, or the glitter I bought when they made them themselves) I stick to christmas colours, which for me are red, green and gold.

then I bought a box of red and gold baubles to add more sparkle. And so the tree looks pretty co-ordinated.

Silver and blue things hang in dining room dangling over the mirror.

Pink and purple gets 'lost' from one christmas to the next (wicked mother emoticon)

There was a thread on here a couple of Christmasses ago and there were an amazing amount of people who bined all the decorations every year, and then bought new according to whatever that year's fashion colours were. I was so taken about, had no idea this was a thing at all.

when ds was a baby we started a tradition, I give my kids one decoration every year. On it somewhere I write/sew their name and the year. When we take the tree down, they box up their own decorations in a shoe box. Add in some that they have made, and then when we get it out in Dec they up pack their pwn shoe box and put their things on the tree. They love rediscovering their things every year. I have always told them that they can take their decorations with them when they grow up, but that made me very sad one year as I am really fond of some of the decorations and the memories, so now, when I get special ones that come from special places, I get one for dh too, that way one will stay on our tree!

No theme except possibly memories like another poster said.

We bought our first christmas decorations on our honeymoon (still have them 24 years later) and we buy one from every place we go on hols. I also buy decorations to remember events - so we have skates from the year the kids learned to skate, a piano the year son started music lessons, etc.

I remember that thread steppemum. I was at the waste and lack of nostalgia.

Another random eclectic tree here. I tried to stick to red and gold when we started, but plenty of colourful things that just have to go up are added every year, so the plain red and gold baubles stay in their boxes. Our tree is not up but I wanted to share my latest addition, definitely not gold and not very christmassy either

steppe that is a shame but if they would only put them on freecyle - lots of people can also have decorations rather than simply chuck them.

Love the shoe box idea, mine have their own mini trees in their room too but their decs are jumbled up in ours. Love the idea to have their own little stash .

I saw a 'teal themed' tree once. It made me tearful and not in a good way.

My personal opinion is that they are the epitome of try-hard tasteless vulgarity.

I could be wrong.

glow where did you get that? It's lovely!

Tree is red white and silver themed but then I hang kids decorations etc in the kitchen, I probably spend more time in the kitchen and I like to look at it all when I'm cooking.