{holiday inspiration | finding the perfect christmas tree & other disasters}
Tuesday 10th December, 2013
by Roséline
ONE OF MY VERY FAVOURITE THINGS during the holidays [and there are many] is wandering about Christmas tree yards in search of the perfect tree. Last year, we chose a very full and rather bushy Douglas Fir that was decorated in chartreuse glittery baubles and yards & yards of tartan ribbon. And this year, it is a very tall, thin and elegantly sparse Nordmann Fir, with gold leopard print ornaments and wide lengths of fuchsia satin ribbons . . .
This year, thought we had thought of everything — we would put the entire charming wood slice stand into a large plastic container with water, so that the tree would not dry out, and the stand could not seep sap into the carpet . . . but when the tree stand got wet, it began to expand, causing the entire tree and container to fall over, spilling gallons of water all over the carpets, and the tree, well it fell in the direction of the library table, knocking over piles of books and a large, completely molten three-wick candle that had been burning for a few hours, causing hot wax to splash all over the antique hand-knotted rug . . .

[Above, a quick guide to evergreens — click here for the full guide.]
But our new tradition of Christmas tree disasters has not dampened the holiday spirits in the least, and the living room now has the permanent scent of Truffle White Cocoa. And while the antique rug may never quite be the same again, the Nordmann Fir is now safely in a supersonic foolproof self watering stand, and the charming wood slice has since been banished, and we are looking forward to next year’s adventures . . .

{p.s.} If you’re wondering how to get wax from an antique rug, it involves brown paper, a warm iron, many hours, a few bad words and much patience. x
[IMAGES : tiger in a jar // bad hills // the wild acres // from the article Heart of the Celebration by Sian Williams, with photography by Polly Eltes as seen in House Beautiful Christmas Ideas 2013 // & other stories]Explore More decor & From the Editor
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Are you superstitious about things coming in threes? Thanks for having the grace and good-humor to share you stories with us
@Hopey such a lovely note — thanks so very much & a merry, merry christmas to you x
@Megan Bray thank you :)
@Audrey :) xoxo
@Sarah Klassen yes, sarah, we laughed and laughed — two disasters of epic proportions two years in a row is simply far too funny — and all’s well that ends well, and we adore this year’s tree and new tradition of disasters — always makes for such fascinating dinner conversation :)
Oh my goodness! I can just picture the entire situation, and a mixture of feeling horrified and almost laughing at the very same time :) :) xxoo
Oh my…what next! no just kidding!! a big smile to you Roséline!
jjjjjj…OMG
Good look this year & Happy Christmas!
I love picking out the tree here, decorating always seems to be a challenge….
Happy Holidays!
Christina
Adored this post, chuckled more than once! Lovely to see some of your humour shine through :)
Gorgeous post! How is your tree coming along?
http://balearaitzart.blogspot.com.au/
Aww, this makes me want a Christmas tree (and it’s amazing smell!) so badly! Unfortunately my teeny-tiny apartment just doesn’t have room this year, plus I won’t be around for most of Christmas anyway. :( Till then I’ll just have to drool over everyone else’s trees, instead! ;)
xox
giedre
http://www.walkingdotphotography.com
i absolutely adored this story of your Christmas tree adventures. we had a year where our decorated tree collapsed not once, but twice. it was … something. but we didn’t let it dampen our holiday spirit either. Merry Christmas to you and thank you for this lovely lovely blog. it is a daily favorite.
What a palava! Would love to see a picture of your tree
Gx