How do you decorate your Christmas tree? (No advertising allowed)

Dear users and authors,
do you have a Christmas tree? If so, what kind of decorations do you hang on it?
Please do not post advertisements in this thread; you’re welcome to upload your own photos of your Christmas tree at any time.

Hi Josefa,

we have the typical Christmas tree with red and gold ornaments, teardrop-shaped decorations, little angels, and string lights. Ever since we’ve been living with my uncle, we’ve also been hanging chocolates on the tree—much to the children’s delight.
The only thing that changes every year is the size of the tree :-)

This year we don’t have a tree at all. Last year I completely crocheted decorations for the tree with stars and little snowflakes, little angels. 
I’ll bring the decorations out again next year... ;-)

@Michaela,
did you crochet for the entire tree?
Hats off to you.... That would take me a few years, since our tree gets a little bigger every year. Eventually I’ll put it on the stairs, and it’ll reach all the way to the skylight—then we’ll have a 4-meter tree :-)

@Michaela, do you have a picture of yours?
I think if I tried that, my husband would kick me—and the whole tree—out of the house!
My tree is relatively simple, with red and silver ornaments, and as a special touch, I’ll add an FC St. Pauli ornament to the tree. 

This one is from last year (we always put it up on the 24th!)...

@Arni and Sabine....
Yes, I actually still have a picture of it on my phone. 

Our tree will be decorated in turquoise, white, and maybe pink again this year. At least that’s how it was last year. This year, our daughter doesn’t want pink ornaments—she’d rather have candy canes… well, we’ll see if that works out. In any case, we’ll be using wireless candles again.
The kids love the surprise, so I always decorate it late on the evening of December 23rd, when they’re both already in bed. This year will probably feel a little strange, since our youngest (11) now knows that Santa Claus doesn’t exist. So a little bit of the magic has faded away again.

@ Michaela
Wow! That looks absolutely amazing! 

@Michaela,

that’s awesome :-) 

Arni and Sabine...
Thank you. :-))

I can’t really say anything about that, because in our house—as long as the kids still believe in it—the Christ Child does it.

So here’s how it goes at our house: I take the kids to the Christmas musical in the morning, and my husband decorates the tree while I’m gone. I know Lindor chocolate balls will be hung on it, and the string of lights shaped like candles will definitely be up too. The rest is always a surprise.

I should also mention that the Christ Child then goes ahead and cleans the living room and vacuums the whole apartment.

@Pe-Ka

You certainly have a very hardworking Christkind.

That reminds me of the old days. While the Christkind and its angels helped my mother decorate the tree, I would go for a walk with my father or watch "We’re Waiting for the Christkind" on TV.
And it always took sooooo long until the little bell finally rang and it was time to open the presents. ;-)

What I still remember very clearly is that we had a frosted glass pane in the living room door, and through it I always saw white shapes, and my father insisted with absolute certainty that those were the little angels helping Mommy decorate.
The "little angels" were the white tablecloth my mother used to cover the Christmas tree stand. ;-)))

Oh yes, those childhood memories are worth their weight in gold.

In our family, my little sister and I would always visit relatives with our dad. It was the same everywhere—full of mystery and whispers—and it was all so exciting. And it was so special because, back then, it was the only day of the year when our dad did something with just us; because of his job, it couldn’t be any other way. He was often away on the weekends, too. 
And we enjoyed that so much, too.

Time flies by so quickly, and the kids are so smart that they quickly saw through the whole Christkind story—but I hope they’ll always remember it fondly.

Unfortunately, the magic is over this year (at least for us). We always used to have the kids put a plate of cookies and a glass of milk in the living room before they went to bed. Then, late at night when everyone was asleep, I would secretly decorate the tree, and the kids would be so delighted in the morning when Santa had brought them a beautiful tree.
After dinner in the evening, we’d always lock the living room door, and Dad would take both of them out for a walk while I “cleaned up the kitchen.” When they came back, Santa was there. We’d unlock the living room, and the surprise was always indescribable.
We’re doing the same thing this year, but the magic of Santa is missing. 

We don’t have a tree at all at our house this year—because we’re invited to someone else’s place every day during the Christmas season, and it just doesn’t make sense to have a tree sitting in an empty apartment :)

HOWEVER, if there is a tree, mine has to be decorated with red (and at most, gold) ornaments—I don’t like any other colors at all. I also like to add a string of lights and straw stars. That’s how I remember it from when I was a kid, and that’s how I love it :)
And most importantly: No tinsel! If there’s one thing I really can’t stand, it’s tinsel. 
(Yes, other trees are nice too, but somehow the way we used to do it is always the best;))

Speaking of childhood memories: We were always allowed to decorate the tree ourselves, but when the Christ Child came (we didn’t have Santa Claus in our family), one of us had to help in the kitchen washing the dishes, and another had to stay in the room to watch over my little sister.
We’d always come up with strategies to catch the Christ Child, but it never worked.
One year, I insisted with absolute certainty that I’d seen it, and my parents just asked, looking really surprised, what it looked like. I described it to them and didn’t think for a second that they might see through my little lie :D  

Our tree’s been up for a good week now, and somehow it seems to me like it gets bigger every year...
My husband decorated it with our two sons—it’s decorated in a very classic style with ornaments, bells, tinsel, and a string of candle-style lights, but only in red and silver. Anything else is too colorful for him... I’d love to have a really beautifully colorful tree again like we used to, with homemade ornaments, chocolate, and real candles alongside the baubles.
Our two boys still believe in Santa Claus, though it’s getting harder and harder—our older son, who’s 7, is pretty sharp and picks up on a lot more than I’d like him to :-) Let’s see how long this wonderful magic will last for us... By the way, Santa always forgets to close the skylight at our house, and two years ago, our oldest was absolutely convinced that he’d seen the taillights from Santa’s sleigh in the sky...

Oh yes, those childhood memories :-)

We used to sit outside the door for hours, listening. Of course, we couldn’t hear a thing because Mom was busy in the kitchen, and then at some point the little bell rang.... My mom still grins about it today and has never revealed how it worked. It rang in the room, the window was closed, and no one was inside (back then, there were only hand-held bells).

Once my older kids had outgrown the “Christ Child” phase, I was really sad. Then, luckily, the little one came along :-)
Now he gets to decorate the tree with the others on the 24th and spends ages figuring out where each ornament goes so that the Christ Child will be pleased.
Then he goes off very obediently to play with his siblings in the kids’ room so that the Christ Child can bring the presents.... He doesn’t play that obediently in his own room all year long.