Is my environmentally friendly christmas tree going to ruin christmas for the kids?

[Dragonbrandybutter]

I am a ponce.
I know this.
But i can't stand tinsel and plastic crap.
Last year i bought a real tree in a pot about 2 foot high. DS1 and i decorated it with felt hangy things and tied some red gingham bows onto it. I couldn't find the lights and didn't want to buy new ones.

DS1 was 3 and expressed that it wasn't as good because it doesn't have lights, and absolutely loves other peoples trees with all the shit on them, especially coloured flashing lights.

This year i plan to bring the same tree back in from the garden and do the same. No lights again.

He's 4 now and i'm fairly sure he's going to think it's crap and i am an awful mum.

I don't really like christmas anyway.

Does anyone have a horrendously awful flashing tree just because the kids love it?

actually i have bought some tasteful candy canes for it this year in an attempt to distract from the lack of lights.
will this work?

maybe

he will eat them and ruin the effect

but why not just find the lights or buy new ones?

I don't really get 'tasteful' trees in a house where there are small DCs.

is it the energy waste of the lights that you object to or is it a style decision?

I think it's possible that sweeties will distract from absence of lights, yes

Do you think making some decorations for it himself (paper chains? salt dough decorations? Gingerbread decorations?) might involve DS1 more? DS has made a few things for our tree and is very proud of them.

I have a metal one, its not very big (to my wasit when its on the floor) which we decorate with the baubles and put chocolates on it.
DD likes it.
I prefer it to lugging the big tree down from the loft, dragging out the tinsel etc.

Plain white lights? But I like P&S's home-made decorations idea. Dyed popcorn on strings?

Oh, and stained-glass-window biscuits - but they would need some lights to look properly pretty.

i'd have to buy more plastic
i know we have some somewhere but can't find them so really don't want to buy more.

i do object to the lights people dress their house up in, that's a stupid waste of energy, but a little tree with one set of lights i suppose isn't so bad.

What about fluorescent stars? Then you could switch the lights off (saving even more energy ) and still have "lights" on the tree. Ta-da!

No, it won't ruin their xmas
We don't have lights on our tree. We didn't get any to start with when DD was tiny because DH reckoned it was a safety hazard. Thereafter we didn't cos we always go away, and wouldn't dream of leaving them on and an unlit set of lights is a bit of an obvious clue to burglars.

Tree looks lovely, DD doesn't mind at all.

yes, we can make some decorations no problem.
i like the popcorn idea, he'd like doing that.
i think if i could find the old lights i'd use them. but i don't want to go shopping for lights.

Yes! Of course you must buy lights for your tree, ebeneezer. It will look crap otherwise. Even your 3 year old knows this!

oh go on get some lights for the tree

your ds will love it

stop being a tasteful ponce

get twinkly white ones

we have a flashing obscenity because dh the dcs love it

I like th popcorn idea too... [starts taking notes]

I think for the sake of one week, you could make carbon offsets in other areas of your house (just don't turn on 1 lamp you may usually have one) and get the poor kid a strand of 50 lights for the tree.

Get white/blue leds. they look pretty and hardly use any electricity. We only have ours on in the evening and turn them off when the children go to bed.

maybe i've been emotionally scarred by the 10 foot tree my dad used to have to tie to the bay window with rope to stop it falling on us, but it always did. and the trauma of him decorating it to discover the lights didn't work. and yes they were coloured and flashing ones.

i am such a bah humbug.

Just buy some!

If you really didn't want to buy any then you should have LOOKED for the old ones sometime in the last 12 months!!

C'mon its Christmas FGS!

i'm not sure which comments i'm enjoying most the ones where you're telling me off or the one other who also doesn't have lights.

i presume that candles are a fire hazard?

Nigella has them - there's a thread somewhere...

Here, ya ponce. Get all Nigella on yo' own ass. Or something like that.

i watched nigella the other night.
the filming makes me feel like i'm hiding behind her tree watching her cook like some sort of stalker. made me feel confused.

This morning's nigella thread reminding me about this one from last night.
Thought i'd give the morning crowd a chance to tell me to get some damn lights.

Yes. Morning Crowd here.

Get some damn lights.

see? festive smiley. That's F-E-S-T-I-V-E.

You can get little LED lights that use less power and they don't have to flash. Mine don't. (flashing is abomination.) Ginger tree biscuits v fun to make. Cld thread cranberries on thread for a non-tinsel garland too?