Festive Tradition: Kids’ Christmas Trees

One of our favorite festive Christmas traditions is the kids’ Christmas trees that they have in their bedrooms this time of year. 

A Christmas tree in my bedroom is something that I always thought would be fun as a kid.

Shoot, I think it would be fun to have a tree in my bedroom now!

Maybe next year.

I started this tradition when the kids were around five years old and gave them each a tiny tabletop tree.

It didn’t take long for their ornament collection to outgrow the size of the tabletop trees and a couple of years ago I upgraded them to 4-ft trees.

Another festive Christmas tradition we have is that I gift the kids an ornament every year. I started off getting them an ornament that reflected something that happened in that year or an interest they had. That became tricky the older they got, so I wish I would have picked a theme and stuck with it from the first year. For instance, angels, Santas, snowflakes, snowmen, etc.

If you start this tradition, don’t forget to write the year somewhere on the ornament before you gift it. 

The kids also have a collection of ornaments they made in school. Those are my favorite to see on their trees every year.

Give me all the handprints, popsicle sticks, yarn, and construction paper ornaments. Hold the glitter, though.

The kids do have a few ornaments they have culled out of my collection of childhood ornaments and claimed as their own. For instance, one of these ornaments is a mouse that I believe is from when Disney re-released Cinderella in 1987.

A couple of years ago I asked the kids if they wanted to put their ornaments on the big Christmas tree instead of on the ones in their rooms and their reply was an emphatic, “NO!”

They loved having their own trees and the freedom to decorate it anyway they wanted. 

You’d think that me, of all people, would have a strong urge to “fix” these trees, but NOPE! I rather like how kids don’t care if ornaments are all clustered together or if the top of the tree is leaning way over to the right. I see their innocence and unabashed exuberance in these Christmas trees and it warms my slightly jaded heart. 

Also, this is a Christmas tradition my kids have been able to count on year after year. When you move as often as we have, traditions that can be replicated no matter where you live are important in feeling settled, secure, and comfortable with all the change swirling around in your life.

Between you and me, I’ve been afraid to ask the kids that ornament question again in case they’ve changed their minds. Ha!

I’ve grown quite fond of having our main Christmas tree as my creative playground.

Sadly, my kids don’t believe in Santa any longer.

We never did have an Elf on the Shelf.

The kids have grown out of the toy stage and would be the happiest receiving cash for Christmas.

That’s why the kids’ Christmas trees, a tradition that will grow with them, holds even more importance these days. 

There’s a certain magic in walking into a room or driving at night and seeing a tree all lit up. Those twinkling lights make us all, no matter our age, appreciate the wonder of the season a little more.

Happy Christmas, everyone. 

Thank you for sharing a few minutes of your day with me. I’d love to hear about your favorite Christmas traditions! While you are thinking on that, here are some other posts you might enjoy.

Living in Ireland: Christmas in Retail

Piano Hammer Christmas Ornaments 

Chocolate Peppermint Schnapps Cake

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