Mum's Christmas Decorations

Way back in 2010 I share pictures of some of the handmade decorations on Mum's Christmas Tree.

Well, now that she is in residential aged care there isn't a lot of room to put up a tree, so a little lateral thinking was needed.  I searched high and low in town for a suitable tree to decorate and found nothing like I was hoping for. (Of course I have found a couple that would have been suitable in the week before Christmas - so be it.)

However, I did see a tree in Anni Downs' shop that might just work, but it was just a shop display.  I went home and described it to Mick and suggested he could make something similar.  He, of course tweaked it and we now have a "bespoke" Christmas tree to suit Mum's decorations.

So simple.  Just timber and a craftwood star from Bunnings, painted with chalk paint.  There are hooks attached that we just happened to have in the cupboard.  We were a little concerned that it wasn't terribly stable, so after this photo was taken, Mick attached a quarter inch thick steel plate to the bottom and painted it white as well.  After that it wasn't going anywhere.

We weren't quite sure how it would fit in Mum's room, but I secretly hoped it would fit on her desk and I was delighted when it did.  It is easy to see all her decorations, takes up no room and is not in the way.

Mum was thrilled to have so many of her hand made and special decorations on show and has had a wonderful time showing them off to everyone she can. The majority were made by Mum over the years.

For someone who doesn't do patchwork there are quite a few fiddly paper pieced and cathedral window decorations.

She also has a few other Christmas creations from over the years and I think she was happy to have them out on show.  Mum has always made small fiddly things, things that I don't generally have the patience for.

I forgot to take a photo of this year's creation.  She has crocheted a granny Christmas tree, added red beads to it and turned it into a brooch.  It looks great.

There has been no shortage of Christmas entertainment for the residents where she now lives, with concerts and entertainment of some sort or another several times a week right through December.  It makes our lead up to Christmas seem quite boring.  I'm just so pleased that we could add some Christmas cheer to her room as well.

So, on that note, Mick and I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.