This is my first fake Christmas Tree. I’ll admit it, it’s not the most beautiful thing ever. Clearly, I will never be one of those DIY or decor bloggers. That’s fine with me. I’ll leave that to the bloggers already doing it well, like Cupcakes & Cashmere (p.s did you see her holiday wreaths? Super simple & beautiful!) and Design Sponge. Here’s another photo with lights: 
So what’s it like to have an impostor tree? Well, while I don’t miss the mess of pine needles scattered on the floor, or the price you pay for the real deal, I do long for the sweet smell of pine and the tradition of visiting the tree lot to pick out the perfect one. My parents hail from Connecticut and Vermont, and growing up we never went without a real Fraser Fir. I have fond memories of picking out and decorating the tree every year. Sometimes, I got to put the star on top. (This is a big deal for a 6-year-old.)
However, fake or not, the tree elevates our house to be approximately 10 times more Christmasy and for that I am thankful. Although it’s 11 days until Christmas, it doesn’t feel like it at all. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I haven’t attended a holiday party, bought only one present (oops, better get on that!), haven’t devoured a single Christmas cookie and there are no Christmas songs on the radio (actually, thank heavens for that). The USA seems to make a much bigger deal of this whole Christmas thing compared to SA, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. On one hand I’m happy it’s not ridiculously commercialized. In the USA there is tremendous pressure to buy the perfect gift and throw the perfect holiday party.
On the other hand, I miss the holiday movies on TV, mom’s freshly baked cookies, the lights and the overall feeling of goodwill that people carry throughout the season. It will definitely be a new experience spending Christmas in South Africa, for the first time away from my family, but I at least I am lucky enough to have another set of family to celebrate with. Just for fun, here are some pics of our *real* tree and how I celebrated Christmas in Florida last year.
This is one of my favorite ornaments, gifted to me by my friend, Lori. Words and whales, it doesn’t get better than that 🙂 
Last year we hosted a Christmas party at our apartment with some of our favorite people and had a white elephant ornament exchange! 
And for Christmas dinner with the family, we had lobster! Yum! 
I can’t find any pics from 2011…not sure what happened there! Here is a photo from 2010. I’m picking out a tree for Jono and I’s our first apartment. Wow, hard to believe that was three years ago! 