Getting into the festive spirit

Well, now that it is December we are gearing up for Christmas and the holiday season. This morning (Sunday, Dec 2nd) we walked together as a family to a tree lot in our neighbourhood and picked out a Christmas tree. This was the first "real" tree that Harriet and I have had during our 15 years of marriage ... in past years we either didn't put up a tree because we were travelling or we used an artificial one.

In particular I am quite pleased with our tree ... we got some l.e.d. lights, stand, and a few decorations from a hardware store not far away. At the German Market in Princes Street Gardens we picked out 2 decorations (a sun and conversely a moon). For the top I made a wooden star to celebrate the pagan connection with the solstice and festival of light to mark the return of the sun & longer days (seems particularly appropriate with being in Scotland & the celtic connection). As a tree skirt we covered the base in the Rose clan tartan blanket/wrap that Debbie made.

We also made wreaths for the front of our flat using boughs from the tree lot (we got them for free), wire ties, recycled speaker wire, and other odds and sodds. They look awesome and are most environmental (ie. recycle, reuse) considering the supplies used to create them. I am quite pleased with myself and feel rather crafty with these ideas and how they turned out.