Christmas Traditions: The {Tacky, But Loved~} Family Tree

I showed you MY tree~ (HERE)

and I showed you how our family Christmas tree got 'picked' to come home with us this year~ (HERE).

Now it is up, and in our home, shedding its pine needles all over the carpet.

And, for some crazy reason~I am completely fine with it.

My mom gives me one of her "I told you so" looks when she comes over and sees our tree.

And trust me, she should.

When I was a teen, I gave her the HARDEST time. One thing that we now laugh about was my "perfect Christmas tree" obsession.

I wanted a tree with matching ornaments, and coordinating ribbons and bows~

not the gaudy, tacky tree we had every year.

Not Grandma's crochet ornaments.

Not the macaroni hand-made ornaments I made in kindergarten.

Not the mismatched ornaments.

Definitely NOT colored lights.

One year, I even went as far as making my own coordinating ornaments for my parents tree. I baked Christmas shapes-trees, and stars, and snowflakes.

I painted them all white, and begged my mom to let me do the tree that year. I put up only my white hand-made ornaments, and bought my own white lights to put up.

God Bless her! She did.

So now, when my mom comes over and sees my tree-

I get that look.

That "I Told You So" look.

{She was right.}

My favorite ornaments are not the coordinating ornaments, the white lights, and the perfect bows anymore.

{Well, they ARE, but they are on my own tree in the front room~}

My favorite ornaments are the ones with memories of a trip to Aruba, the one from our cottage town, ones given to us by friends and family, the ones that hold pictures of our sweet Chocolate Labrador who died, or the ones my Grandma made that now hang from my tree.

And here are some of my very favorite Christmas ornaments:
{Made JUST for me~}

...And the tree is filled with so many colored lights, you are almost blinded as you gaze at our family tree.

How did I come to this completely different view on what constitutes the "perfect" Christmas tree??

Three very important reasons:

...Because they love it so much-and I love them.

(...Who has a tacky, gaudy, very unattractive Christmas tree...and LOVES it!)